Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan: Passwords, Crypto and Online Accounts
Last updated: 13 October 2026
Quick answer: Digital assets estate planning means making sure your family can find, access and legally inherit what you hold online. In India, keep a written inventory of accounts, set nominees wherever allowed, switch on Google and Apple legacy contacts, give a trusted person emergency access to your password manager, store crypto keys securely, and cover all of it in a signed, witnessed paper will.
Last updated: 13 October 2026 Quick answer: Digital assets estate planning means making sure your family can find, access and legally inherit what you hold online. In India, keep a written inventory of accounts, set nominees wherever allowed, switch on Google and Apple legacy contacts, give a trusted person emergency access to your password manager, store crypto keys securely, and cover all of it in a signed, witnessed paper will. Key takeaways No special law: India has no dedicated digital inheritance statute; your will and platform terms decide most outcomes. Paper will only: the IT Act, 2000 does not apply to wills, so an email or e-signed will is not valid. Google: Inactive Account Manager lets up to 10 trusted contacts download chosen data. Apple: a Legacy Contact needs your access key and a death certificate; access lasts three years. Crypto: gains taxed at 30% plus cess, 1% TDS on sales, and lost keys mean lost money. Coming in 2027: the DPDP Act's right to nominate someone for your personal data. A Kothrud family lost their father suddenly last year. The bank FDs and mutual funds were claimed within weeks, because nominees were in place. What they could not reach was his phone, his Gmail with every statement and policy PDF, and a crypto app holding about ₹4 lakh. Nobody knew the PINs. This is now common. Most of our financial lives run through phones, email and apps. This guide explains digital assets in estate planning as of October 2026: what counts as a digital asset, the legal position in India, the legacy tools Google and Apple offer, how to pass on passwords and crypto safely, the tax on inherited crypto, and how to write it into your will. What are digital assets in estate planning? Digital assets are anything of value, money or memory, that you own or control electronically. For estate planning, it helps to split them into two groups. Digital doors to ordinary assets: net banking, demat and broker apps, mutual fund platforms, EPF, NPS, insurance portals. The money is protected by nomination and transmission rules; your family only needs to know it exists. Truly digital assets: crypto, email, cloud photos and documents, social media, domain names, YouTube or blog income, wallet balances, reward points. Access depends on platform rules or on holding the keys. Digital assets estate planning in India: nominee-backed, platform-controlled and key-controlled assets What should a digital asset inventory include? Write a simple list, on paper or in a password manager note, and tell one person where it is. Do not put passwords in the list itself. Category Examples What your family needs Banking and deposits Savings, FDs, RDs, UPI-linked accounts Bank and branch names; nominee details Investments Demat, mutual funds, NPS, EPF, bonds, US stocks Broker, depository, PAN-linked folios, UAN, PRAN Insurance Term, health, e-insurance account Policy numbers and insurer Crypto Indian exchange accounts, foreign exchanges, self-custody wallets Exchange names, wallet type, where recovery phrase is kept Communication Primary email, phone number, messaging apps Phone unlock method, email legacy settings Memories and documents Google Photos, iCloud, DigiLocker, cloud drives Legacy contacts set up in advance Online income Domains, YouTube, freelance platforms, online shops Account names, payout bank, renewal dates Recurring payments UPI AutoPay, card subscriptions, SIP mandates List of mandates to cancel or transfer Our guide to consolidating scattered investments and policies (/insights/consolidate-scattered-investments-and-policies) can cut this list sharply. Fewer accounts means less for your family to trace. What is the legal position on digital assets in India? As of October 2026, India has no single law on digital inheritance. The answer comes from four pieces that fit together imperfectly. 1. Your will can cover digital assets, but it must be on paper Under the Indian Succession Act, 1925, you can leave any property you own by will, including crypto, domain names and online business income. The catch is form. The First Schedule of the Information Technology Act, 2000 excludes wills from its scope, so an emailed, typed-and-e-signed or video will is not valid. It must be in writing, signed by you and attested by two witnesses. Our guide on how to write a valid will in India (/insights/how-to-write-valid-will-india) covers the formalities, including the December 2025 change that made probate optional. 2. Courts are treating crypto as property In Rhutikumari v. Zanmai Labs (25 October 2025), the Madras High Court held that cryptocurrency is property that can be possessed and held in trust, while noting it is not currency. The order was interim, in the WazirX dispute, but it supports treating crypto as heritable property under ordinary succession law. 3. Platform terms decide who gets in Email, cloud and social media accounts are licensed to you under each platform's terms. Most do not allow anyone else to log in with your password. Families who use a deceased person's password are in a legal grey area. The cleaner route is the platform's own legacy tool, set up in advance. 4. The DPDP Act adds a data nominee from 2027 Section 14 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 lets you nominate a person to exercise your data rights if you die or become incapacitated. The DPDP Rules were notified on 13 November 2025, and the rights provisions, including nomination, come into force 18 months later, around May 2027. Expect apps and banks to start offering a "data nominee" option then. How do Google Inactive Account Manager and Apple Legacy Contact work? Both are free and take about ten minutes. They are the most practical step most families never take. Comparison of Google Inactive Account Manager and Apple Legacy Contact features Google Inactive Account Manager You choose a waiting period of 3, 6, 12 or 18 months of inactivity. Google sends you several warnings before acting. You can name up to 10 trusted contacts and choose which data each can download, for example Photos and Drive but not Gmail. Contacts get a link and have three months to download the data. You can also ask Google to delete the account afterwards. Without this tool, Google's policy is to delete personal accounts inactive for two years. Apple Legacy Contact Available on iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2 or macOS 12.1 and later. You can add more than one contact. Apple generates an access key; share it with your contact or keep a printed copy with your will. After your death, the contact applies with the access key and a death certificate. They can download photos, messages, notes, files and device backups. iCloud Keychain passwords, payment details and purchased media are excluded. Access is limited to three years from approval; after that the account is permanently deleted. Activation Lock is removed from your devices. Meta and other social platforms also offer memorialisation or legacy-contact settings. Check each one you use. How should you pass on passwords safely? Never write passwords into your will. A will may be read by executors, witnesses, family members and, if probate is sought, a court. Passwords also change; a will should not. Use a password manager. Several leading managers offer an emergency or legacy access feature, where a named person can request access and gets it after a waiting period you set, unless you decline. If your manager lacks that feature, write the master password and phone PIN on paper, seal it, and keep it with your will or in a bank locker your executor can open. Plan for two-factor authentication. Many accounts send OTPs to your mobile. Tell your family to keep your SIM active for several months after death and note the telecom operator. Review every year, ideally on a fixed date such as your birthday or 1 April. What happens to crypto when the owner dies? Crypto is the digital asset most likely to be lost for good. With bank money, a nominee or legal heir can always prove a claim. With a self-custody wallet, there is no one to ask: whoever holds the private key or recovery phrase controls the coins. Indian exchange accounts: these are KYC-linked to your PAN. Heirs can usually claim through the exchange's death-claim process with a death certificate and proof of entitlement. Ask your exchange whether it records nominees. Foreign exchanges: claims are harder and follow overseas rules. Holdings abroad also need reporting in your income-tax return; see our Schedule FA guide (/insights/foreign-assets-schedule-fa-india) . Self-custody wallets: record the wallet type and where the recovery phrase is stored. Keep the phrase offline, never in email or photos, ideally split between two secure places. Be wary of anyone who contacts the family offering to "recover" a deceased person's crypto. This is a common fraud pattern; see our guide to investment scams in 2026 (/insights/investment-scams-india-2026) . How is inherited crypto taxed in India? Crypto and NFTs are virtual digital assets (VDAs) under Indian tax law. From 1 April 2026, these rules carry over into the Income-tax Act, 2025. Event Tax treatment (October 2026) Receiving crypto by inheritance or under a will Not taxed on receipt Receiving crypto as a gift from a non-relative, over ₹50,000 Taxed as income at your slab rate Selling or swapping crypto 30% on the gain, plus cess and any surcharge; only cost of acquisition deductible Losses Cannot be set off against any other income or carried forward TDS on sale 1% under section 393(1) of the 2025 Act (formerly 194S), above ₹50,000 a year for most individuals, ₹10,000 for others Worked example: a father bought crypto for ₹2 lakh. When he dies it is worth ₹8 lakh, and his daughter sells it on an Indian exchange. Nothing is taxed when she inherits. On sale, 1% TDS of ₹8,000 is deducted. If the father's purchase records are available, the gain is generally taken as ₹6 lakh, and tax at 31.2% is ₹1,87,200, against which she claims the ₹8,000 TDS. If nobody can prove the original cost, the whole ₹8 lakh may be treated as gain, and tax rises to ₹2,49,600. Keeping exchange statements with your inventory is worth ₹62,400 here. Treatment of inherited VDA cost is technical, so confirm with a tax professional (/products/tax) . Bar chart showing crypto tax on inherited virtual digital assets with and without cost records How to add digital assets to your will Add a short clause rather than listing every account. Accounts change; the clause should not need to. Name a digital executor or give your executor express authority to access, download, transfer or close your digital accounts and devices. Say who inherits what: for example, crypto holdings to your spouse, photo archives to all children, blog and domain to a named child. Point to the inventory by location ("kept in my password manager" or "sealed envelope in locker no. X"), not by content. Give instructions for social media: memorialise, delete or hand over. If your digital holdings are large, for example a substantial crypto portfolio or an online business, a private family trust (/insights/private-family-trust-india) can hold them with clear management rules. Six-step digital estate planning checklist for Indian families Your digital estate checklist: step by step Build the inventory using the table above. One page is enough to start. Fix nominations on bank accounts (up to four nominees since 1 November 2025), demat and mutual funds. See our guide to nomination rules for mutual funds and demat (/insights/nomination-rules-mutual-funds-demat-2026) . Turn on Google Inactive Account Manager and Apple Legacy Contact for every family member's main account. Set up password manager emergency access, or seal the master password with your will. Document crypto: exchanges, wallet types, recovery phrase locations and purchase statements. Update your will with a digital assets clause and named executor. Tell one trusted person where everything is kept, and review the plan yearly. For the full picture, read our estate planning guide (/insights/estate-planning-guide-india) and the checklist for claiming a parent's investments (/insights/claim-deceased-parent-investments-checklist) , which shows what heirs face when this work is not done. Related reading How to write a valid will in India (/insights/how-to-write-valid-will-india) Nominee vs legal heir: who actually gets the money (/insights/nominee-vs-legal-heir-india) Joint holding vs nomination (/insights/joint-holding-vs-nomination) Claiming mutual funds after a death (/insights/mutual-fund-transmission-after-death) How to trace forgotten mutual fund investments (/insights/unclaimed-mutual-fund-money-mitra) Frequently Asked Questions Can I make a digital or video will in India? No. The Information Technology Act, 2000 expressly does not apply to wills, so an email, e-signed document or video recording is not a valid will. It must be written, signed by you and attested by two witnesses under the Indian Succession Act. A video of you signing can still help as supporting evidence if the will is challenged. Can my family access my Gmail after I die? Only in limited ways. The best route is Google's Inactive Account Manager, set up in advance, which lets up to 10 trusted contacts download data you choose after 3–18 months of inactivity. Without it, families can request help from Google, but access is not guaranteed and the account may be deleted after two years of inactivity. What does an Apple Legacy Contact get? With your access key and a death certificate, a Legacy Contact can download photos, messages, notes, files and device backups stored in iCloud. Passwords in iCloud Keychain, payment details and purchased films, music or books are excluded. Access lasts three years from approval, after which Apple permanently deletes the account. Is inherited crypto taxable in India? Receiving crypto by inheritance or under a will is not taxed. When the heir sells or swaps it, the gain is taxed at a flat 30% plus cess, with only the cost of acquisition deductible and no set-off of losses. A 1% TDS applies on sales above ₹50,000 a year for most individuals. Keep the original purchase records. Should I write my passwords in my will? No. A will is seen by executors, witnesses and family, and may reach a court. Passwords also change often. Instead, mention in the will where your inventory and master password are kept, use a password manager's emergency access feature, or keep a sealed envelope in a secure place your executor can reach. Who can claim crypto held on an Indian exchange after death? Indian exchanges hold KYC-linked accounts, so a nominee or legal heir can usually claim through the exchange's transmission process with a death certificate, identity proof and, where required, a will, legal heir certificate or succession certificate. Self-custody wallets have no such process; without the recovery phrase, the coins cannot be recovered. What is a data nominee under the DPDP Act? Section 14 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 lets you nominate a person to exercise your rights over personal data, such as access or erasure, if you die or become incapacitated. The provision comes into force 18 months after the DPDP Rules of 13 November 2025, so around May 2027. Sources: Apple Support: add a Legacy Contact (https://support.apple.com/102631) ; Apple Support: request access as a Legacy Contact (https://support.apple.com/en-gb/102678) ; PCWorld: Google Inactive Account Manager (Jan 2026) (https://www.pcworld.com/article/3043414/how-to-share-your-google-account-after-you-die.html) ; SCC Online: Madras High Court on crypto as property (https://www.scconline.com/blog/post/2025/10/29/madras-hc-crypto-currency-is-property-that-can-be-held-in-trust/) ; Sansa Legal: DPDP Rules 2025 commencement and nomination (https://www.sansalegal.com/post/how-to-set-up-a-data-principal-rights-request-process-under-the-dpdp-rules-2025) ; TDSMAN: TDS on VDA under section 393(1) (https://blog.tdsman.com/2026/08/tds-on-virtual-digital-assets-section-3931-194s/) . Worked examples are Money n Wealth calculations. Does your estate plan cover what you hold online? Nominations, wills and digital access need to work together so your family is not locked out. Talk to Money n Wealth (/contact) for a free portfolio review. This article is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Figures and examples are illustrative. Please consult a qualified financial adviser for guidance specific to your situation. Money n Wealth (Predics Fintech Services Pvt Ltd) is an AMFI-registered Mutual Fund Distributor (ARN-121995) and APMI-registered PMS Distributor (APRN07444); it is not a SEBI-registered investment adviser and may earn distribution commission on investments made through it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make a digital or video will in India?
No. The Information Technology Act, 2000 expressly does not apply to wills, so an email, e-signed document or video recording is not a valid will. It must be written, signed by you and attested by two witnesses under the Indian Succession Act. A video of you signing can still help as supporting evidence if the will is challenged.
Can my family access my Gmail after I die?
Only in limited ways. The best route is Google's Inactive Account Manager, set up in advance, which lets up to 10 trusted contacts download data you choose after 3–18 months of inactivity. Without it, families can request help from Google, but access is not guaranteed and the account may be deleted after two years of inactivity.
What does an Apple Legacy Contact get?
With your access key and a death certificate, a Legacy Contact can download photos, messages, notes, files and device backups stored in iCloud. Passwords in iCloud Keychain, payment details and purchased films, music or books are excluded. Access lasts three years from approval, after which Apple permanently deletes the account.
Is inherited crypto taxable in India?
Receiving crypto by inheritance or under a will is not taxed. When the heir sells or swaps it, the gain is taxed at a flat 30% plus cess, with only the cost of acquisition deductible and no set-off of losses. A 1% TDS applies on sales above ₹50,000 a year for most individuals. Keep the original purchase records.
Should I write my passwords in my will?
No. A will is seen by executors, witnesses and family, and may reach a court. Passwords also change often. Instead, mention in the will where your inventory and master password are kept, use a password manager's emergency access feature, or keep a sealed envelope in a secure place your executor can reach.
Who can claim crypto held on an Indian exchange after death?
Indian exchanges hold KYC-linked accounts, so a nominee or legal heir can usually claim through the exchange's transmission process with a death certificate, identity proof and, where required, a will, legal heir certificate or succession certificate. Self-custody wallets have no such process; without the recovery phrase, the coins cannot be recovered.
What is a data nominee under the DPDP Act?
Section 14 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 lets you nominate a person to exercise your rights over personal data, such as access or erasure, if you die or become incapacitated. The provision comes into force 18 months after the DPDP Rules of 13 November 2025, so around May 2027.
Does your estate plan cover what you hold online?
Nominations, wills and digital access need to work together so your family is not locked out. Talk to Money n Wealth for a free portfolio review.
