§ 44-5B-6 — Procedure for disclosing digital assets

West Virginia § 44-5B-6

• Jurisdiction: West Virginia
• Ch. 44: ADMINISTRATION OF ESTATES AND TRUSTS
• Art. 5B: WEST VIRGINIA UNIFORM FIDUCIARY ACCESS TO DIGITAL ASSETS ACT

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(a) When disclosing digital assets of a user under this article, the custodian may at its sole discretion:

(1) Grant a fiduciary or designated recipient full access to the user’s account;

(2) Grant a fiduciary or designated recipient partial access to the user’s account sufficient to perform the tasks with which the fiduciary or designated recipient is charged; or

(3) Provide a fiduciary or designated recipient a copy in a record of any digital asset that, on the date the custodian received the request for disclosure, the user could have accessed if the user were alive and had full capacity and access to the account.

(b) A custodian may assess a reasonable administrative charge for the cost of disclosing digital assets under this article.

(c) A custodian need not disclose under this article a digital asset deleted by a user.

(d) If a user directs or a fiduciary requests a custodian to disclose under this article some, but not all, of the user’s digital assets, the custodian need not disclose the assets if segregation of the assets would impose an undue burden on the custodian. If the custodian believes the direction or request imposes an undue burden, the custodian or fiduciary may seek an order from the court to disclose:

(1) A subset limited by date of the user’s digital assets;

(2) All of the user’s digital assets to the fiduciary or designated recipient;

(3) None of the user’s digital assets; or

(4) All of the user’s digital assets to the court for review in camera.

Legislative History

2018 Reg. Sess., SB102; 2017 Reg. Sess., SB693; 2016 Reg. Sess., SB637