Fiduciary duty and authority

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New York Code › Act EPT › Article 13-A › Part 4 › Section 13-A-4.1

This text was captured on Aug 14, 2026. It is a snapshot, not a live feed, so check the official code before relying on it.

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§ 13-A-4.1 Fiduciary duty and authority\n (a) The legal duties imposed on a fiduciary charged with managing\ntangible property apply to the management of digital assets, including:\n (1) the duty of care;\n (2) the duty of loyalty; and\n (3) the duty of confidentiality.\n (b) A fiduciary's or designated recipient's authority with respect to\na digital asset of a user:\n (1) except as otherwise provided in section 13-A-2.2, is subject to\nthe applicable terms of service;\n (2) is subject to other applicable law, including copyright law;\n (3) in the case of a fiduciary, is limited by the scope of the\nfiduciary's duties; and\n (4) may not be used to impersonate the user.\n (c) A fiduciary with authority over the property of a decedent, ward,\nprincipal, or settlor has the right to access any digital asset in which\nthe decedent, ward, principal, or settlor had a right or interest and\nthat is not held by a custodian or subject to a terms-of-service\nagreement.\n (d) A fiduciary acting within the scope of the fiduciary's duties is\nan authorized user of the property of the decedent, ward, principal, or\nsettlor for the purpose of applicable computer-fraud and\nunauthorized-computer-access laws, including this state's law on\nunauthorized computer access.\n (e) A fiduciary with authority over the tangible, personal property of\na decedent, ward, principal, or settlor;\n (1) has the right to access the property and any digital asset stored\nin it; and\n (2) is an authorized user for the purpose of computer-fraud and\nunauthorized-computer-access laws, including this state's law on\nunauthorized computer access.\n (f) A custodian may disclose information in an account to a fiduciary\nof the user when the information is required to terminate an account\nused to access digital assets licensed to the user.\n (g) A fiduciary of a user may request a custodian to terminate the\nuser's account. A request for termination must be in writing, in either\nphysical or electronic form, and accompanied by:\n (1) if the user is deceased, a copy of the death certificate of the\nuser;\n (2) a certified copy of the letter of appointment of the executor,\nadministrator, or personal representative or a small-estate affidavit or\ncourt order, power of attorney, or trust giving the fiduciary authority\nover the account; and\n (3) if requested by the custodian:\n (A) a number, username, address, or other unique subscriber or account\nidentifier assigned by the custodian to identify the user's account;\n (B) evidence linking the account to the user; or\n (C) a finding by the court that the user had a specific account with\nthe custodian, identifiable by the information specified in item (A).\n

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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