The phone is locked. The bills arrive by email, and nobody knows the password. Somewhere there is a brokerage login, twenty years of family photos in the cloud, and, according to a cousin, “some Bitcoin.” Every day that passes, a two-factor code goes to a phone no one can open and an account gets closer to being frozen for good.

Michigan law gives a personal representative or successor trustee a legal path into those accounts. It is a paper path, and the order of operations matters: authority first, then a written request, then access. Guessing the password and logging in as your parent is the one move that can make everything harder.

The First 72 Hours: Preserve Before You Access

Do not log in as the deceased. Michigan’s Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, MCL 700.1001 to 700.1018, makes a fiduciary an authorized user of the deceased’s devices and accounts only when acting within the scope of the fiduciary’s duties, and it forbids using that authority to impersonate the user. Just as practically, a provider that sees someone accessing the account after a fiduciary’s request arrives may deny the request outright. Preserve first.

Keep the devices alive. Do not factory-reset the phone, cancel the cell plan, or let the laptop die. Two-factor codes, password managers, authenticator apps, and cryptocurrency wallets often live on those devices. A fiduciary with authority over the deceased’s tangible property has the right to access the devices and any digital asset stored on them under MCL 700.1015(5), so the phone itself is frequently the master key.

Build the inventory from the paper trail. Bank and credit card statements show recurring charges and app-store subscriptions. Tax returns show brokerage, crypto exchange, and payment-app accounts through their 1099s. Look for a password manager, a notebook, and a printed “in case of emergency” list. Sort what you find into financial accounts, cryptocurrency, communications (email is the reset address for everything else), photos and social media, and online businesses that generate income.

What Michigan Law Actually Lets a Fiduciary Do

Michigan adopted its version of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act in 2016. It applies to personal representatives, trustees, conservators, and agents under a power of attorney, and to any online provider (the statute calls them digital custodians) if the user lived in Michigan at death.

Who decides what gets disclosed. Under MCL 700.1004, the deceased’s own instructions control, in this order. First, a direction given through the provider’s online tool, such as Apple’s Legacy Contact, Google’s Inactive Account Manager, or Facebook’s legacy contact setting; if the person used one, it overrides anything the will or trust says. Second, a direction in a will, trust, or power of attorney. Either one overrides the boilerplate in the provider’s terms of service. If the person left no direction at all, the terms of service and federal privacy law set the ceiling.

Two levels of access. The Act separates the catalogue of communications (who emailed whom, and when) and other digital assets from the content of the messages themselves. Under MCL 700.1008, a provider must give a personal representative the catalogue and the other digital assets on a written request, a copy of the death certificate, and a certified copy of the letters of authority, a small-estate affidavit, or a court order. Under MCL 700.1007, the content of emails and messages is released only if the deceased consented, in the online tool or in the will or trust, or a court orders it. The provider may also ask for the account identifier, evidence tying the account to the deceased, or a court finding that disclosure is reasonably necessary to administer the estate.

Trustees follow a parallel route. A successor trustee who was not the original account holder presents a certificate of trust under MCL 700.7913 and a certification, under penalty of perjury, that the trust exists and the trustee is currently acting. For message content, the certificate must include the settlor’s consent to disclosure. The steps are in MCL 700.1012 and 700.1013.

What the provider may and may not do. A digital custodian has 56 days after receiving the required paperwork to comply, and it may charge a reasonable administrative fee. It is not required to recover anything the user deleted. And the same duties of care, loyalty, and confidentiality that govern a fiduciary’s handling of tangible property govern digital assets under MCL 700.1015(1). A fiduciary who follows the Act in good faith is immune from liability for doing so.

Translation: the law puts the account holder’s own wishes first, the fiduciary’s paperwork second, and the provider’s terms of service last. Bring the paperwork.

Cryptocurrency: The One Asset That Can Vanish

Digital dollars in a bank behave like dollars. Cryptocurrency does not, and the difference is where the keys are.

Exchange accounts. Coins held on a custodial exchange such as Coinbase or Kraken sit in an account with a provider, so the Act’s request procedure applies: written request, death certificate, letters of authority, and the exchange’s own estate forms. Freeze first; liquidate or transfer only after the estate’s authority and the tax basis are documented.

Self-custody wallets. A hardware wallet, a wallet app on the phone, or a seed phrase written on a card is different. There is no provider, no password reset, and no customer service line. Whoever holds the private key controls the coins; lose it and the asset is gone permanently. The Act treats the electronic record as the digital asset and gives a fiduciary the right to access any digital asset not held by a custodian under MCL 700.1015(3), but that right is only as good as the key you can find. Search the devices, the safe, the desk, and the documents for a 12- or 24-word phrase before you assume there is nothing there. Then value the holdings as of the date of death for the inventory or trust accounting.

If the deceased planned ahead, our post on cryptocurrency in Michigan estate planning explains how a well-drafted plan leaves the fiduciary a map without printing the key in a public document.

When the Provider Says No

If a digital custodian fails to comply within 56 days, MCL 700.1016(1) lets the fiduciary petition the probate court for an order directing compliance; the order must find that disclosure does not violate the federal Stored Communications Act. Where the deceased left no consent, a court order is also the only route to message content. A single petition covering every account (the phone carrier, the email provider, the cloud photo library, the payment app) is far more efficient than fighting each company separately.

The court runs the other direction too: under MCL 700.1017, an interested person can petition to limit the personal representative’s powers over the deceased’s digital assets, so a personal representative should expect the privacy question.

Digital accounts belong on the same first-month checklist as the bank, the house, and the mail. Our guide to the first phone calls to make after a loved one dies covers where they fit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Speak With a Michigan Probate and Trust Administration Attorney

Digital assets reward speed and punish improvisation. The accounts that get preserved in the first two weeks, requested with the right paperwork, and valued on the inventory are the ones that reach the beneficiaries.

Our probate and trust administration attorneys help personal representatives and trustees across Macomb, Oakland, and Wayne Counties and throughout Southeast, Central, and Mid-Michigan locate, secure, and distribute every kind of asset, including the ones that live behind a password. To schedule a consultation, call Boroja, Bernier & Associates at (586) 991-7611.

About the Author

Daniel Boroja, Esq., a partner at Boroja, Bernier & Associates PLLC, admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 2013 (Bar No. P77079). Daniel focuses his practice on estate planning, probate and trust administration, and elder law and Medicaid planning for Michigan families.