California Probate Code 877 – Unless the user prohibited disclosure of digital assets or the court …
Unless the user prohibited disclosure of digital assets or the court directs otherwise, a custodian shall disclose to the personal representative of the estate of a deceased user a catalogue of electronic communications sent or received by the user and digital assets, other than the content of electronic communications, of the user, if the personal representative gives to the custodian all of the following:
(a) A written request for disclosure in physical or electronic form.
Terms Used In California Probate Code 877
- Account: means an arrangement under a terms-of-service agreement in which the custodian carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a digital asset of the user or provides goods or services to the user. See California Probate Code 871
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Catalogue of electronic communications: means information that identifies each person with which a user has had an electronic communication, the time and date of the communication, and the electronic address of the person. See California Probate Code 871
- Court: means the superior court presiding over the judicial proceedings which have been initiated under this code to administer the estate of the deceased user, or, if none, the superior court sitting in the exercise of jurisdiction under this code in the county of the user's domicile, and the court, as defined in this section, shall have exclusive jurisdiction over proceedings brought under this part. See California Probate Code 871
- Custodian: means a person that carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a digital asset of a user. See California Probate Code 871
- Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See California Probate Code 871
- Information: means data, text, images, videos, sounds, codes, computer programs, software, databases, or other items with like characteristics. See California Probate Code 871
- Personal representative: means an executor, administrator, special administrator, or person that performs substantially the same function under any other law. See California Probate Code 871
- User: means a person that has an account with a custodian. See California Probate Code 871
(b) A certified copy of the death certificate of the user.
(c) A certified copy of the letter of appointment of the representative, a small-estate affidavit under Section 13101, or court order.
(d) If requested by the custodian, any of the following:
(1) A number, username, address, or other unique subscriber or account identifier assigned by the custodian to identify the user’s account.
(2) Evidence linking the account to the user.
(3) An affidavit stating that disclosure of the user’s digital assets is reasonably necessary for estate administration.
(4) An order of the court finding either of the following:
(A) That the user had a specific account with the custodian, identifiable by the information specified in paragraph (1).
(B) That disclosure of the user’s digital assets is reasonably necessary for estate administration.
(Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 551, Sec. 1. (AB 691) Effective January 1, 2017.)