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Montana Title 72. Estates, Trusts, and Fiduciary Relationships § 72-31-414. Fiduciary duty and authority

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

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

(a) the duty of care;

(b) the duty of loyalty; and

(c) the duty of confidentiality.

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

(a) except as otherwise provided in 72-31-405, 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, including 45-6-311.

(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, including 45-6-311.

(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:

(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 or a collection of personal property affidavit or court order, court order, power of attorney, or trust giving the fiduciary authority over the account; and

(c) if requested by the custodian:

(i) a number, user name, 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).

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Montana Title 72. Estates, Trusts, and Fiduciary Relationships § 72-31-414. Fiduciary duty and authority - last updated January 01, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/mt/title-72-estates-trusts-and-fiduciary-relationships/mt-code-ann-sect-72-31-414/

Read this complete Montana Title 72. Estates, Trusts, and Fiduciary Relationships § 72-31-414. Fiduciary duty and authority on Westlaw. Westlaw subscription required.

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