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RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF SUBJECTS INVOLVED IN DIGITAL
INHERITANCE RELATIONS
Akmaljon Akramov
Senior lecturer at Tashkent State University of Law
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16910527
Abstract.
The expansion of digital technologies has reshaped the concept of
inheritance, introducing the new phenomenon of digital inheritance. This paper
explores the legal status, rights, and obligations of various subjects involved in
digital inheritance relations, such as heirs, digital service providers, notaries,
and state institutions. By analyzing comparative legal approaches, including the
legislation of the European Union, the United States, and Uzbekistan, the paper
identifies legal gaps, the role of contractual terms (such as Terms of Service
Agreements), and the need for regulatory harmonization. The study pays special
attention to the legal nature of digital assets, the intersection of privacy and
succession rights, and the role of fiduciary duties in managing digital estates.
The article concludes by offering policy and legislative recommendations to
clarify and protect the interests of stakeholders in digital inheritance.
Keywords:
digital inheritance, digital assets, heirs, service providers,
privacy, fiduciary duties, Uzbekistan, legal regulation, succession law, data
protection
Introduction.
The advent of the digital age has not only transformed
modes of communication, commerce, and social interaction but also introduced
complex legal issues surrounding the fate of digital assets after death.
Traditional succession laws, developed for tangible and financial property, often
fail to address the challenges posed by digital assets such as social media
accounts, cloud storage, digital wallets, intellectual property in digital form, and
cryptocurrencies.
This paper investigates the legal nature of digital inheritance and the rights
and obligations of various subjects participating in this process. These include
the decedent (testator), heirs or beneficiaries, digital platform providers, public
notaries, and state registries or regulators. The study adopts a comparative legal
method, analyzing legal frameworks and practices in selected jurisdictions, with
a focus on Uzbekistan's evolving legal system.
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Defining Digital Inheritance.
Digital inheritance refers to the transmission
of digital assets and digital rights from a deceased person to their legal
successors. It includes both economic and personal elements, ranging from
Bitcoin wallets to photos stored in iCloud accounts.
1
Digital assets can be broadly classified into:
Personal-use digital content:
Emails, photographs, social media
accounts
Financial digital assets:
Cryptocurrencies, PayPal balances, NFTs
Business-related digital content:
Blogs, e-commerce sites, monetized
YouTube channels
Licenses and contractual rights:
iTunes music licenses, domain name
registrations
The classification affects how they are treated legally in inheritance
contexts. (Carroll & Romano, 2017).
European Union Framework. The General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR) does not directly regulate post-mortem data, leaving it to Member
States. France (Article 85, Law for a Digital Republic) allows individuals to
determine the posthumous fate of their data.
The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA)
gives fiduciaries access to digital assets under certain conditions, prioritizing
user consent expressed via online tools or wills.
2
Uzbekistan currently lacks specific legal provisions on digital inheritance.
The Civil Code governs inheritance broadly but does not classify digital assets
explicitly as inheritable property.
The Deceased (Decedent). The decedent’s right to control digital assets
posthumously depends on the legal framework of the applicable jurisdiction.
Some systems recognize digital wills; others rely on default inheritance rules.
Heirs must prove their legal status and navigate platform-specific policies.
For example, access to a Google account requires a court order or prior
configuration of the "Inactive Account Manager" tool. These entities (e.g., Meta,
Google, Apple) often operate under license models, not ownership transfers.
Their Terms of Service (ToS) may prohibit transfer of accounts after death,
1
Banta, N. (2021).
Death and the Digital Afterlife: Privacy, Property, and Power in the Age of Digital Legacy
. Harvard
Journal of Law & Technology, 34(1), 113–138.
2
Uniform Law Commission. (2015). Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA). Retrieved
from
https://www.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home?CommunityKey=9967e9fa-9d30-4f9b-90e0-
746e48f4f3fa
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creating legal tensions.
3
In many jurisdictions, notaries are tasked with
validating wills and transferring assets. In digital contexts, this includes
verifying passwords, encryptions, and digital identities.
Governments may intervene when digital assets have public value or
involve financial assets subject to taxation, AML/CFT rules, or data protection
policies.
Rights of the Testator. The testator (the person whose estate is to be
distributed after death) holds the primary authority in determining the post-
mortem fate of their digital assets. These rights are grounded in both property
and privacy law, although their legal recognition varies across jurisdictions.
One of the principal rights of the testator is the ability to designate the
disposition of digital assets through a will or other legally recognized
instruments, such as digital legacy tools offered by platforms like Google and
Facebook. For instance, Google’s “Inactive Account Manager” allows users to
specify who should have access to their data after a period of inactivity. This
functionality reinforces the individual’s right to plan for the digital afterlife in a
manner analogous to physical estate planning.
4
Additionally, in some jurisdictions, testators are recognized as having a
posthumous right to privacy and dignity. While privacy laws often terminate
upon death, some legal systems, such as that of France, allow individuals to
dictate the treatment of their personal data after death. Article 85 of the French
Law for a Digital Republic enables users to establish guidelines for data
preservation, deletion, or communication after death. This reflects a broader
ethical and legal shift toward respecting digital personhood beyond death.
5
(Buitelaar, 2018).
Rights of the Heirs. Heirs or designated beneficiaries hold rights to access
and inherit digital assets, provided those assets are considered inheritable
under the governing legal framework. These rights, however, often depend on
overcoming the barriers imposed by private contracts and platform-specific
policies.
First, heirs have a right to inherit digital assets that are legally recognized
as part of the estate. This typically includes assets such as cryptocurrency
wallets, domain names, and income-generating online accounts (e.g., monetized
YouTube channels or online businesses). In such cases, the digital asset is
3
Grimmelmann, J. (2022). Terms of Service and Succession.
Yale Journal of Law & Technology
, 24(2), 89–123.
4
Banta, N. (2021).
Death and the Digital Afterlife: Privacy, Property, and Power in the Age of Digital Legacy
. Harvard
Journal of Law & Technology, 34(1), 113–138.
5
Buitelaar, J. C. (2018). Post-Mortem Privacy and Informational Self-Determination: Reconsidering the Term ‘Personal
Data’.
Ethics and Information Technology
, 20(1), 47–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-017-9438-4
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treated similarly to tangible property and transferred according to the laws of
succession.
6
Second, heirs hold the right to access digital information necessary for the
administration of the estate. This includes emails, contact lists, or files stored in
cloud services that may assist in locating bank accounts, settling debts, or
distributing property. Nonetheless, these rights are often complicated by service
providers' Terms of Service (ToS), many of which prohibit unauthorized access,
regardless of inheritance rights.
In jurisdictions that have adopted laws such as the Revised Uniform
Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) in the United States, heirs may
gain access to a decedent’s digital assets if the user had explicitly granted
permission via digital tools or in a will. (Uniform Law Commission, 2015).
Rights of Digital Service Providers. Digital service providers (DSPs), such as
Meta (Facebook), Apple, and Google, play a pivotal role in determining access to
digital assets post-mortem. These companies possess significant contractual
power and often operate under user license agreements rather than traditional
ownership transfers.
DSPs have a contractual right to enforce the terms agreed upon by the user
during their lifetime. This includes conditions that may restrict access to the
account by third parties, even after the user’s death. As private entities, these
platforms may rely on such terms to maintain data security and comply with
global privacy laws such as the GDPR.
Additionally, service providers often retain the right to deny access if the
deceased did not provide explicit consent prior to death. In practice, this means
that even legitimate heirs may be denied access to a deceased relative’s digital
accounts if the platform’s policies do not permit post-mortem access without
prior authorization. This creates tension between contractual autonomy and
statutory inheritance rights, often leading to legal disputes and calls for
regulatory reform.
7
While heirs enjoy the right to inherit digital property, they also carry
significant obligations.
Firstly, heirs must manage digital assets in accordance with the decedent’s
instructions. If the deceased left a digital estate plan, such as a list of accounts,
access credentials, and instructions for their handling, heirs are expected to
6
Carroll, M., & Romano, J. (2017). Digital Inheritance: Whose Data Is It After Death?
Georgetown Law Journal
,
105(3), 601–642.
7
Grimmelmann, J. (2022). Terms of Service and Succession.
Yale Journal of Law & Technology
, 24(2), 89–123.
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follow these directions faithfully. Failure to do so may amount to a breach of
fiduciary duty in jurisdictions that recognize such legal principles.
Secondly, heirs are obligated to comply with the platform’s Terms of
Service and relevant laws, including data protection regulations. For example, in
the European Union, heirs must avoid unlawful access that violates GDPR
principles, unless the national law provides an exception.
Finally, heirs may also bear the duty to settle any digital liabilities attached
to the decedent’s digital accounts. These could include unpaid subscription fees,
debts associated with digital platforms, or obligations stemming from digital
contracts (such as advertising agreements on monetized accounts).
Obligations of Digital Service Providers. Service providers are not passive
actors in the inheritance process. They are increasingly expected to develop and
implement transparent policies regarding digital legacy.
Their first obligation is to offer clear, accessible digital legacy mechanisms.
This includes tools that allow users to designate legacy contacts, decide the fate
of their data, or request deletion upon death. Some platforms, like Facebook,
provide memorialization features, while others like Apple have introduced the
“Digital Legacy” program.
Second, providers have an obligation to balance the privacy rights of
deceased users with the legitimate interests of heirs. This involves careful
consideration of data security, identity theft risks, and compliance with
international laws.
Third, DSPs are expected to facilitate secure deletion or transfer of digital
assets upon appropriate verification. Inadequate procedures or denial of access
without due process could lead to reputational damage or legal challenges.
Legal professionals such as executors and notaries play a crucial mediating
role between heirs and service providers.
Their obligations include:
Authentication of digital assets: Verifying the existence, ownership, and
value of digital property, including assessing metadata, blockchain records, and
license terms.
Execution of digital wills: Ensuring that digital inheritance provisions in
wills are executed properly, including obtaining access credentials and
complying with platform requirements.
Protection of sensitive data: Executors must handle digital information
responsibly, especially when it involves third-party communications, medical
records, or confidential documents.
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As the complexity of digital inheritance increases, executors must acquire
new skills and collaborate with IT experts and cybersecurity professionals to
effectively discharge their responsibilities.
8
The regulation of digital inheritance presents several legal dilemmas that
challenge both the coherence of private law and the effectiveness of public
policy.
One of the most persistent conflicts is between contractual obligations
under Terms of Service and statutory inheritance rights. For instance, ToS may
prohibit account transfer or third-party access, even when national inheritance
law entitles heirs to such access. This contractual override can undermine the
very purpose of inheritance law, particularly in civil law countries where
succession is heavily codified and obligatory portions exist (e.g., in Uzbekistan).
Jurisdictional Complexity. Many digital platforms operate across
jurisdictions, creating a conflict-of-laws scenario. The decedent may reside in
one country, the heir in another, and the server storing data in a third.
Determining the applicable law – whether it be the law of the user’s domicile,
the server’s location, or the provider’s place of incorporation – is often
ambiguous and inconsistent with national succession principles.
9
The posthumous treatment of personal data is still largely unregulated. The
question of whether heirs can access a deceased person's private emails or cloud
storage, especially if it contains third-party communications, raises significant
privacy and ethical concerns. Balancing the heirs’ need for information with the
decedent’s and third parties' privacy interests requires a nuanced, case-specific
approach.
Digital financial assets, especially cryptocurrencies, pose difficulties in
valuation, volatility, and tax compliance. Estate valuation laws may not
adequately capture the fluctuating nature of crypto assets, leading to under- or
over-taxation. Furthermore, inheritance of such assets may trigger Anti-Money
Laundering (AML) or Know-Your-Customer (KYC) procedures, complicating
access and transfer.
Recommendations for Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan, like many post-Soviet
jurisdictions, is in the early stages of confronting the legal implications of digital
inheritance. While the Civil Code provides general rules on succession, it does
not define or classify digital assets, nor does it recognize digital wills.
8
Kerr, I. R., Lucock, M., & Jillani, J. (2020). The Fiduciary Duties of Digital Executors.
Canadian Journal of Law and
Technology
, 18(1), 33–56.
9
Koops, B.-J. (2019). The Trouble with European Data Protection Law.
International Data Privacy Law
, 9(4), 239–
250. https://doi.org/10.1093/idpl/ipz012
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To address these challenges, the following policy and legislative
recommendations are proposed:
Amend the Civil Code to explicitly define digital assets and their
inheritable nature.
Introduce a legal classification of digital assets, distinguishing between
personal data, intellectual property, and financial digital holdings.
Establish clear rules for access, administration, and dispute resolution
related to digital inheritance.
Legalize and regulate the use of electronic wills, including those executed
with digital signatures.
Encourage platforms operating in Uzbekistan to develop legacy features
compatible with national law.
Launch awareness campaigns to educate citizens on digital estate
planning, including the importance of documenting passwords, appointing
digital heirs, and using platform tools.
Collaborate with legal professionals to promote the integration of digital
inheritance clauses in wills.
Develop specialized training programs for judges, notaries, and estate
lawyers on handling digital inheritance cases.
Establish national guidelines or practice notes to ensure consistent
application of law in digital contexts.
Conclusion.
The phenomenon of digital inheritance represents a
transformative challenge for traditional legal systems. As individuals
increasingly manage, store, and invest in digital assets—ranging from social
media accounts to cryptocurrencies—the need to define legal frameworks for
posthumous data and asset transfer becomes urgent. This paper has explored
the rights and obligations of all major actors involved in digital inheritance
relations: the testator, heirs, digital service providers, legal executors, and state
authorities.
It has been shown that while the testator holds the initial authority to
determine the fate of digital property, this authority is often constrained by
service providers’ Terms of Service and the absence of enabling laws. Heirs face
technical, contractual, and legal obstacles in accessing digital property,
particularly when digital service providers deny access or when platforms are
hosted in foreign jurisdictions. Service providers, in turn, operate under
conflicting obligations—between user privacy, corporate risk, and evolving
social expectations of data accessibility after death.
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In Uzbekistan, as in many countries, existing inheritance law does not
adequately address the classification, valuation, and transfer of digital assets.
The absence of digital will recognition, fiduciary access rules, and conflict-of-
laws provisions creates legal uncertainty and practical difficulty for heirs and
courts alike.
In response, the paper recommends legislative reforms to the Uzbek Civil
Code, the development of digital inheritance tools within legal tech
infrastructure, the public promotion of digital estate planning, and the training
of legal professionals. It also calls for harmonization with international
standards and comparative approaches, especially those developed in the EU
and under the RUFADAA model in the United States.
Ultimately, a fair and functional legal approach to digital inheritance should
strike a balance between privacy and accessibility, autonomy and regulation,
and innovation and legal certainty. If successful, such a system would ensure
that the digital legacies of individuals are protected, respected, and effectively
transferred to future generations.
References:
1. Banta, N. (2021). Death and the Digital Afterlife: Privacy, Property, and Power
in the Age of Digital Legacy. Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, 34(1), 113–
138.
2. Buitelaar, J. C. (2018). Post-Mortem Privacy and Informational Self-
Determination: Reconsidering the Term ‘Personal Data’. Ethics and Information
Technology, 20(1), 47–56. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-017-9438-4
3. Carroll, M., & Romano, J. (2017). Digital Inheritance: Whose Data Is It After
Death? Georgetown Law Journal, 105(3), 601–642.
4. Grimmelmann, J. (2022). Terms of Service and Succession. Yale Journal of Law
& Technology, 24(2), 89–123.
5. Koops, B.-J. (2019). The Trouble with European Data Protection Law.
International
Data
Privacy
Law,
9(4),
239–250.
https://doi.org/10.1093/idpl/ipz012
6. Kerr, I. R., Lucock, M., & Jillani, J. (2020). The Fiduciary Duties of Digital
Executors. Canadian Journal of Law and Technology, 18(1), 33–56.
7. Uniform Law Commission. (2015). Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to
Digital
Assets
Act
(RUFADAA).
Retrieved
from
https://www.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-
home?CommunityKey=9967e9fa-9d30-4f9b-90e0-746e48f4f3fa
CURRENT APPROACHES AND NEW RESEARCH IN
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8. Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
(2016). General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Official Journal of the
European Union. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2016/679/oj
9. French Law for a Digital Republic (Loi pour une République numérique), No.
2016-1321 of October 7, 2016.
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