Digital asset estate planning was a niche concern five years ago. By 2026, it’s a routine part of any properly drafted will for anyone with meaningful online presence, cryptocurrency holdings, or business assets that exist primarily in digital form.

The legislative picture has improved. State and territory frameworks have caught up to the practical reality that many assets are now digital. Most Australian jurisdictions now have at least basic provisions for executor authority over digital assets, though the specifics still vary state to state.

The practical issues that estate planners deal with most often in 2026 are: cryptocurrency private keys (still the single biggest cause of permanently lost estate value), business cloud accounts where the deceased was the only admin, social media legacy contacts, and recurring digital subscriptions that continue to charge after death.

The cryptocurrency problem deserves its own paragraph. Estimates of permanently inaccessible Bitcoin alone run into the hundreds of billions of dollars globally. A meaningful slice of that is the result of holders who didn’t document their access in any form their estate could find. The fix is not technically complicated. It does require the holder to actually do it while alive, which is the part that keeps not happening.

For families dealing with a deceased relative’s digital estate, the practical steps haven’t changed dramatically. Make a list of accounts. Look for password managers (1Password, Bitwarden, Apple Keychain are the most common). Approach platforms with the death certificate. Be patient with the major platforms because their processes are slow and inconsistent.

For people drafting their own estate planning in 2026, the basic checklist is now well-established. Document your major accounts. Use a password manager and ensure your executor knows it exists and how to access it. List any cryptocurrency holdings with adequate access information for someone who is not a crypto native. Set legacy contacts on social platforms that support them. Consider whether your business assets need separate provisions in your will or related documents.

The biggest risk now isn’t legal ambiguity, which has largely cleared. It’s the practical problem of executors not knowing what assets exist or how to access them. That’s a documentation problem, not a legal one, and the fix is sitting down for an evening once a year and updating your records.