Arizona Business Owners: Protecting Your Digital Business Legacy in the New Year
As a new year begins, many Arizona business owners take time to reflect, not just on growth goals and revenue projections, but on the bigger picture. The business you have built supports your family, provides livelihoods for employees, and contributes to the local community. Whether your company is a multi-generation family enterprise, a professional practice, or a growing online brand, it represents years of dedication and hard work. Yet much of that value now lives in places you cannot physically see or touch.
Websites, online storefronts, client databases, payment platforms, cloud accounting software, digital marketing accounts, and even cryptocurrency holdings are often central to a business’s success. These digital business assets are real property under the law, and in many cases, they are among the most valuable assets an Arizona business owner owns.¹
The new year is an ideal time to ask an important question: If something happened tomorrow, would your business, and the people who depend on it, be protected?
The Modern Arizona Business Is a Digital Business
Arizona’s economy is powered by entrepreneurs, small businesses, and family-owned companies. Increasingly, those businesses rely on digital systems to operate:
E-commerce platforms that generate daily revenue
Online banking, payroll, and bookkeeping software
Client portals, scheduling systems, and subscription services
Social media and digital marketing accounts tied directly to brand value
Cloud-stored contracts, intellectual property, and trade secrets
Even traditional brick-and-mortar businesses now depend on digital infrastructure to function. If access to those systems is lost—even temporarily—the impact can be immediate and severe.
Despite this reality, many business succession and estate plans still focus almost exclusively on physical assets and ownership interests, leaving digital operations unaddressed.
Why Digital Business Assets Create Unique Legal Risks
Digital assets are governed not only by Arizona law, but also by federal privacy laws and individual platform user agreements. Without clear legal authority, even a spouse, business partner, or executor may be locked out of critical systems.
Common issues Arizona business owners face include:
No one can access business accounts after death or incapacity
Revenue streams shut down because logins or authentication tools are unavailable
Employees or family members lack authority to manage online operations
Cybercriminals exploit dormant accounts or public probate filing
Arizona has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA), which governs who can legally access digital accounts after death or incapacity.² However, that access is not automatic. It must be clearly authorized in estate planning documents.
Without that authorization, even well-intentioned family members or business partners may face delays, court involvement, or permanent loss of digital assets.
Business Continuity Is Also Family Protection
For many Arizona business owners, the business is more than income, it is how families are supported, college educations are funded, and retirement plans are secured.
When a business owner becomes incapacitated or passes away without a clear digital and legal plan:
- Payroll may be interrupted
- Vendors and clients may lose confidence
- Employees may be left uncertain about their jobs
- Surviving family members may face unnecessary stress and financial risk
Planning for digital business continuity is not pessimistic. It is an act of stewardship—one that reflects the same responsibility business owners show every day to their families, employees, and communities.
Practical Steps Arizona Business Owners Can Take This Year
A thoughtful approach does not require sharing passwords or creating risk. It does require clarity, documentation, and legal alignment.
Key steps include:
Create a digital business asset inventory
List websites, domains, payment processors, software platforms, cloud storage, crypto wallets, and digital marketing accounts.Separate access instructions from passwords
Passwords should never appear in wills or trusts. Instead, document where secure access information is stored.Authorize digital access under Arizona law
Ensure your estate plan expressly grants fiduciaries authority over digital business assets under RUFADAA.Plan for incapacity—not just death
Powers of attorney should allow trusted individuals to manage digital operations if you are temporarily or permanently unable to do so.Consider privacy and probate exposure
Trust-based planning may reduce public disclosure of sensitive business and digital information.Review cybersecurity practices regularly
Strong passwords, multifactor authentication, and secure document storage protect both your business and your legacy.³
A New Year Focused on Stability and Legacy
Arizona business owners are builders of opportunity, of community, and of security for those they love. Taking time at the beginning of the year to review how your business operates digitally, and how it would continue without you, is not about anticipating worst-case scenarios. It is about ensuring that what you have built continues to serve its purpose.
A business that survives disruption, whether economic, personal, or technological—is one that was designed with foresight.
As we enter a new year, thoughtful planning can help ensure that your digital business assets remain a source of stability, not uncertainty, for the people who matter most. If you would like to have a brief conversation about how Arizona law treats digital business assets and how they fit into your broader estate or succession plan, we invite you to schedule a free 15-minute phone call. It is simply an opportunity to ask questions, gain clarity, and start the year with confidence.
1. Internal Revenue Service, Digital Assets Guidance; Uniform Law Commission, Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act Overview
2. Arizona Revised Statutes §§ 14-13101–14-13118 (Arizona’s adoption of RUFADAA)
3. Federal Trade Commission, Protecting Personal and Business Information; FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) Annual Report
