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Tennessee Code Title 35. Fiduciaries and Trust Estates § 35-8-115

Current as of January 02, 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 § 35-8-104, 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) May not be used to impersonate the user.

(c) A fiduciary with authority over the property of a decedent, minor, person with a disability, principal, or settlor has the right to access any digital asset in which the decedent, minor, person with a disability, 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, minor, person with a disability, principal, or settlor for the purpose of applicable computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws, including the Tennessee Personal and Commercial Computer Act of 2003, compiled in title 39, chapter 14, part 6.

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

(1) Has the right to access the property and any digital asset stored in it; and

(2) Is an authorized user for the purpose of applicable computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws, including title 39, chapter 14, part 6.

(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 letters of administration or letters testamentary appointing the personal representative; a certified copy of the small-estate affidavit under title 30, chapter 4; a certified copy of a court order; an original or a copy of a power of attorney; or a certified copy of the trust instrument or a certification of the trust under § 35-15-1013, 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 court that the user had a specific account with the custodian, identifiable by the information specified in subdivision (g)(3)(A).

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Tennessee Code Title 35. Fiduciaries and Trust Estates § 35-8-115 - last updated January 02, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-35-fiduciaries-and-trust-estates/tn-code-sect-35-8-115/

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