Introduction

As the creator economy continues to expand, individuals who derive income from digital platforms face a critical estate planning question. For those who already have an estate plan, that plan may not adequately address the unique challenges of managing, valuing and transferring digital businesses, leaving these increasingly valuable assets vulnerable to confusion, lost revenue and family conflict. For those who have not yet engaged in estate planning at all, the stakes may be even higher, as the absence of any plan can leave digital enterprises effectively inaccessible to loved ones, which could mean everything that was built is now lost.

To understand why this planning gap matters, consider how the nature of wealth itself has changed. For many individuals today, wealth is no longer limited to brokerage accounts, retirement plans, real estate holdings or closely held businesses. A growing number of entrepreneurs, professionals and content creators have built valuable digital enterprises through YouTube channels, podcasts, subscription newsletters, online courses, coaching platforms and monetized social media accounts. These platforms have democratized entrepreneurship, enabling individuals to transform expertise, creativity and personal branding into substantial revenue streams, often with minimal overhead and maximum scalability.

This advisory explores the unique estate planning challenges facing content creators and digital entrepreneurs, and it offers practical guidance for protecting these modern enterprises, whether that means updating an existing plan or starting from scratch.

The Modern “Digital Business”

Many creators do not think of themselves as business owners. They may view their YouTube channel, Instagram account, podcast or newsletter as a hobby that happens to generate income, or as a personal platform rather than a commercial enterprise. However, a successful content platform may function much like a traditional business, with recurring revenue, customer relationships, contractual obligations, intellectual property and meaningful enterprise value. From an estate planning perspective, these assets require the same thoughtful attention as any other closely held business interest.

The range of digital business models continues to expand. Common examples include:

• A financial advisor who generates advertising revenue from a YouTube channel discussing investment strategies and market commentary, potentially earning significant monthly income from AdSense and sponsored content;
• A physician who sells online educational courses teaching medical concepts to students, professionals, or the general public, with revenues from course sales and platform subscriptions;
• An attorney who publishes a paid subscription newsletter providing legal analysis and industry insights to a loyal subscriber base willing to pay monthly or annual fees for premium content;
• A consultant who earns recurring revenue through a membership community offering exclusive access to resources, group coaching calls and networking opportunities;
• A podcaster with sponsorship and licensing arrangements, generating income from advertising reads, affiliate partnerships and content licensing deals; and
• An influencer who has developed a personal brand with significant commercial value, monetizing through brand partnerships, merchandise and appearance fees.

In many cases, the underlying platform account is only one component of a broader enterprise that includes intellectual property, contracts, goodwill, recurring revenue streams and customer relationships. When these elements combine to produce meaningful income, the creator has built a business, whether they recognize it as such or not. For example, each of the above examples might produce valuable trademark (e.g., brands, tag lines etc.), trade secret (e.g., member lists) and copyright (e.g., content such as videos, photos and other materials) rights, which exist even without registration.

The Hidden Estate Planning Problem

When most people think about digital assets, they focus on access to email accounts or social media profiles, the digital equivalent of closing out a filing cabinet. However, the estate planning challenges become far more significant when those digital assets produce meaningful income. A monetized YouTube channel or a subscription newsletter is not simply a digital keepsake; it is a revenue-generating enterprise that requires active management, timely decision-making and specialized knowledge to preserve its value.

Questions that frequently arise in the administration of a creator’s estate include:

• Who has the legal authority to access and manage the account after the creator’s death, and how can that authority be established?
• Can the platform continue operating, and, if so, who will create content, engage with the audience and maintain the brand?
• Are sponsorship agreements, licensing deals and advertising arrangements transferable to successors, or do they terminate upon the creator’s death?
• What happens to subscription revenue: can it continue flowing to the estate, or will subscribers be refunded or canceled?
• Can heirs sell the business as a going concern, or are platform terms of service too restrictive to permit a transfer?
• How should these assets be valued for estate tax purposes, and who is qualified to perform such a valuation?
• Whether the creator had sole ownership of the intellectual property and how those rights were held (i.e., as an individual or through an entity).

Without proper planning, family members may find themselves unable to access or operate an otherwise valuable digital enterprise. Revenue that could support surviving family members may be lost, sponsorship relationships may terminate and subscribers may disengage. This is all while the estate struggles to establish basic account access. In extreme cases, valuable intellectual property may become effectively inaccessible, or accounts may be permanently deleted pursuant to platform inactivity policies.

Estate Planning Challenge #1: Account Access

One of the most immediate and practical issues after a creator’s death is determining who has the authority (and the information) to access digital accounts. Even if family members know that a YouTube channel, podcast platform, or subscription newsletter exists, they may lack the basic tools needed to access it. This challenge is compounded by the security measures that creators themselves have implemented to protect their accounts, which can become barriers for authorized successors.

• Login credentials for each platform, which may include unique passwords, email addresses and usernames that were never shared with family members;
• Multi-factor authentication devices such as smartphones, hardware security keys or authenticator apps that generate time-sensitive codes required for login;
• Backup recovery information including security questions, recovery email addresses and backup codes that platforms use to verify identity;
• Revenue dashboards and analytics platforms that track income, audience growth and performance metrics essential for business continuity;
• Advertising accounts such as Google AdSense, YouTube Partner Program dashboards and sponsored content management systems; and
• Subscriber databases, email lists, and customer relationship management systems that contain the contact information necessary to maintain audience relationships.

Traditional estate planning documents were often drafted before the emergence of these modern digital businesses and may not adequately address fiduciary authority over digital assets. The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), which has been adopted in 49 states as of July 2026, including in Connecticut, Florida and New York, provides a legal framework for fiduciary access to digital assets. Under RUFADAA, fiduciaries may have the authority to manage digital property, but the law establishes a three-tier priority system: first, any instructions provided through an online tool offered by the platform; second, directions in the user’s will, trust or power of attorney; and third, the platform’s terms of service.

Individuals should ensure that their estate planning documents contain appropriate digital asset provisions and that fiduciaries have sufficient information to identify and access relevant accounts when necessary. This includes granting explicit authority to access digital accounts, specifying which accounts contain business assets and documenting access procedures in a secure but accessible manner.

When selecting fiduciaries to manage digital assets, creators should give careful thought to whether their chosen representatives have the knowledge and expertise necessary to handle these unique assets. A client’s spouse may be someone who is trusted wholeheartedly but who lacks the technical knowledge to manage digital accounts, navigate platform policies or preserve the value of a content business. In such cases, the creator may wish to appoint what is sometimes referred to as a “digital fiduciary,” who is a person tasked specifically with managing digital assets. A digital fiduciary can be appointed as an attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney in the case of incapacity, as an executor under a will in the case of death, and as a trustee of a continuing trust for administration after death. This approach ensures that digital assets receive the specialized attention they require while allowing the primary fiduciary to focus on traditional assets. (Click [here] to read a related advisory about this topic).

Platform-Specific Legacy Planning Tools

Major technology platforms now offer tools that allow users to designate trusted contacts who can access their account data after death. These platform-specific designations take priority under RUFADAA, making them an important component of any digital estate plan. Apple offers a Legacy Contact feature that allows users to designate individuals who can request access to their Apple Account data after death using a death certificate and an access key. Google provides an Inactive Account Manager that allows users to designate trusted contacts who will receive notification and access to specified account data after a period of inactivity. Meta (Facebook and Instagram) offers legacy contact options for memorialized accounts. Each platform’s legacy tools have different capabilities, limitations, and access procedures. Practitioners should encourage clients to configure these settings and to review each platform’s current policies, which are available at the following links:

• Apple Legacy Contact (https://support.apple.com/en-us/102631);
• Google Inactive Account Manager (https://myaccount.google.com/inactive); and
• Facebook Legacy Contact (https://www.facebook.com/help/1568013990080948).

Because these policies and features may change over time, clients should periodically review their legacy contact designations to ensure they remain current.

Estate Planning Challenge #2: Intellectual Property Ownership

For many creators, the most valuable asset may not be the platform account itself, it may be the intellectual property associated with it. While a YouTube channel or podcast hosting account is subject to platform terms of service and may be difficult to transfer, the underlying creative works are often owned outright by the creator and can be passed to heirs like any other property. Under U.S. law, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years (17 U.S.C. § 302(a)), meaning that creative works can continue generating income for decades after the creator’s death. Copyrights may revert to the creator even if they were licensed, sold or assigned to others after a period of time 17 USC §§ 203, 304(c), which can be very valuable to an estate.

Examples of intellectual property that may require estate planning attention include:

• Recorded podcast episodes, which may continue generating advertising revenue through back-catalog downloads and may be licensed to other platforms or services;
• Educational video libraries containing instructional content that retains value over time and may be sold, licensed, or repurposed by successors;
• Written articles and newsletters, including archived content that subscribers may continue to access or that could be compiled into other formats;
• E-books and digital publications that generate ongoing royalties through self-publishing platforms;
• Training materials and course curricula that form the foundation of online education businesses;
• Digital downloads such as templates, worksheets, software, and design assets that customers purchase directly;
• Licensing rights for content that has been or could be licensed to third parties for use in other media; and
• Brand names, logos, and trademarks that have commercial value and whether or not they are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
• Trade secret information such as membership lists or other confidential information.

Unlike a checking account or brokerage account, which passes to beneficiaries as a discrete asset, intellectual property may continue generating income for years after its creator’s death and may appreciate in value if the creator’s reputation grows posthumously. However, if the copyright is not specifically mentioned in the will or trust, it may be transferred separately from the underlying work itself. This can create situations where one beneficiary owns the physical or digital copy of a work while another beneficiary owns the copyright, leading to confusion about who has the right to reproduce, license, or profit from the work.

Proper planning can help ensure that ownership rights are clearly established and that successors understand how those assets should be administered. Creators should work with counsel to identify their intellectual property assets, confirm that trademarks and copyrights are properly registered where appropriate, and ensure that estate planning documents explicitly address both the creative works and the associated intellectual property rights. Additionally, creators who have transferred or licensed certain rights should maintain careful records of those arrangements, as successors will need to understand the scope of any existing agreements.

Illustrative Examples:

1. An attorney built a successful legal education business, creating a library of over 200 video lectures that she sold through her website and an online course platform. She also published two e-books and maintained an extensive archive of newsletter content. When she passed away, her estate planning documents did not specifically mention her intellectual property. Her personal effects, including her computer and external hard drives containing the video files, passed to her son. However, the residuary clause in her will left “all other property” to her daughter. The question of who owned the copyrights, and who had the right to continue selling the courses, became a source of family conflict that could have been avoided with explicit IP provisions in her estate plan.
2. A photographer took a photo that they licensed to a large company.  The photo became iconic for that company and was displayed in museums.  While the license did not have any express expiration claims, under 17 USC §§ 203, 304(c), such license can be terminated to protect the creator and their heirs as artists often undervalue their rights when they are first sold.  Such termination provides the creator and their heir the opportunity to get value for the works created earlier in their lifetime.

Estate Planning Challenge #3: Business Continuity

Many traditional businesses have succession plans that address what happens when a key principal becomes incapacitated or dies. A law firm partnership agreement typically specifies how a partner’s interest will be handled; a family business often has a buy-sell agreement or management succession plan. Digital businesses, by contrast, often operate informally, without the governance structures that would ensure continuity. The creator may be the sole owner, the only person with platform access and the exclusive source of content, leaving no clear path forward when that person is no longer available.

Consider the creator who operates any of the following:

• A successful podcast with weekly episodes, a loyal listener base and ongoing sponsorship relationships that depend on consistent content production;
• A subscription-based newsletter delivering premium content to paying subscribers who expect regular updates and value for their recurring payments;
• A coaching platform where clients have paid for ongoing access to the creator’s guidance, expertise and community; or
• An online education business with active students enrolled in courses that include live sessions, feedback or certification requirements.

If that creator suddenly becomes incapacitated or dies, critical operational questions arise immediately:

• Who will produce content to maintain audience engagement and platform visibility, and do they have the skills and knowledge to do so?
• Who will communicate with subscribers to explain the situation, manage expectations and provide appropriate options such as refunds or continued access?
• Who will manage sponsorship arrangements thereby fulfilling existing commitments, negotiating renewals or gracefully terminating relationships?
• Who will process payments, manage subscriptions, handle refund requests and ensure that revenue continues flowing to the estate?
• Who will oversee any employees, contractors, editors or assistants who support the business, and how will they be compensated during the transition?

Without a continuity plan, revenue can decline rapidly. Subscribers may cancel if content stops appearing. Sponsors may terminate agreements for non-performance. Audience engagement may plummet, reducing the value of back-catalog content and advertising revenue. A YouTube channel that was generating steady income may see its revenue drop significantly within weeks if no new content is posted and the algorithm deprioritizes the channel. For businesses that depend on the creator’s personal presence, such as coaching or consulting, the business model itself may not survive the creator’s absence, but thoughtful planning can maximize the value extracted during wind-down.

For some creators, operating through a formal business entity and documenting management succession may help preserve value and minimize disruption. This might include designating a successor manager, training a team member to handle key responsibilities, establishing relationships with backup content producers, or creating standard operating procedures that allow the business to function without the creator’s daily involvement. Even creators who do not expect their businesses to continue indefinitely after their deaths may benefit from planning that allows for an orderly wind-down rather than abrupt cessation.

Illustrative Example: A management consultant operates a thriving coaching business with 50 active clients paying monthly retainers for ongoing access to her expertise. She also runs a podcast and maintains a library of recorded courses. When she suffers a sudden medical emergency that leaves her incapacitated, her husband has no idea how to access her client database, communicate with her coaching clients, or manage the technical aspects of her podcast. Clients who have prepaid for services begin requesting refunds, while the podcast sponsors are left without new episodes. Because she had documented her business processes and designated her husband as a manager on key accounts, he is able to work with her assistant to issue appropriate communications, offer clients options for refunds or credits, and manage the wind-down of the business in an orderly fashion, preserving goodwill and avoiding disputes.

Estate Planning Challenge #4: Valuation

Traditional assets are often relatively straightforward to value. A stock portfolio has a readily available market price. Real estate can be appraised using comparable sales. Even closely held businesses have established methodologies for determining fair market value based on earnings, assets or comparable transactions.

A creator business can be far more complicated. Unlike a traditional business with audited financial statements and established customer relationships, a digital content business may have revenue that fluctuates significantly based on algorithm changes, advertising market conditions and the creator’s personal involvement. The business may be difficult to transfer, may depend heavily on the creator’s personal brand and may have limited comparable transactions to reference.

The value of a digital business may depend upon factors such as:

• Advertising revenue, including historical trends, seasonal variations and the stability of advertising relationships;
• Subscriber growth, retention rates and engagement metrics that indicate the health and trajectory of the audience;
• Sponsorship contracts, including their duration, renewal likelihood, and whether they are transferable upon a change in ownership;
• Licensing agreements for content, including terms, royalties, and exclusivity provisions;
• Intellectual property, including the breadth and depth of the content library, copyright registrations, and potential for future monetization;
• Audience engagement, including metrics such as watch time, open rates, click-through rates and social media interaction; and
• Brand recognition and the extent to which the business can continue generating value without the creator’s active involvement.

Determining the value of a digital business may be particularly important in several planning contexts:

• Making lifetime gifts of business interests, which require a supportable valuation at the time of transfer;
• Funding trusts with business interests, which may involve valuation discounts for lack of marketability or control;
• Selling a business, where buyer and seller need to agree on fair value and appropriate deal structure;
• Administering an estate, where the executor must report the date-of-death value for estate tax and accounting purposes; and
• Allocating assets among beneficiaries, particularly when some beneficiaries receive digital business interests while others receive more traditional assets.

Creators with significant digital enterprises should work with their advisors to understand how these assets may be valued for planning purposes. In some cases, obtaining a professional valuation during the creator’s lifetime may be advisable, both to establish a baseline for planning purposes and to identify factors that could increase or decrease value over time. Maintaining detailed financial records, including revenue by source, expenses, and key metrics, will facilitate more accurate valuations when they are needed.

Illustrative Example: A podcaster generates $300,000 annually from a combination of advertising, sponsorships, and premium subscriptions. Her show has a loyal audience, a library of 250 archived episodes, and three ongoing sponsorship agreements. When she decides to gift a 20% interest in her podcasting LLC to an irrevocable trust for her children, she needs a defensible valuation. A qualified appraiser determines that the business is worth $900,000 based on a 3x multiple of her adjusted earnings, resulting in a $180,000 gift. Without a professional valuation, the gift could be challenged by the IRS, potentially resulting in additional taxes and penalties.

Estate Planning Challenge #5: Income Tax and Trust Planning Opportunities

As digital businesses mature and generate meaningful revenue, creators may find that their enterprises resemble more traditional closely held businesses and may benefit from similar planning strategies. A creator earning substantial income from content platforms faces many of the same tax and succession planning challenges as the owner of any other closely held business, including income tax minimization, asset protection, wealth transfer, and business continuity.

Depending on the circumstances, planners may explore strategies including:

• Limited liability company structures that provide asset protection, operational flexibility and potential tax advantages, while creating a transferable ownership interest separate from the creator’s personal accounts;
• Family ownership arrangements that allow the creator to share economic benefits with family members while potentially reducing income taxes and building family wealth;
• Trust ownership strategies, including grantor trusts and intentionally defective grantor trusts, that may facilitate wealth transfer while maintaining certain tax benefits during the creator’s lifetime;
• Succession planning techniques that establish clear management authority, provide for key employee retention and create mechanisms for business continuity or orderly wind-down; and
• Transfers of intellectual property interests, which may involve transferring copyrights, trademarks or licensing rights to entities or trusts that can manage and exploit those rights over time.

Because digital businesses vary widely in structure, revenue sources, platform dependencies and growth trajectories, careful planning is necessary to ensure that business, tax and estate planning goals remain aligned. Strategies that work well for traditional businesses may need adaptation for digital enterprises, and planners should consider the unique characteristics of each creator’s situation. Additionally, creators who reside in high-tax states may want to consider the income and estate tax implications of their state of domicile, particularly as their businesses generate increasing income.

Illustrative Example: A successful YouTube creator generating $500,000 annually forms an LLC to operate his content business. He then creates a grantor trust for the benefit of his children and gifts a non-managing membership interest in the LLC to the trust, retaining the manager role that allows him to continue managing the business. The gift qualifies for a valuation discount due to lack of control and lack of marketability, reducing the taxable gift value. Future appreciation in the business passes to his children outside of his estate, and the trust can receive distributions that fund education expenses and other needs. Because the creator retained control during his lifetime, he can continue operating the business normally while achieving significant wealth transfer benefits.

Practical Steps for Creators

Individuals who generate income through digital platforms should take proactive steps to ensure their estate plans adequately address these valuable assets. The following practical recommendations provide a starting point for creators and their advisors:

1. Inventory Digital Assets

The first step in any estate plan is to identify and catalog all assets and related accounts. Specifically for digital assets, this inventory should include:

• All platforms where content is published or monetized, including YouTube, podcast hosts, newsletter platforms, course platforms and social media accounts;
• Websites and web hosting accounts, including the registrar, hosting provider and any content management systems;
• Domain names, including registration details, renewal dates and transfer procedures;
• Revenue sources, including advertising accounts (Google AdSense, etc.), affiliate programs, sponsorship arrangements and payment processors;
• Intellectual property, including copyrighted works, trademarks and any registrations or pending applications; and
• Subscription services and tools used to operate the business, including email marketing platforms, design software, analytics tools and project management systems.

This inventory should be maintained in a secure location and updated regularly as platforms change and the business evolves. Consider using a password manager that allows for emergency access by a trusted individual and ensure that the inventory includes information about how to access each account.

2. Review Estate Planning Documents

Estate planning documents should be reviewed to confirm that they adequately address digital assets and digital fiduciary authority. Powers of attorney should grant agents the authority to access and manage digital accounts during the creator’s lifetime in the event of incapacity. Revocable trusts and wills should address both the digital accounts and any associated intellectual property. The documents should specifically reference digital assets and grant fiduciaries broad authority to access, manage, and transfer these assets in accordance with RUFADAA and applicable state law.

3. Document Access Procedures

Fiduciaries will need access to critical accounts and systems in order to manage or wind down the business. Creators should maintain secure records regarding:

• Login credentials for all platforms, stored securely using a password manager or encrypted document;
• Authentication methods, including backup codes for multi-factor authentication, recovery email addresses and any hardware security keys;
• Key contacts, including account managers at platforms, sponsorship contacts, agents and service providers who may need to be notified; and
• Service providers and contractors, including editors, designers, virtual assistants and others who support the business and may need to be retained or released.
• This information should be stored securely but must be accessible to the appropriate fiduciaries when needed. Options include a secure digital password manager with emergency access features, a sealed letter in a safe deposit box, or information provided to the creator’s attorney for safekeeping. Whatever method is chosen, it should be tested periodically to ensure that the information remains current and that access procedures work as intended.

4. Evaluate Business Structure

Creators should evaluate whether operating through a formal business entity, such as a limited liability company, may improve liability protection, facilitate succession planning and simplify administration. An LLC creates a distinct legal entity that can own the business assets, enter into contracts and be transferred to successors more easily than a collection of individual platform accounts. The entity can also provide asset protection by separating the business from the creator’s personal assets and may offer tax planning flexibility depending on how it is structured.

5. Identify Successors

Finally, creators should consider who would manage or wind down the business if they became incapacitated or died. This may involve identifying a specific individual, documenting standard operating procedures, cross-training team members, or simply acknowledging that the business would need to be wound down and planning accordingly. For businesses that depend heavily on the creator’s personal brand and presence, a graceful wind-down plan may be more realistic than expecting the business to continue indefinitely. The key is to have a plan that matches the creator’s expectations and provides clear guidance for those who will be responsible for execution.

6. Configure Platform Legacy Settings

As discussed earlier in this advisory, creators should configure the legacy and succession features offered by major platforms. Links to the legacy contact configuration pages for Apple, Google and Meta (Facebook and Instagram) are provided above. These settings take only minutes to configure but can save enormous time and frustration for family members and fiduciaries.

7. Communicate with Key Stakeholders

Creators should ensure that key stakeholders, including spouses, adult children, business partners and trusted advisors, understand the scope and value of the digital business. This does not mean sharing every password, but it does mean ensuring that someone knows the business exists, understands its general scope, and knows where to find more detailed information when needed. A trusted family member who does not know where to find information cannot take steps to preserve the value of the digital business after the creator’s death.

Conclusion

The creator economy has transformed the definition of wealth. A YouTube channel, podcast, subscription newsletter, or online course platform may represent a substantial business with meaningful economic value generating income that rivals or exceeds traditional professional practices and commanding valuations comparable to other closely held businesses. Yet many estate plans continue to treat these assets as simple digital accounts rather than the revenue-generating enterprises they have become.

For content creators, influencers, professionals and entrepreneurs who have built meaningful digital businesses, effective estate planning requires more than preserving access to online accounts. It requires a thoughtful strategy for identifying, protecting, managing and ultimately transferring the digital businesses that may have become some of their most valuable assets. This means documenting digital assets, reviewing estate planning documents for adequate digital provisions, configuring platform legacy settings, considering appropriate business structures, identifying successors and communicating with key stakeholders.

The good news is that the legal and technological infrastructure for digital estate planning continues to improve. RUFADAA has been adopted in most states, major platforms now offer legacy planning tools, and estate planners are increasingly familiar with the unique challenges of digital businesses. Creators who take proactive steps today can ensure that the businesses they have built will benefit their families and preserve their legacies for years to come.

We encourage our clients and referral sources to discuss these issues with us. Whether you are a content creator seeking to protect your digital business, a financial advisor assisting clients with significant digital assets, or a family member trying to understand a loved one’s digital enterprise, we are here to help navigate these increasingly important estate planning considerations.