Digital Assets in Your Michigan Estate Plan

Your grandmother probably never had to worry about what happened to her Bitcoin after she passed away. But here in 2025, digital assets are a huge part of most Michigan families' lives, and they need to be part of your estate plan too.

Think about it: your phone probably has thousands of family photos, you might have cryptocurrency investments, and your entire financial life could be managed through online banking. What happens to all of that when you're gone? Without proper planning, your loved ones might never be able to access those precious memories or valuable accounts.

As an estate planning attorney here in Michigan, I've seen too many families struggle with digital assets that weren't properly included in estate plans. The good news? Michigan has some solid laws to help, and with a little planning, you can make sure your digital life is protected just like your physical assets.

1. Michigan Already Has Laws to Help You (But You Need to Use Them)

Here's something many Michigan families don't know: our state passed the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (FADAA) back in 2016. This law gives you the power to designate someone to manage your digital assets after you're gone, but only if you actually do the paperwork.

FADAA defines digital assets pretty broadly as any "electronic records in which a person has a right to or an interest in." That covers everything from your Gmail account to your Coinbase wallet. The key is that you need to specifically grant authority in your will, trust, or power of attorney documents.

This is where working with a Michigan estate planning attorney becomes crucial. At O'Bryan Law Firm, we make sure these digital asset provisions are built right into your estate planning documents, so there's no confusion about who can access what.

Without these proper legal documents, your family might face an uphill battle trying to prove they have the right to access your accounts. Banks, social media platforms, and cryptocurrency exchanges aren't just going to hand over access because someone shows up with a death certificate.

2. Your Digital Life is Bigger Than You Think (And It's All Worth Protecting)

When most people think about digital assets, they picture their Facebook account. But your digital footprint is probably way more valuable and extensive than you realize. Let me break it down into four categories that matter for Michigan estate planning:

Personal stuff includes all those family photos on your phone, your Gmail archives, medical records stored online, that collection of Kindle books, and even your smart home security system. These might not have huge dollar values, but they're often priceless to your family.

Social media isn't just Facebook anymore. Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, these accounts often contain years of memories and connections that your family will want to preserve or properly memorialize.

Financial assets are where the real money lives. Online banking, PayPal, Apple Pay, investment accounts, and yes, cryptocurrency. Bitcoin hit new highs in 2024, and many Michigan families now have significant crypto holdings that need proper estate planning.

Business digital assets might include your company's social media accounts, websites, domain names, customer databases, or intellectual property stored in the cloud.

The challenge? Unlike traditional assets, these digital assets don't have physical paperwork sitting in your filing cabinet. Your family needs to know they exist and how to access them.

3. Create Your Digital Inventory (Your Family Will Thank You)

This might be the most important practical step you can take right now. Grab a notebook (or start a secure document) and list every single digital asset you can think of. For each one, write down:

• The platform or service name
• Your username/email
• How your family can access it (password, security questions, two-factor authentication details)
• Who should inherit it or manage it

I know, I know: writing down passwords feels scary. But consider this: more than half of Americans do all their banking online now. There might not be paper statements coming in the mail anymore. Without your login information, your family might not even know that bank account exists.

Here's a pro tip from our practice: use a password manager like 1Password or Bitwarden, then include the master password information in your estate planning documents. This way, you only need to manage one set of login credentials for estate planning purposes, but your family can access everything.

Don't forget about the weird stuff either. That NFT you bought during the 2021 craze? Your kids' gaming accounts with valuable skins or characters? These digital assets can have real value, and they're getting more complex every year.

4. The Consequences of Not Planning are Getting More Expensive

Let me paint you a picture of what happens when Michigan families don't plan for digital assets. I've seen it firsthand, and it's not pretty.

First, there's the immediate access problem. Your spouse knows you have a crypto wallet, but they don't know the private keys. That $50,000 in Bitcoin? It's gone forever. No court order can bring it back.

Then there's the legal mess. Without proper estate planning documents that address digital assets, Michigan's intestate succession laws kick in. That means the court decides who gets what, and it might not match what you would have wanted. Your business Instagram account with 10,000 followers could end up controlled by a distant relative who has no idea how to run your company's social media.

Financial institutions are getting stricter, not more lenient, about digital access after death. Google, Apple, Facebook: they all have their own policies about what happens to accounts when someone dies, and those policies don't always align with Michigan law or your family's needs.

The costs add up too. Probate proceedings get more complicated when digital assets are involved. Legal fees increase when your estate planning attorney has to fight for access to accounts that should have been addressed upfront. And don't get me started on the emotional cost to your family of losing precious photos and memories that could have been easily preserved.

5. This Isn't a "Set It and Forget It" Thing

Here's what makes digital estate planning different from traditional estate planning: technology moves fast. Really fast.

That comprehensive digital inventory you created? It needs regular updates. New apps, changed passwords, closed accounts, new crypto investments: your digital life is constantly evolving, and your estate plan needs to keep up.

I recommend reviewing your digital asset inventory every six months, right alongside your other financial reviews. When you change your password, update your records. When you start using a new platform or investment app, add it to the list.

Consider naming a specific digital executor: someone tech-savvy who can handle the complexities of digital asset management. This might be different from your traditional executor, and that's okay. Digital assets require different skills and knowledge.

At O'Bryan Law Firm, we help Michigan families set up systems that make these updates easier. We can build flexibility into your estate planning documents so minor digital changes don't require completely redrafting your will or trust.

Making Digital Estate Planning Work for Your Michigan Family

The bottom line is this: digital assets are real assets, and they deserve the same careful planning as your house, your car, and your retirement accounts. Michigan's laws give you the tools you need, but you have to use them.

Whether you're a young family in Grand Rapids with cryptocurrency investments, empty nesters in Ann Arbor planning for retirement, or small business owners in Detroit building digital enterprises, your online life is probably worth more than you think: both financially and emotionally.

The good news? This doesn't have to be overwhelming. Start with that digital inventory, work with an estate planning attorney who understands Michigan's digital asset laws, and build these protections into your existing estate planning documents.

Your family photos, your business accounts, your financial assets: they're all part of your legacy. With proper planning, you can make sure that legacy stays in the right hands, accessible to the people you love, when they need it most.

At O'Bryan Law Firm, we've helped hundreds of Michigan families navigate this new digital landscape. Because in 2025, a complete estate plan isn't just about what's in your house; it's about what's in your phone, your computer, and the cloud too.