§ 3915. Fiduciary duty and authority.

461 words·~2 min read·/pa/title-20/chapter-39/3915

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(a)Duties.-- The legal duties imposed on a fiduciary charged with managing tangible property apply to the management of digital assets, including:

(1)the duty of care;

(2)the duty of loyalty; and

(3)the duty of confidentiality.

(b)Authority.-- A fiduciary's authority with respect to a digital asset of a user:

(1)except as otherwise provided in section 3904 (relating to user direction for disclosure of digital assets), is subject to the applicable terms of service;

(2)is subject to other applicable law, including copyright law;

(3)is limited by the scope of the fiduciary's duties; and

(4)may not be used to impersonate the user.

(c)Access.-- A fiduciary with authority over the property of a decedent, protected person, principal or settlor has the right to access any digital asset:

(1)in which the decedent, protected person, principal or settlor had a right or interest; and

(2)which is not held by a custodian or subject to a terms-of-service agreement.

(d)Authorized user.-- A fiduciary acting within the scope of the fiduciary's duties is an authorized user of the property of the decedent, protected person, principal or settlor for the purpose of applicable computer fraud and unauthorized computer access laws, including 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 76 (relating to computer offenses).

(e)Tangible personal property.-- A fiduciary with authority over the tangible personal property of a decedent, protected person, principal or settlor:

(1)has the right to access the property and any digital asset stored in the property; and

(2)is an authorized user for the purpose of computer fraud and unauthorized computer access laws, including 18 Pa.C.S. Ch. 76.

(f)Disclosure by custodian.-- A custodian may disclose information in an account to a fiduciary of the user when the information is required to terminate an account used to access digital assets licensed to the user.

(g)Termination of account.-- A fiduciary of a user may request a custodian to terminate the user's account. A request for termination must be in writing, in either physical or electronic form, and be accompanied by:

(1)if the user is deceased, a certified copy of the death certificate of the user;

(2)a certified copy of the letters, court order, power of attorney or trust giving the fiduciary authority over the account; and

(3)if requested by the custodian:

(i)any number, username, address or other unique subscriber or account identifier assigned by the custodian to identify the user's account;

(ii)evidence linking the account to the user; or

(iii)a finding by the court that the user had a specific account with the custodian identifiable by the information specified in subparagraph (i).

20c3915v

Cross References. Section 3915 is referred to in section 3916 of this title.

20c3916s