WHEREAS Canadians increasingly hold significant digital assets, both tangible and intangible, including personal electronic devices, online financial accounts, crypto assets, business records, and creative works, creating new challenges for fiduciaries administering estates, trusts, guardianships and powers of attorney;
WHEREAS the Uniform Law Conference of Canada (ULCC) adopted the Uniform Access to Digital Assets by Fiduciaries Act (the Act) in 2016;
WHEREAS the Act affirms that the usual powers of fiduciaries, as defined under the Act, extend to digital assets, and clarifies that these fiduciaries include personal representatives of estates, court-appointed guardians, attorneys acting under powers of attorney and trustees;
WHEREAS the law in the other Canadian jurisdictions remains unclear and inconsistent regarding either fiduciary access to digital assets, or the obligations of custodians of digital assets to facilitate such access, and uncertainty for fiduciaries, service providers and affected families;
WHEREAS this fragmented legal landscape increases costs, delays estate administration, and may leave vulnerable individuals at risk when fiduciaries cannot access essential information or assets;
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Canadian Bar Association endorses the objectives of the Uniform Access to Digital Assets by Fiduciaries Act (2016) and urges the remaining provinces and territories to enact comparable legislation to ensure clear, consistent and privacy-respecting access for fiduciaries.
Moved by Wills, Estates & Trusts
