1. The legal duties imposed on a fiduciary charged with managing tangible property apply to the management of digital assets, including all of the following:

 a. The duty of care.
 b. The duty of loyalty.
 c. The duty of confidentiality.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 638.15

  • 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 Iowa Code 638.2
  • 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.
  • Court: means a district court in this state. See Iowa Code 638.2
  • Custodian: means a person that carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a digital asset of a user. See Iowa Code 638.2
  • 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 Iowa Code 638.2
  • Digital asset: means an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. See Iowa Code 638.2
  • Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See Iowa Code 638.2
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Fiduciary: means a personal representative, conservator, guardian, agent, or trustee. See Iowa Code 638.2
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Information: means data, text, images, videos, sounds, codes, computer programs, software, databases, or the like. See Iowa Code 638.2
  • Personal representative: means the same as defined in section 633. See Iowa Code 638.2
  • Principal: means the same as defined in section 633B. See Iowa Code 638.2
  • property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Terms-of-service agreement: means an agreement that controls the relationship between a user and a custodian. See Iowa Code 638.2
  • User: means a person that has an account with a custodian. See Iowa Code 638.2
  • Ward: includes an individual for whom an application for the appointment of a conservator or guardian is pending and for which a court order authorizing access under this chapter has been granted. See Iowa Code 638.2
 2. All of the following apply to a fiduciary‘s or a designated recipient‘s authority with respect to a digital asset of a user:

 a. Except as otherwise provided in section 638.4, the fiduciary’s or designated recipient’s authority is subject to the applicable terms of service.
 b. The fiduciary’s or designated recipient’s authority is subject to other applicable law, including copyright law.
 c. In the case of a fiduciary, the fiduciary’s authority is limited by the scope of the fiduciary’s duties.
 d. The fiduciary’s or designated recipient’s authority shall not be used to impersonate the user.
 3. A fiduciary with authority over the property of a decedent, ward, principal, or settlor has the right to access any digital asset in which the decedent, ward, principal, or settlor had a right or interest and that is not held by a custodian or subject to a terms-of-service agreement.
 4. A fiduciary acting within the scope of the fiduciary’s duties is an authorized user of the property of the decedent, ward, principal, or settlor for the purpose of applicable computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws, including section 716.6B.
 5. A fiduciary with authority over the tangible, personal property of a decedent, ward, principal, or settlor possesses all of the following authority:

 a. Has the right to access the property and any digital asset stored in the property.
 b. Is an authorized user for the purpose of computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws, including section 716.6B.
 6. 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.
 7. A fiduciary of a user may request a custodian to terminate the user’s account. A request for termination must be in writing, in either physical or electronic form, and accompanied by all of the following:

 a. If the user is deceased, a certified copy of the death certificate of the user.
 b. A certified copy of the letters of appointment of the personal representative, an original affidavit made pursuant to section 633.356, a file-stamped copy of the court order authorizing the personal representative to administer the user’s estate, power of attorney, or trust, including a certification of trust, giving the fiduciary authority over the account.
 c. 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) A finding by the court that the user had a specific account with the custodian, identifiable by the information specified in subparagraph (1).
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