'Dad died - what about his online accounts?' There's an Act for that
After a false start in 2015, the Illinois legislature delivered and the governor signed a bill this year that gives fiduciaries the power to access email, social media, and other digital assets of a decedent.
Last year, the General Assembly tabled SB 1376, sending it back to the Rules Committee -- the usual death knell for pending legislation. The bill would have adopted a version of the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which was first published by the Uniform Law Commission in 2014.
A revised version of the Digital Assets Act was proposed, passed by the General Assembly, and signed by the governor on August 12. It took effect immediately.
The Act is designed to make it easier for a fiduciary to access the digital assets of a decedent. Digital assets cover a broad range of resources, including email, social media accounts, documents stored in the cloud, and more. As people increasingly organize their lives online, their families and heirs may need to access their online accounts for a sense of closure, to recover photographs, or to find information related to other assets belonging to the decedent. Access to an email account may reveal a bank account or retirement account for which no physical documents exist.