Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to digital assets for next of kin where they are not reference in the will of the deceased.

The Government will consider recommendations made in respect of accessing digital assets after a person has died and inheritance questions for such rights, in the light of two forthcoming law reform reports being undertaken by the Law Commission.

The first of these is the law reform project on digital assets which is exploring how the existing law of personal property applies to digital assets. The Law Commission’s consultation paper on this topic was issued in July and runs to 4 November 2022.

The second is the Law Commission’s law reform project reviewing the law of wills which will contribute to the evidence base around the transfer of digital assets on death.