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§ 15-614. Fiduciary duty and authority

West's Annotated Code of MarylandEstates and TrustsEffective: April 11, 2017

West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Estates and Trusts (Refs & Annos)
Title 15. Fiduciaries (Refs & Annos)
Subtitle 6. Maryland Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (Refs & Annos)
Effective: April 11, 2017
MD Code, Estates and Trusts, § 15-614
§ 15-614. Fiduciary duty and authority
Currentness
Fiduciary duties
(a) 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.
Limitation on fiduciary's authority
(b) A fiduciary's or designated recipient's authority with respect to a digital asset of a user:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in § 15-603 of this subtitle, is subject to the applicable terms of service;
(2) Is subject to other applicable law, including copyright law;
(3) In the case of a fiduciary, is limited by the scope of the fiduciary's duties; and
(4) May not be used to impersonate the user.
Right to access digital asset
(c) A fiduciary with authority over the property of a decedent, protected person, principal, or settlor has the right to access a digital asset in which the decedent, protected person, principal, or settlor had a right or interest and that is not held by a custodian or subject to a terms-of-service agreement.
Authorized user for purpose of computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws
(d) 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 § 7-302 of the Criminal Law Article.
Authority over tangible, personal property
(e) 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 the digital assets stored in it; and
(2) Is an authorized user for the purpose of computer-fraud and unauthorized-computer-access laws, including § 7-302 of the Criminal Law Article.
Disclosure of information required to terminate account
(f) 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.
Termination of account
(g)(1) A fiduciary of a user may request a custodian to terminate the user's account.
(2) The fiduciary shall submit the request for termination to the custodian in writing, in either physical or electronic form, accompanied by:
(i) If the user is deceased, a copy of the death certificate of the user;
(ii) A copy of the letters of administration of the personal representative or court order appointing a special administrator, power of attorney, or trust granting the fiduciary authority over the account; and
(iii) If requested by the custodian:
1. A number, username, address, or other unique subscriber or account identifier assigned by the custodian to identify the user's account;
2. Evidence linking the account to the user; or
3. A finding by the court that the user had a specific account with the custodian, identifiable by the information specified in item 1 of this item.

Credits

Added by Acts 2016, c. 364, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2016; Acts 2016, c. 365, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2016. Amended by Acts 2017, c. 62, § 1, eff. April 11, 2017.
MD Code, Estates and Trusts, § 15-614, MD EST & TRST § 15-614
Current through legislation effective through April 9, 2023, from the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
End of Document