Mayor Muriel Bowser of the District of Columbia signed Act Number A23-0569 on January 13, 2021, enacting the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA). Including DC, 47 jurisdictions have now adopted RUFADAA or a modified version of it (see State Digital Assets Chart). Assuming no congressional disapproval, DC's new law will go into effect on February 12, 2021.

RUFADAA addresses the issue of access to and authority over digital assets, which are electronic records such as email accounts, digital photographs, social media accounts, and blogs, by a fiduciary (such as a personal representative, guardian, agent under a power of attorney, or trustee), an estate planning problem that has rapidly emerged in recent years with the proliferation of digital assets. Under RUFADAA, personal representatives, guardians, trustees, and agents acting under a power of attorney can access and administer digital assets if a governing instrument expressly gives consent to do so. For more information on RUFADAA, see Practice Note, Planning for Digital Assets: Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA).

For more information on the status of RUFADAA and other digital asset legislation across jurisdictions, see State Digital Asset Laws Chart.

For language to include in a will, trust, or power of attorney to give consent to administer digital assets, see Standard Documents, Digital Assets Clauses for Will or Trust and Digital Assets Clause for Financial Power of Attorney.