In terms of inheritance law, there are fewer problems with digital content than on a factual level – such as with access data.
To person
Dr. A.S. Gerold Oberhumer is a lawyer and partner at Scherbaum Seebacher Rechtsanwälte GmbH.
Wien.
The practice of inheritance law has known the problem for a long time, the majority of the population is simply not aware of it: anyone who collects digital assets and e.g. Investing in Bitcoins, for example, runs the risk of leaving nothing to the heirs. If the wallet code is gone, the bitcoins are gone too. However, it does not have to be cryptocurrencies that vanish into thin air before the eyes of the heirs. It is also often not possible for the heirs to access user accounts on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Xing.
In terms of inheritance law, the fate of the digital estate is not particularly exciting. So it would be legally clear that the sole heir also has to get the bitcoins of the deceased. Digital content becomes the property of the heir or heirs in the same way as other assets when it becomes legally binding. The nature of universal legal succession and the broad technical concept in Austrian law manage the phenomenon of “digital inheritance” remarkably calmly, without the need for any special norms. It is also unproblematic and permissible to leave one’s crypto assets as part of a legacy to someone other than the heir, such as the lover and not the husband.
