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Chapter 740 — Digital Assets

Florida Statute 740.009

Disclosure of other digital assets of principal

What it means

For everything short of message content, §740.009 lets an agent act on ordinary authority. Unless a court, the principal, or the power of attorney provides otherwise, the custodian shall disclose the principal's catalog of electronic communications and other non-content digital assets to an agent with specific authority over digital assets or general authority to act on the principal's behalf.

Required: a written request; the original or a copy of the power of attorney giving that authority; and the agent's certification under penalty of perjury that it is in effect — plus an account identifier or linking evidence if the custodian requests.

— What it says
  • General authority is enough — specific digital-asset language is not required for non-content disclosure.
  • The custodian shall disclose the catalog and other digital assets, except the content of electronic communications.
  • Package: written request, the power of attorney, and a penalty-of-perjury certification that it remains in effect.
  • The court, the principal, or the instrument itself can cut this access off.
— In a real probate

How it plays out

Incapacity is where this section earns its keep. An agent under a standard durable power of attorney can identify the principal's accounts, watch statements arrive, cancel subscriptions, and deal with custodial platforms — all without the express content grant §740.008 demands. In our administrations the non-content access usually covers the finances; the content question surfaces later, if the family needs what the messages say.

Where this shows up

Pages on this site where § 740.009 does real work:

The official text
This page is a plain-English summary, verified against the 2026 Florida Statutes — it is not the statute, and it isn't legal advice for your situation.
Read § 740.009
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