What happens to my digital assets (email, social media, crypto) if I die without a will in Ontario?

Digital assets are a growing area of estate law with significant uncertainty. Emails, social media accounts, and online subscriptions are often governed by the platform's terms of service, which may not allow account transfer at all — the account may simply be memorialized or deleted. A will cannot override these platform terms, though it can name a trusted person to attempt to access or manage the accounts.

Cryptocurrency and other blockchain assets are different: they have genuine monetary value and can form part of an estate. However, without the private keys or seed phrases, even a court order may not be enough to access them. The value is simply lost if no one has access credentials.

Under Ontario's intestacy rules, digital assets with monetary value (such as cryptocurrency) would in principle pass to the intestate heirs — but access is the practical barrier. Making a will with specific instructions about digital assets, and leaving secure access information with a trusted person, is the only practical way to ensure these assets are not lost.