Digital Assets and Wills: How the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 Changes Estate Planning
The Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025 is now in force and brings long-awaited legal clarity to how the law treats digital assets — including cryptocurrency, NFTs and other tokenised assets when someone dies. This is a major development in UK estate planning and Will writing.
At Do It Legally, we have updated our Will and estate-planning services to reflect the new legal framework for digital property, ensuring clients can properly protect and pass on their digital wealth.
If you own crypto, digital investments or other valuable online assets, you should now reviewed and update your Will.
What Is the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025?
The Act confirms that many digital assets are legally recognised as personal property. This means they can now be formally dealt with in:
- Wills
- Trusts
- Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs)
- Estate administration
Previously, the legal status of certain digital holdings was uncertain. The new law gives executors, trustees and attorneys clearer authority and responsibility when dealing with digital assets after death or incapacity.
What Counts as a Digital Asset in Estate Planning?
Digital assets can include items with transferable financial value, such as:
- Cryptocurrency (e.g. Bitcoin and other tokens)
- NFTs (non-fungible tokens)
- Tokenised investments
- Digital securities and stored-value tokens
- Online trading and exchange accounts
- Digital business assets
- Monetised digital intellectual property
You can specifically referenced and distribute these assets through your Will.
Which Online Accounts Are Not Inheritable?
Some platforms restrict transfers under their terms of service. These often include:
- Social media accounts
- Email accounts
- Streaming and subscription services
- Personal platform licences
However, even where accounts are not transferable, your Will can still give executors authority to manage, close or memorialise them where permitted.
Why You Should Update Your Will for Digital Assets
If your Will does not mention digital assets, your executors may face delays, access problems or even permanent loss of value. Proper digital estate planning helps ensure:
- Digital assets are identified and valued
- Executors have clear legal authority
- Access routes are documented safely
- Assets are transferred to the correct beneficiaries
- Exchanges and custodians cooperate with your estate
With crypto and tokenised assets in particular, lost keys can mean lost wealth — planning is essential.
How We Help With Digital Asset Estate Planning
We help clients update their Wills and estate plans to reflect the new digital asset rules. With our digital asset Will planning service, we can:
- Identify your digital and crypto assets
- Include digital property correctly in your Will
- Draft executor powers for digital access and control
- Create secure access instruction frameworks
- Coordinate with LPAs and trusts where appropriate
- Review inheritance tax implications
Plan Your Digital Estate With Confidence
UK property law now recognises Digital Wealth. If you hold cryptocurrency, NFTs or other digital assets, now is the time to make sure your Will keeps pace with the law.
Contact us to review or update your Will. We can help you to make sure that you properly protect and pass on your digital assets in line with your wishes.