The executor knew the cryptocurrency existed. Three relatives mentioned it. Bank statements hinted at transfers to digital wallets. But six months after the funeral, nobody could find the recovery keys.
That scenario is playing out across British estates in 2026.
Solicitors at Clarke Willmott LLP are warning families that digital assets—from Bitcoin holdings to cloud-stored family photographs—now represent one of the thorniest challenges in probate. Unlike the house keys or the jewellery box, these assets hide behind encryption, two-factor authentication, and passwords that died with their owners.
Michelle Seddon, a partner in the firm’s private client practice, has watched the problem escalate. “Digital assets are no longer a niche issue, they are an important part of modern estates,” she said. “Some of these assets carry significant monetary value, while others hold deep emotional importance for families. All require careful handling during the probate process.”
The stakes are mounting. Digital assets now span online bank accounts, PayPal balances, cryptocurrency wallets, Instagram profiles, TikTok accounts, LinkedIn pages, gaming inventories, Spotify subscriptions, domain names, and websites generating revenue. Some executors discover the deceased ran entire businesses through Shopify stores or Etsy accounts. Others find themselves locked out of iCloud libraries containing decades of irreplaceable family photos.
What separates digital from physical? Access.
You can force open a safe. You cannot brute-force a Bitcoin wallet without the seed phrase. Tech companies—even when presented with death certificates and grant of probate—often refuse access due to terms of service agreements signed years earlier. Facebook offers memorial pages. Google provides a Legacy Contact feature. But executors must know these tools exist, and the deceased must have activated them.
“Executors can face real difficulties if passwords, recovery information or clear instructions haven’t been left,” Seddon acknowledged. “Taking simple steps during lifetime to document and plan for digital assets can save families considerable stress, delay and potential financial loss.”
The law is scrambling to catch up. The proposed Property (Digital Assets etc.) Bill—expected to progress through Parliament this year—would formally recognise digital assets as a distinct category of personal property. That distinction matters. Currently, digital holdings occupy a grey zone between chattels and intangible rights, leaving executors uncertain about their legal authority to access, transfer, or sell them.
Once passed, the Bill should provide clearer protocols for administration and confirm ownership rights. But legislation cannot retrieve a lost password.
The practical obstacles remain formidable. Many people scatter their digital lives across dozens of platforms, some forgotten entirely. An email account opened in 2008 might hold the recovery key for a crypto exchange. A Dropbox folder could contain business contracts still generating royalties. Without a comprehensive inventory—ideally referenced in the Will itself—executors face months of digital archaeology.
Tax adds another layer of complexity. Cryptocurrency fluctuates wildly in value. Does the estate owe inheritance tax based on the value at death, or at the point executors finally crack the wallet? What if the keys are never found—can the family write off the loss?
Seddon’s advice to executors is methodical. “Executors should identify and inventory digital assets as early as possible in the probate process, review the Will for any digital asset clauses or instructions, and seek specialist legal advice when accessing or valuing digital holdings.”
For those still living, the message is blunter. “It’s also advisable for people to plan proactively by incorporating digital assets into their estate planning to avoid uncertainty and delay for loved ones.”
That planning might include a secure document listing accounts and platforms—not passwords themselves, which risk exposure—but enough information for executors to know what exists. Password managers like 1Password and Bitwarden offer emergency access features. Crypto holders can split recovery phrases among trusted individuals. Even a sealed envelope lodged with a solicitor beats leaving nothing.
The alternative? Estates dwindle while executors hunt for digital breadcrumbs. Cryptocurrency worth thousands sits in inaccessible wallets. Family photographs vanish when cloud subscriptions lapse. Business domains expire, taking revenue streams with them.
Clarke Willmott, which operates from seven offices including London, Manchester, and Bristol, has been advising clients to treat digital assets with the same rigour as property deeds or share certificates. The firm’s private client team now routinely asks about online holdings during estate planning consultations—a question that would have seemed eccentric a decade ago.
By year’s end, the legislative framework should be clearer. Whether families actually prepare remains another matter. Writing a Will is hard enough. Cataloguing every Instagram account, every domain registration, every dormant crypto wallet?
That demands confronting mortality in granular, mundane detail. Yet the executor left fumbling through email accounts, contacting customer service departments, and explaining for the seventh time that the account holder is deceased—they’ll wish someone had.
For now, the digital vaults keep their secrets. The recovery phrases stay lost. And executors keep searching.
