For more than 26 years, I have practiced elder law in New Jersey. Over that time, I have drafted tens of thousands of estate-planning documents—last wills and testaments, financial general durable powers of attorney, and advance health care directives. These documents are not something people should wait to prepare until old age. They are essential for every adult over the age of 18.
The reason is straightforward. If you cannot make decisions for yourself—because of a stroke, traumatic brain injury, dementia, or sudden illness—no one else has the legal authority to act on your behalf. Not your spouse. Not your children. Without properly drafted legal documents in place, families often discover this reality only after a crisis occurs, when financial institutions, medical providers, or government agencies refuse to recognize their authority.
To ensure my clients are protected, I rely on estate-planning templates I have personally developed and refined over the course of my career. These documents are not static forms pulled off a shelf. They are living instruments that I continuously prune, revise, and expand as the law changes and as novel issues emerge. Over more than two decades of practice, I cannot recall a single instance in which a client or family member contacted me to say that my documents failed to address an issue or prevented them from accomplishing what needed to be done.
What I do see are clients struggling with powers of attorney and wills drafted elsewhere. Often, these documents are vague, outdated, or missing key authority. Those shortcomings usually reveal themselves at the worst possible time, when a bank, brokerage firm, or other institution refuses to act because the document does not clearly authorize it.
One of the most important recent additions I have made to my estate-planning documents addresses New Jersey’s Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. Digital assets are now a central part of modern life. Email accounts, online banking portals, investment and retirement accounts, cryptocurrency, cloud storage, digital photos, subscription services, and social-media accounts often contain critical financial, legal, or sentimental information. Yet access to these assets is governed not only by traditional property law, but also by federal privacy statutes and the terms of service imposed by technology companies.
New Jersey’s Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act—often referred to as RUFADAA—creates a legal framework allowing fiduciaries to access and manage digital assets only if the governing document expressly grants that authority. A fiduciary may be an agent acting under a power of attorney, an executor administering an estate, or a trustee managing trust assets. Without explicit authorization, even a properly appointed fiduciary could be denied access, regardless of their legal status.
In practical terms, this means that if your estate-planning documents do not specifically address digital assets, your loved ones may be unable to access email records, retrieve financial statements, manage online accounts, or properly administer your estate. Service providers are often legally prohibited from granting access unless the documents clearly comply with the statute.
That is why modern estate planning must go beyond traditional concepts of property and authority. A well-drafted plan must reflect the digital world we actually live in today. Estate planning is not about paperwork for its own sake. It is about foresight, precision, and experience. As the law evolves, so must the documents designed to protect you and your family.
Estate planning is not something you complete once and forget. Reviewing your documents as your family, finances, and goals change helps ensure your plan continues to reflect your wishes and protects the people who matter most.