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District of Columbia Code Division III. Decedents' Estates and Fiduciary Relations. § 21-2515. Fiduciary duty and authority.

Current as of January 01, 2024 | Updated by FindLaw Staff

(a) The legal duties imposed on a fiduciary charged with managing tangible property apply to the management of digital assets, including:

(1) The duty of care;

(2) The duty of loyalty; and

(3) The duty of confidentiality.

(b) A fiduciary's or designated recipient's authority with respect to a digital asset of a user:

(1) Except as otherwise provided in § 21-2504, is subject to the applicable terms of service;

(2) Is subject to other applicable law, including copyright law;

(3) In the case of a fiduciary, is limited by the scope of the fiduciary's duties; and

(4) Shall not be used to impersonate the user.

(c) A fiduciary with authority over the property of a decedent, protected individual, principal, or settlor may access any digital asset in which the decedent, protected individual, principal, or settlor had a right or interest and 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 individual, principal, or settlor for the purpose of, applicable federal or District computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws.

(e) A fiduciary with authority over the tangible, personal property of a decedent, protected individual, principal, or settlor:

(1) May access the property and any digital asset stored in it; and

(2) Is an authorized user for the purpose of computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws.

(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 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:

(1) If the user is deceased, a certified copy of the death certificate of the user;

(2) A certified copy of the letter of appointment of the representative or a small-estate affidavit or court order, power of attorney, or trust giving the fiduciary authority over the account; and

(3) If requested by the custodian:

(A) A number, username, address, or other unique subscriber 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 Superior Court that the user had a specific account with the custodian, identifiable by the information specified in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - District of Columbia Code Division III. Decedents' Estates and Fiduciary Relations. § 21-2515. Fiduciary duty and authority. - last updated January 01, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/dc/division-iii-decedents-estates-and-fiduciary-relations/dc-code-sect-21-2515/

Read this complete District of Columbia Code Division III. Decedents' Estates and Fiduciary Relations. § 21-2515. Fiduciary duty and authority. on Westlaw. Westlaw subscription required.

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