Delaware RUFADAA Law
Verified against the official 12 Del. C. ch. 50 text:
How Delaware's own 2014 act, not the uniform RUFADAA, lets personal representatives, agents, trustees, and guardians control a person's digital accounts and recover them from custodians.
Quick answer
Delaware governs fiduciary access to digital assets through its own statute, 12 Del. C. Chapter 50, enacted in 2014 and not modelled on the revised uniform act. A fiduciary has the same access as the account holder and is treated as having the holder's lawful consent (§5005(a)). End-user-license terms that limit fiduciary access are void as against Delaware public policy unless the holder separately agreed to them (§5004(b)). A custodian must act on a valid written request within 60 days, and the personal representative's proof is certified letters testamentary or of administration. Chapter 50 has no online-tool priority rule.
Delaware digital asset law at a glance
- Statute
- Title 12, Chapter 50 of the Delaware Code (§§5001–5007)
- Enacted
- House Bill 345, 79 Del. Laws c. 416, approved August 12, 2014; §5005 amended by Senate Bill 143, 85 Del. Laws c. 222, signed September 19, 2025
- Applies to
- Any grant of authority to a fiduciary over a digital account or digital asset, except an employer's accounts and assets used by an employee or contractor in the usual course of business (§5003)
- Fiduciaries covered
- Personal representatives, guardians under Chapter 39, agents under Chapter 49A powers of attorney, trustees, and advisers under §3313 (§5002)
- Court
- The Court of Chancery (§5002)
- Custodian deadline
- 60 days after a valid written request; 30-day expedited target for a deceased minor's parent or guardian (§5005(d))
- Personal representative's proof
- A certified copy of letters testamentary or of administration; no death certificate is listed (§5005(c))
- Online-tool priority
- None. Chapter 50 does not contain the uniform act's online-tool rule
What makes Delaware’s law different
Delaware was first, and wrote its own act
Delaware's Chapter 50 was approved in August 2014, well before the 2015 uniform act that most states later adopted. It is a separate design: instead of the uniform act's sections on user direction, terms of service, and procedure, it has a short grant of fiduciary control (§5004), a recovery procedure (§5005), and custodian protections (§5006).
License terms that limit fiduciary access are void
Section 5004(b) declares a provision in an end-user license agreement that limits a fiduciary's access void as against the State's strong public policy, unless the account holder agreed to it by a separate affirmative act. Section 5004(c) adds that a choice-of-law clause cannot be used to enforce a limitation that subsection (b) voids. Under the uniform act that most states adopted, the terms of service generally continue to apply unless the user gave a direction.
A fiduciary stands in the account holder's shoes
Under §5005(a), a fiduciary has the same access as the account holder, is deemed to have the account holder's lawful consent, and is an authorized user under applicable law and the license agreement. The only limits named are a governing instrument or court order that provides otherwise, applicable law including copyright, and, for message content, federal law: content is available only if 18 U.S.C. §2702(b) permits disclosure.
Each fiduciary has its own required paper
Section 5005(c) lists certified letters testamentary or of administration for a personal representative, a certified court order for a guardian, a certified power of attorney covering digital assets for an agent, and a certified trust instrument or a certification of trust under §3591 for a trustee. Where authority is conditioned on incapacity, a physician's certification or a court order is also required. A “certified copy” is a copy with an affidavit that it is a true, exact, complete, unaltered photocopy of a document still in full force (§5005(e)).
Custodians can be liable for refusing
A custodian must accept a valid written request that facially complies with §5005, including one in English or translated under a translator's oath (§5006(a)). A custodian that wrongly refuses can be ordered to comply and held liable for damages, including reasonable attorneys' fees and costs (§5006(e)). A custodian acting in good faith is immune for acts done in compliance and for accidental destruction of an asset or account (§5006(f), (g)).
What a Delaware personal representative must give the custodian
Delaware does not split deceased-user requests into separate sections for message content and everything else. Section 5005 sets one process, with a single list of documents for a personal representative, and then limits what the custodian may release.
To obtain message content (§5005(b)–(c))
- A valid written request, accepted if it facially complies with §5005 (§5006(a))
- A certified copy of letters testamentary or of administration, with the §5005(e) affidavit that the copy is true, exact, complete, and in full force
- Content is released only if 18 U.S.C. §2702(b) permits disclosure, and unless a governing instrument or court order provides otherwise
To obtain the catalogue and other digital assets (§5005(b)–(c))
- The same valid written request and certified letters
- The catalogue of communications and other digital assets are available unless a governing instrument or court order provides otherwise
- The custodian provides access, transfer, copying, or destruction, unless that is technologically impracticable
Agents, trustees, and guardians in Delaware
Personal representative (§5005(c))
Certified letters testamentary or of administration, with the §5005(e) affidavit for a certified copy. If a custodian refuses a facially compliant request, the Court of Chancery can order compliance.
Agent under a power of attorney (§5005(c))
A certified copy of the power of attorney that covers digital assets. If the power is conditioned on incapacity, a physician's certification or a court order is also required. Delaware's definition ties agents to powers of attorney under Chapter 49A.
Trustee (§5005(c))
A certified copy of the trust instrument, or a certification of trust under §3591, with the same incapacity proof where the power is conditioned on incapacity. Delaware also treats an adviser under §3313 as a fiduciary under this chapter.
Guardian (§5005(c))
A certified copy of the court order giving the guardian authority over the disabled person's property. Delaware defines an account holder to include a disabled person under Chapter 39.
Does a provider's online setting control in Delaware?
Chapter 50 does not contain the uniform act's rule that a direction made in a custodian's online tool overrides a will or trust. The statute instead says a fiduciary may control the account holder's rights in digital assets and accounts unless a governing instrument or court order provides otherwise (§5004(a)). A governing instrument includes a will, trust, durable power of attorney, or guardianship order over property.
That means the documents the account holder signed carry the weight in Delaware, together with applicable law, copyright, and the license terms that §5004(b) does not void. Readers planning for a Delaware account holder should not assume that a legacy or contact setting in a provider's app settles who can reach the account, and should not rely on the online-tool hierarchy described on other states' pages.
How 12 Del. C. ch. 50 is organized
| Section | Subject |
|---|---|
| §5001 | Short title |
| §5002 | Definitions |
| §5003 | Applicability |
| §5004 | Control of digital accounts and digital assets by a fiduciary |
| §5005 | Recovery of digital assets and digital accounts from a custodian |
| §5006 | Custodian immunity |
| §5007 | Relation to E-SIGN Act |
Delaware RUFADAA questions
House Bill 345, which became 79 Del. Laws c. 416 and created Chapter 50 of Title 12, was approved August 12, 2014. It was amended in 2025 by Senate Bill 143 (85 Del. Laws c. 222), signed September 19, 2025.
No. Chapter 50 is Delaware's own act. It has no online-tool priority rule and no separate content-and-catalogue sections. It gives a fiduciary the account holder's access and consent, voids license terms that limit fiduciary access, and sets a recovery procedure.
A valid written request and a certified copy of letters testamentary or of administration. The statute does not list a death certificate (§5005(c)).
Sixty days after a valid written request. For a deceased minor, a parent's or legal guardian's application for a compliance order is expedited, with the Court of Chancery aiming to resolve it within 30 days (§5005(d)).
Message content is available only if federal law, 18 U.S.C. §2702(b), permits the custodian to disclose it, and unless a governing instrument or court order provides otherwise (§5005(b)). The catalogue and other assets follow the same unless-otherwise rule.
Generally not. A license-agreement provision that limits a fiduciary's access is void as against Delaware public policy, unless the account holder agreed to it by a separate affirmative act, and a choice-of-law clause cannot revive it (§5004(b), (c)).
Concepts that apply in every state
Some ideas work the same way under every RUFADAA-style statute: what counts as a digital asset, why the content of private messages is treated differently from a catalogue, what a custodian may hand over, and what these laws do not do (they never guarantee passwords). They are explained once in the RUFADAA overview.
Primary source
Control of digital accounts by a fiduciary: 12 Del. C. §5004.
Where Vesperly fits
12 Del. C. ch. 50 decides who may ask a custodian for what. Vesperly handles the practical side: keeping your records encrypted, verifying your executor and the death certificate, and releasing what you chose once those conditions are met. It does not replace the statute, your estate plan, or legal advice.
Other state guides
Educational information only. Not legal advice. Laws, provider procedures, federal requirements, and individual circumstances can change the result in a specific matter. Consult qualified counsel for legal advice.