Indiana Code 32-39-2-12. Duties and authority of fiduciary with respect to digital assets of decedent, protected person, principal, or settlor
(1) the duty of care;
Terms Used In Indiana Code 32-39-2-12
- account: means an arrangement under a terms-of-service agreement in which a custodian carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a digital asset of the user or provides goods or services to the user. See Indiana Code 32-39-1-2
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- court: means :
Indiana Code 32-39-1-7
- custodian: means a person that carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a digital asset of a user. See Indiana Code 32-39-1-8
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- designated recipient: means a person chosen by a user using an online tool to administer digital assets of the user. See Indiana Code 32-39-1-9
- digital asset: means an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. See Indiana Code 32-39-1-10
- electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See Indiana Code 32-39-1-11
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- fiduciary: means :
Indiana Code 32-39-1-14
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- in writing: include printing, lithographing, or other mode of representing words and letters. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
- information: means data, text, images, videos, sounds, codes, computer programs, software, databases, or the like. See Indiana Code 32-39-1-16
- person: means :
Indiana Code 32-39-1-18
- personal representative: means an executor, an administrator, a special administrator, or a person that performs substantially the same function as an executor, administrator, or special administrator under the law of Indiana other than this article. See Indiana Code 32-39-1-19
- principal: means an individual who grants authority to an attorney in fact in a power of attorney. See Indiana Code 32-39-1-21
- Property: includes personal and real property. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
- protected person: means an individual for whom a guardian has been appointed. See Indiana Code 32-39-1-22
- terms-of-service agreement: means an agreement that controls the relationship between a user and a custodian. See Indiana Code 32-39-1-25
- user: means a person that has an account with a custodian. See Indiana Code 32-39-1-27
(3) the duty of confidentiality;
also apply to a fiduciary charged with managing digital assets.
(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 1 of this chapter, is subject to the applicable terms of service;
(2) is subject to other applicable law, including copyright law;
(3) 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, protected person, principal, or settlor has the right to access any digital asset:
(1) in which the decedent, protected person, principal, or settlor had a right or interest; and
(2) 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, protected person, principal, or settlor for the purpose of applicable computer fraud and unauthorized computer access laws, including IC 24-4.8-2, IC 24-5-22, IC 35-43-1-7, IC 35-43-1-8, IC 35-43-2-3, and IC 35-45-13.
(e) A fiduciary with authority over the tangible, personal property of a decedent, protected person, principal, or settlor:
(1) has the right to access the property and any digital asset stored in the property; and
(2) is an authorized user for the purpose of computer fraud and unauthorized computer access laws, including IC 24-4.8-2, IC 24-5-22, IC 35-43-2-3, and IC 35-45-13.
(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 that a custodian terminate the user’s account. A request for termination must be in writing, in either physical or electronic form, and must be accompanied by:
(1) if the user is deceased, a certified or authenticated copy of the death certificate of the user;
(2) a copy of:
(A) the letters (as defined in IC 29-1-1-3(a)(21)) of the personal representative or of the order of no supervision or order of unsupervised administration issued to the personal representative under IC 29-1-7.5;
(B) the court order;
(C) the power of attorney; or
(D) the trust;
giving the fiduciary authority over the account; and
(3) if requested by the custodian:
(A) a number, username, address, or other unique subscriber identifier 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 clause (A).
As added by P.L.137-2016, SEC.14. Amended by P.L.163-2018, SEC.25; P.L.185-2021, SEC.57.