South Dakota RUFADAA Law
Verified against the official SDCL ch. 55-19 text:
How Chapter 55-19 governs trustee, personal representative, agent, and conservator access to digital assets, with a focus on South Dakota trusts.
Quick answer
South Dakota governs fiduciary access to digital assets through SDCL Chapter 55-19, enacted by SL 2017, ch. 209, for wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and conservatorships dating from before, on, or after July 1, 2017. Because the chapter sits in the state's trust title, its trustee rules are central: a trustee that is the original account user receives everything, including content (§55-19-11). Living adults are protected through conservators rather than guardians. Under §55-19-4, an online-tool direction overrides a contrary will or trust, and custodians must comply within 60 days (§55-19-23).
South Dakota digital asset law at a glance
- Statute
- SDCL Chapter 55-19 (§§55-19-1 to 55-19-27)
- Enacted
- SL 2017, ch. 209; applies to instruments and proceedings before, on, or after July 1, 2017 (§55-19-2)
- Fiduciaries covered
- Personal representatives, conservators, agents, trustees (§55-19-1)
- Online-tool priority
- §55-19-4
- Court
- A court of competent jurisdiction (§55-19-1)
- Custodian deadline
- 60 days after receiving the required information (§55-19-23)
- Trust certification
- Certification under §55-4-51 accepted (§55-19-12)
- Incapacity
- Conservators of protected persons under ch. 29A-5, including pending applications (§§55-19-1, 55-19-14)
What makes South Dakota’s law different
Built for trust-centred planning
South Dakota is a leading jurisdiction for trusts, and Chapter 55-19 sits in Title 55, the state's trust title. Where a trust is itself the original user of an account, §55-19-11 requires the custodian to disclose everything in the account, including message content, unless a court order or the trust says otherwise. Titling accounts in the trust's name therefore changes what the trustee can later obtain.
Conservators, not guardians
Where most states speak of guardians, Chapter 55-19 uses conservators of a protected person, appointed under chapter 29A-5. A protected person includes someone for whom a conservator application is merely pending. A court may grant access after an opportunity for a hearing, and a separate section, §55-19-15, governs suspension or termination of the protected person's account.
South Dakota cross-references throughout
An agent is an attorney-in-fact under a durable power of attorney under chapter 59-12 or a nondurable one under chapter 59-2, and a trustee that is not the original user may prove consent with a certification of trust under §55-4-51. The act is also split into many short sections, so custodian notice (§55-19-24), denial (§55-19-25), and court-order demands (§55-19-26) each have their own citation.
What a South Dakota personal representative must give the custodian
After a death, SDCL ch. 55-19 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 (§55-19-7)
- A written request for disclosure, in physical or electronic form
- A certified copy of the death certificate
- A certified copy of the letter of appointment, a small-estate affidavit, or a court order
- Unless the user gave direction through an online tool, a copy of the will, trust, power of attorney, or other record showing consent to disclosure of content
- If the custodian asks: an account identifier, evidence linking the account to the user, or a court finding on the account, federal-law compliance, consent, and necessity
To obtain the catalogue and other digital assets (§55-19-8)
- A written request, a certified death certificate, and proof of appointment
- If the custodian asks: an account identifier, evidence linking the account to the user, an affidavit of reasonable necessity, or a court finding
- No consent is needed unless the user prohibited disclosure or the court directs otherwise
Agents, trustees, and conservators in South Dakota
Trustee (§§55-19-11–55-19-13)
A trustee that is the original user receives every digital asset of the account, content included. A trustee that is not the original user receives content on a written request, the trust instrument or a §55-4-51 certification including consent, and a sworn certification that the trust exists and the trustee is acting.
Agent under a power of attorney (§§55-19-9–55-19-10)
Message content requires express authority over electronic communications in the power of attorney; the catalogue and other assets require specific authority over digital assets or general authority.
Conservator (§§55-19-14–55-19-15)
After an opportunity for a hearing under chapter 29A-5, a conservator receives the catalogue and non-content assets on a certified court order, and may separately seek suspension or termination of the account.
Can an online account setting override a South Dakota will?
Yes, within limits. SDCL §55-19-4 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 SDCL ch. 55-19 is organized
| Section | Subject |
|---|---|
| §55-19-1 | Definitions |
| §55-19-2 | Applicability generally |
| §55-19-3 | Applicability to custodians and employer assets |
| §55-19-4 | User direction for disclosure of digital assets |
| §55-19-5 | Terms-of-service agreement |
| §55-19-6 | Procedure for disclosing digital assets |
| §55-19-7 | Content of electronic communications of deceased user |
| §55-19-8 | Other digital assets of deceased user |
| §55-19-9 | Content of electronic communications of principal |
| §55-19-10 | Other digital assets of principal |
| §55-19-11 | Digital assets in trust when trustee is original user |
| §55-19-12 | Content in trust when trustee not original user |
| §55-19-13 | Other digital assets in trust when trustee not original user |
| §55-19-14 | Disclosure to conservator of protected person |
| §55-19-15 | Suspension or termination of protected person's account |
| §55-19-16 | Fiduciary duties |
| §55-19-17 | Fiduciary authority generally |
| §55-19-18 | Access to assets not held by a custodian |
| §55-19-19 | Fiduciary as authorized user under computer-fraud law |
| §55-19-20 | Fiduciary right of access to digital asset |
| §55-19-21 | Disclosure of information by custodian to fiduciary |
| §55-19-22 | Request for termination of user's account |
| §55-19-23 | Custodian compliance |
| §55-19-24 | Custodian notice to user |
| §55-19-25 | Denial by custodian |
| §55-19-26 | Custodian's ability to require court order |
| §55-19-27 | Custodian immunity |
South Dakota RUFADAA questions
SDCL Chapter 55-19 was enacted by SL 2017, ch. 209. It applies to wills, powers of attorney, trusts, and conservatorships dating from before, on, or after July 1, 2017 (§55-19-2).
If the trust is the original user of the account, yes: §55-19-11 requires disclosure of all digital assets, including content, unless a court order or the trust provides otherwise.
Conservators. Chapter 55-19 gives access to a conservator of a protected person, appointed under chapter 29A-5, after an opportunity for a hearing (§55-19-14).
A certified copy of the trust instrument or a certification of trust under §55-4-51 that includes consent to disclosure (§55-19-12).
Sixty days after receiving the required information. A court order compelling compliance must find that it does not violate 18 U.S.C. §2702 (§55-19-23).
Yes, under §55-19-4, when the tool lets the user modify or delete the direction at all times.
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
South Dakota Codified Laws Chapter 55-19, the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act
Online-tool provision: SDCL §55-19-4.
Where Vesperly fits
SDCL ch. 55-19 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.