Rutgers Law

New Jersey Statutes, Title: 3B, ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES--DECEDENTS AND OTHERS

    Chapter 14: Survivorship and succession among cofiduciaries; duties and powers

      Section: 3B:14-61.15: Fiduciary and designated recipient duty and authority.

          15. Fiduciary and Designated Recipient Duty and Authority.

a. The legal duties imposed on a fiduciary charged with managing tangible property apply to the management of digital assets, including:

(1) the duty of care;

(2) the duty of loyalty; and

(3) the duty of confidentiality.

b. A fiduciary's or designated recipient's authority with respect to a digital asset of a user:

(1) except as otherwise provided in section 4 of this act, is subject to the applicable terms of service;

(2) is subject to other applicable law, including copyright law;

(3) in the case of a fiduciary, is limited by the scope of the fiduciary's duties; and

(4) may not be used to impersonate the user.

c. A fiduciary with authority over the property of a decedent, incapacitated person, principal, or settlor has the right to access any digital asset in which the decedent, incapacitated person, principal, or settlor had a right or interest and that is not held by a custodian or subject to a terms-of-service agreement.

d. A fiduciary acting within the scope of the fiduciary's duties is an authorized user of the property of the decedent, incapacitated person, principal, or settlor for the purpose of applicable computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws, including but not limited to the provisions of P.L.1984, c.184 (C.2C:20-23 et seq.) and N.J.S.2C:20-2.

e. A fiduciary with authority over the tangible, personal property of a decedent, incapacitated person, principal, or settlor:

(1) has the right to access the property and any digital asset stored in it; and

(2) is an authorized user for the purpose of computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws, including but not limited to the provisions of P.L.1984, c.184 (C.2C:20-23 et seq.) and N.J.S.2C:20-2.

f. A custodian may disclose information in an account to a fiduciary of the user when the information is required to terminate an account used to access digital assets licensed to the user.

g. A fiduciary of a user may request a custodian to terminate the user's account. A request for termination must be in writing, in either physical or electronic form, and accompanied by:

(1) if the user is deceased, a copy of the death certificate of the user;

(2) a copy of the letters testamentary or letters of administration, court order, power of attorney, or trust giving the fiduciary authority over the account; and

(3) if requested by the custodian:

(a) a number, username, address, or other unique subscriber or account identifier assigned by the custodian to identify the user's account;

(b) evidence linking the account to the user; or

(c) a finding by the court that the user had a specific account with the custodian, identifiable by the information specified in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph.

L.2017, c.237, s.15.

This section added to the Rutgers Database: 2017-09-26 13:39:01.

Older versions of 3b:14-61.15 (if available):

Court decisions that cite this statute: CLICK HERE.