What This Law Does Not Change
A common myth is that the law opens every account to a personal representative or fiduciary. It does not. This statute makes clear that the law does not expand the rights your family would have.
Your fiduciary or recipient only gets the rights you held as the account user.
This chapter does not give a fiduciary or designated recipient any new or expanded rights other than those held by the user for whom, or for whose estate, the fiduciary or designated recipient acts or represents.
A.R.S. § 14-13105(B)If a platform restricts certain actions in its terms of service, those limits still apply. The fiduciary can only do what you could have done as the account holder.
When Terms of Service Can Limit Access
If you have not given direction through an online tool or your estate plan, the platform's terms of service can restrict or remove access. Federal law can also override state access rules.
As a result, your personal representative may not be able to reach stored files, emails, or electronic records without your prior direction.
A fiduciary's or designated recipient's access to digital assets may be modified or eliminated by a user, by federal law or by a terms-of-service agreement if the user has not provided direction under section 14-13104.
A.R.S. § 14-13105(C)This is exactly why planning ahead matters. Without clear direction in your estate documents, the platform's default rules control the outcome.
Some platforms delete accounts after a period of no activity. Others deny access entirely. Setting up legacy contacts and adding digital asset rules to your estate plan prevents these defaults from taking over.
Your personal representative should know which accounts exist and what access they have been given. Taking these steps now saves your family from dealing with complex platform policies during a difficult time.