New York RUFADAA Law
Verified against the official N.Y. EPTL art. 13-A text:
How EPTL Article 13-A and the Surrogate's Courts decide what New York executors, administrators, agents, trustees, and guardians can obtain from online accounts.
Quick answer
New York governs fiduciary access to digital assets through EPTL Article 13-A, “Administration of Digital Assets,” signed as Chapter 354 of the Laws of 2016 and effective September 29, 2016. It covers a wider list of estate fiduciaries than most states, including preliminary executors, temporary administrators, and voluntary administrators. Message content requires the user's consent, while the catalogue and other assets generally do not. Under §13-A-2.2, an online-tool direction overrides a contrary will or trust, and custodians have 60 days to comply (§13-A-4.2).
New York digital asset law at a glance
- Statute
- EPTL Article 13-A, Parts 1–5
- Enacted
- L. 2016, ch. 354 (S.7604-A); effective September 29, 2016
- Fiduciaries covered
- Executors, preliminary executors, administrators, temporary administrators, voluntary administrators, personal representatives, guardians, agents, trustees (§13-A-1)
- Online-tool priority
- §13-A-2.2
- Guardians
- Appointed under the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act or the Mental Hygiene Law (§13-A-1)
- Custodian deadline
- 60 days after receiving the required information (§13-A-4.2)
- Where disputes go
- In practice, the Surrogate's Court handling the estate
What makes New York’s law different
A longer list of estate fiduciaries
Article 13-A's definition of fiduciary names executors, preliminary executors, administrators, temporary administrators, voluntary administrators, personal representatives, guardians, agents, and trustees. That mirrors New York Surrogate's Court practice, so a preliminary executor or a voluntary administrator of a small estate can use the statute.
Guardians come from two New York statutes
A guardian for Article 13-A purposes is one appointed by a New York court under the Surrogate's Court Procedure Act or the Mental Hygiene Law. The guardian receives the catalogue and non-content assets on a certified court order and may seek suspension or termination of the ward's account for good cause (§13-A-3.8).
Surrogate's Courts have shaped how it works
New York has an unusually developed body of decisions applying Article 13-A. Because custodians often ask for a court order before releasing anything, many New York requests become a short petition to the Surrogate's Court. The cases below show how those courts separate catalogue information and stored files from message content.
What a New York personal representative must give the custodian
After a death, N.Y. EPTL art. 13-A separates two requests: the content of the user’s emails and messages, and everything else, including a catalogue of who the user corresponded with and when. Each has its own document list.
To obtain message content (§13-A-3.1)
- A written request for disclosure, in physical or electronic form
- A copy of the death certificate
- A certified copy of the letter of appointment of the executor, administrator, or personal representative, or a small-estate affidavit or court order
- Unless the user gave direction through an online tool, a copy of the will, trust, or other record showing the user consented to disclosure of content
- If the custodian asks: an account identifier, evidence linking the account to the user, or a court finding
To obtain the catalogue and other digital assets (§13-A-3.2)
- A written request, a copy of the death certificate, and a certified letter of appointment or court order
- If the custodian asks: an account identifier, evidence linking the account to the user, an affidavit that disclosure is reasonably necessary for administration, or a court finding
- No consent is needed unless the user prohibited disclosure or the court directs otherwise
Agents, trustees, and guardians in New York
Agent under a power of attorney (§§13-A-3.3–13-A-3.4)
As in the uniform act, message content requires express authority in the power of attorney, while the catalogue and other assets require specific authority over digital assets or general authority to act for the principal.
Trustee (§§13-A-3.5–13-A-3.7)
A trustee that is the original user receives full disclosure. A trustee that is not the original user must show the trust's consent to disclosure of content and certify that the trust exists and the trustee is acting.
Guardian (§13-A-3.8)
Access follows a hearing on the guardian's appointment and is limited to the catalogue and non-content assets unless the court orders otherwise.
Can an online account setting override a New York will?
Yes, within limits. EPTL §13-A-2.2 lets a user direct a custodian, through the custodian’s own online tool, to disclose or withhold some or all digital assets. If the tool lets the user change or delete that direction at any time, it overrides a contrary instruction in a will, trust, power of attorney, or other record. Where the user made no such direction, the estate documents control, and either kind of direction overrides a conflicting terms-of-service clause.
How New York courts have applied the law
Matter of Serrano, 56 Misc. 3d 497 (Sur. Ct. N.Y. County 2017)
Treated a decedent's Google contacts list as catalogue information rather than content, allowing its disclosure without proof of the user's consent to release message content.
Matter of White, N.Y.L.J., Oct. 3, 2017 (Sur. Ct. Suffolk County)
Held that the court must balance the estate's need for disclosure against the decedent's privacy when deciding whether to order release.
Matter of Swezey, N.Y.L.J., Jan. 17, 2019 (Sur. Ct. N.Y. County)
Directed disclosure of a decedent's stored photographs as digital assets that custodians must release to the fiduciary unless the decedent or the court directs otherwise.
How N.Y. EPTL art. 13-A is organized
| Section | Subject |
|---|---|
| §13-A-1 | Definitions |
| §13-A-2.1 | Applicability |
| §13-A-2.2 | User direction for disclosure of digital assets |
| §13-A-2.3 | Terms-of-service agreement |
| §13-A-2.4 | Procedure for disclosing digital assets |
| §13-A-3.1 | Content of electronic communications of deceased user |
| §13-A-3.2 | Other digital assets of deceased user |
| §13-A-3.3 | Content of electronic communications of principal |
| §13-A-3.4 | Other digital assets of principal |
| §13-A-3.5 | Digital assets held in trust when trustee is original user |
| §13-A-3.6 | Content held in trust when trustee not original user |
| §13-A-3.7 | Other digital assets held in trust when trustee not original user |
| §13-A-3.8 | Disclosure of digital assets to guardian of ward |
| §13-A-4.1 | Fiduciary duty and authority |
| §13-A-4.2 | Custodian compliance and immunity |
| §13-A-5.1 | Relation to E-SIGN Act |
| §13-A-5.2 | Severability |
New York RUFADAA questions
EPTL Article 13-A was signed as Chapter 354 of the Laws of 2016 and took effect September 29, 2016.
Yes. Article 13-A's definition of fiduciary expressly includes voluntary administrators, as well as preliminary executors and temporary administrators.
Only with the user's consent through an online tool or a will, trust, or other record, or a court direction (§13-A-3.1). Surrogate's Courts have allowed catalogue information, such as a contacts list, without that consent.
Not always under the statute, but custodians may require a court order with specific findings (§13-A-4.2), so New York fiduciaries frequently petition the Surrogate's Court. In Matter of Swezey the court directed disclosure of stored photographs.
Sixty days after receiving the information Article 13-A requires (§13-A-4.2).
Yes. Under §13-A-2.2, a direction through a custodian's online tool that the user can modify or delete at all times overrides a contrary will, trust, power of attorney, or other record.
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
New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law Article 13-A, Administration of Digital Assets
Online-tool provision: EPTL §13-A-2.2.
Where Vesperly fits
N.Y. EPTL art. 13-A 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.