N.Y. Estates, Powers & Trusts Law § 13-a-4.1: Fiduciary duty and authority

§ 13-A-4.1 Fiduciary duty and authority

(a) The legal duties imposed on a fiduciary charged with managing

tangible property apply to the management of digital assets, including:

(1) the duty of care;

(2) the duty of loyalty; and

(3) the duty of confidentiality.

(b) A fiduciary's or designated recipient's authority with respect to

a digital asset of a user:

(1) except as otherwise provided in section 13-A-2.2, is subject to

the applicable terms of service;

(2) is subject to other applicable law, including copyright law;

(3) in the case of a fiduciary, is limited by the scope of the

fiduciary's duties; and

(4) may not be used to impersonate the user.

(c) A fiduciary with authority over the property of a decedent, ward,

principal, or settlor has the right to access any digital asset in which

the decedent, ward, principal, or settlor had a right or interest and

that is not held by a custodian or subject to a terms-of-service

agreement.

(d) A fiduciary acting within the scope of the fiduciary's duties is

an authorized user of the property of the decedent, ward, principal, or

settlor for the purpose of applicable computer-fraud and

unauthorized-computer-access laws, including this state's law on

unauthorized computer access.

(e) A fiduciary with authority over the tangible, personal property of

a decedent, ward, principal, or settlor;

(1) has the right to access the property and any digital asset stored

in it; and

(2) is an authorized user for the purpose of computer-fraud and

unauthorized-computer-access laws, including this state's law on

unauthorized computer access.

(f) A custodian may disclose information in an account to a fiduciary

of the user when the information is required to terminate an account

used to access digital assets licensed to the user.

(g) A fiduciary of a user may request a custodian to terminate the

user's account. A request for termination must be in writing, in either

physical or electronic form, and accompanied by:

(1) if the user is deceased, a copy of the death certificate of the

user;

(2) a certified copy of the letter of appointment of the executor,

administrator, or personal representative or a small-estate affidavit or

court order, power of attorney, or trust giving the fiduciary authority

over the account; and

(3) if requested by the custodian:

(A) a number, username, address, or other unique subscriber or account

identifier assigned by the custodian to identify the user's account;

(B) evidence linking the account to the user; or

(C) a finding by the court that the user had a specific account with

the custodian, identifiable by the information specified in item (A).