SB164 Alabama 2016 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Rodger SmithermanSenator

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2016

Title

Fiduciaries, Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, adopted, fiduciaries, duties with regard to computer files, web domains, virtual currency and other digital assets

Summary

SB164 would adopt Alabama’s Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, giving fiduciaries authority to manage and access digital assets and electronic communications under clearly defined rules.

What This Bill Does

It extends a fiduciary’s power to manage digital assets (like files, domains, and digital currencies) and sets duties for handling them. It creates procedures for when custodians can disclose digital assets to fiduciaries or personal representatives, including use of online tools and rules about overriding a person’s will, trust, or power of attorney. It applies to wills, trusts, powers of attorney, conservatorships, and related fiduciaries, with timelines, potential court involvement, and allowances for fees in the disclosure process.

Who It Affects

• Fiduciaries (executors, administrators, agents, trustees, conservators) who manage estates or individuals’ digital assets and their contents, and whose authority to access or control those assets is clarified and expanded.
• Digital asset custodians and online service providers, and the users who hold accounts, who must follow disclosure procedures, use online tools for directions, and may incur reasonable disclosure fees.

Key Provisions

• Adopts the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act as Chapter 1A of Title 19, expanding fiduciary powers to digital assets.
• Provides defined terms for digital assets, custodians, online tools, accounts, and various fiduciaries to standardize how digital assets are handled.
• Allows a user to direct disclosure of digital assets via an online tool; such directions override contrary provisions in a will, trust, or power of attorney, and can limit fiduciary access unless directions specify otherwise.
• Sets the procedures for custodian disclosure to fiduciaries and designated recipients, including access levels, possible copies, fees, and court-order options, and includes rules for handling contents of electronic communications for deceased or incapacitated users.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Fiduciaries