The State Senate recently advanced legislation that would enable Pennsylvanians to transfer digital assets and property in the same way they can transfer tangible property, according to Sen. Scott Martin (R-13).
The bill, Senate Bill 320, would allow music, books, videos, photos, and documents stored digitally to be transferred to beneficiaries after an individual dies. This would be done by providing instructions in a will, trust, or power-of-attorney. The legislation would allow a fiduciary to access digital property from cloud storage companies by sending a certified document proving their authority to manage the electronic assets.
Currently, rules regarding the disposition of digital assets are dictated by the terms-of-service of digital platforms. If an account holder dies or otherwise loses the ability to manage their own digital assets, it can be challenging for family or an estate executor to gain access to the online accounts of the deceased, Martin noted.
The bill is similar to legislation passed in 46 states. It is supported by Amazon, Apple, Google, the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, and the Pennsylvania Bar Association.