Your digital life might outlive you, but your loved ones may never gain access to it.

When Mark Johnson died suddenly, his family discovered $150,000 in cryptocurrency across multiple digital wallets. The problem? No one knew the private keys. Without them, the digital fortune was effectively lost forever. This scenario is playing out nationwide as 60% of Americans haven’t created estate planning documents, leaving digital assets completely unprotected.

The Growing Crisis

Today, 62% of Millennials allocate at least one-third of their wealth to cryptocurrencies, while 42% of Gen Z own or have owned crypto. Yet most estate plans ignore digital assets entirely.

Digital assets include:

• Financial: Cryptocurrency wallets, online banking, investment accounts, NFTs
• Personal: Email accounts, social media, digital photos, cloud storage
• Business: Domain names, websites, digital intellectual property
• Subscriptions: Streaming services, software licenses, online memberships

The Legal Challenge

Texas has adopted laws governing digital asset access, TEXAS REVISED UNIFORM FIDUCIARY ACCESS TO DIGITAL ASSETS ACT. Unlike traditional assets, digital ones often require private keys or passwords that die with the owner.

Cryptocurrency presents the biggest challenge—if private keys are lost, there’s no bank to call or password to reset. The digital wealth vanishes into the blockchain forever.

Real Consequences

Financial Loss: Probate expenses can consume 10% of an estate, with digital complications driving costs even higher.

Identity Theft: Unsecured digital accounts become targets for posthumous fraud and scams.

Family Distress: Loved ones face months of legal battles trying to access accounts and preserve digital memories.

Protect Your Digital Legacy

Don’t leave your family locked out of your digital life. The families who plan ahead preserve their digital legacies intact. Those who don’t risk devastating consequences for the people they leave behind.

Take action today. Call Boswell Law Firm at 832-919-6595 to ensure your digital assets are properly protected and your family can access everything you’ve built online. Your digital legacy deserves the same protection as your traditional assets.

_{Photo credit: Credit: Bojan}