The legal duties imposed on a fiduciary charged with managing tangible property apply to the management of digital assets, including:
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Terms Used In Utah Code 75-11-115
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 Utah Code 75-11-102
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.
Custodian: means a person that carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a digital asset of a user. See Utah Code 75-11-102
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 Utah Code 75-11-102
Digital asset: means an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest. See Utah Code 75-11-102
Electronic: means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities. See Utah Code 75-11-102
Fiduciary: means an original, additional, or successor personal representative, conservator, guardian, agent, or trustee. See Utah Code 75-11-102
Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
Information: means data, text, images, videos, sounds, codes, computer programs, software, databases, or the like. See Utah Code 75-11-102
Person: means an individual, estate, business or nonprofit entity, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, instrumentality, or other legal entity. See Utah Code 75-11-102
Principal: means an individual who grants authority to an agent in a power of attorney. See Utah Code 75-11-102
A fiduciary‘s or designated recipient‘s authority with respect to a digital asset of a user:
(a)
except as otherwise provided in Section 75-11-104, is subject to the applicable terms of service;
(b)
is subject to other applicable law, including copyright law;
(c)
in the case of a fiduciary, is limited by the scope of the fiduciary’s duties; and
(d)
may not be used to impersonate the user.
(3)
A fiduciary with authority over the property of a decedent, protected person, principal, or settlor has the right to access any digital asset in which the decedent, protected person, 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, protected person, principal, or settlor for the purpose of applicable computer fraud and unauthorized computer access laws.
(5)
A fiduciary with authority over the tangible, personal property of a decedent, protected person, principal, or settlor:
(a)
has the right to access the property and any digital asset stored in it; and
(b)
is an authorized user for the purpose of computer fraud and unauthorized computer access laws.
(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 shall be in writing, in either physical or electronic form, and accompanied by:
(a)
if the user is deceased, a certified copy of the death certificate of the user;
(b)
a certified copy of the letter of appointment of the representative, a small estate affidavit, or court order, power of attorney, or trust giving the fiduciary authority over the account; and
(c)
if requested by the custodian:
(i)
a number, username, address, or other unique subscriber or account identifier assigned by the custodian to identify the user’s account;
(ii)
evidence linking the account to the user; or
(iii)
a finding by the court that the user had a specific account with the custodian, identifiable by the information specified in Subsection (7)(c)(i).
