{"data":{"id":"us-ny/n.y.-estates-powers-trusts-law-13-a-4.1","jurisdiction":"us-ny","citation":"N.Y. Estates, Powers \u0026 Trusts Law § 13-a-4.1","heading":"Fiduciary duty and authority","body":"§ 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).","path":["Estates, Powers \u0026 Trusts Law","Article 13-A. Administration of Digital Assets Summary of Article","Part 4. Fiduciary Duty and Authority, Compliance and Immunity"],"source_url":"https://legislation.nysenate.gov/api/3/laws/EPT/13-A-4.1","current_through":"2026-09-11","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T19:32:44Z","sha256":"8e0ce852c1df380e4a90d9a21a4bde071eb99561d44ae2e878d562beff8ac3fe","source_id":"us-ny","stale":false,"prev":"us-ny/n.y.-estates-powers-trusts-law-13-a-3.8","next":"us-ny/n.y.-estates-powers-trusts-law-13-a-4.2"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}