The original post: /r/pcmasterrace by /u/Slawrfp on 2024-05-27 13:21:44.

I keep seeing articles popping up explaining how the inheritance of Steam accounts is impossible due to Valve’s subscriber agreement and that there is nothing that can be done about it legally speaking. You should know that if you’re American, there are already laws in place in many states that can let you bequeath your Steam account and other game libraries regardless of what Valve or anyone else write in their EULA.

Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) is federal legislation which allows a digital executor to stand in your place online should you die or become incapacitated. Essentially, RUFADAA allows you to specify in your will who can access and manage your online accounts as well as the level of access that they would have. The level of access you can grant in your will ranges from transferring full ownership of your accounts to only allowing your executor to close your accounts after your death. I made this thread to discuss Steam accounts, but the legislation allows you to bequeath all your digital assets which include social media profiles, dating profiles, emails accounts, subscription service accounts (which would cover things like Steam, Xbox, PS, Amazon accounts) and more.

As of right now, I cannot find a case of someone using this law to request access to a Steam account, but just because the law has not been tested in a specific way, it does not mean that such a request is unlikely to succeed. At the moment it is much easier to just give your password to your family instead of going through a long legal process, but it is only a matter of time before this problem reaches the courts as gamers age, making digital inheritance a bigger issue. The process of transferring a Steam account might be expensive due to legal fees and you might need a court order if Valve is uncooperative but you should remember that if you live in America, as long as you make sure to consult a lawyer and include clear your digital assets in your will, you are not powerless.

I have included some links to pages which explain RUFADAA in more detail as well as which states the law has been passed in. If digital inheritance is something you care about I really suggest you give them a read.

https://trustandwill.com/learn/what-is-rufadaa

https://schneiderdowns.com/our-thoughts-on/are-your-digital-assets-lost-forever/

https://easeenet.com/blog/what-is-rufadaa-and-why-should-you-care/

https://www.uniformlaws.org/viewdocument/final-act-with-comments-40?CommunityKey=f7237fc4-74c2-4728-81c6-b39a91ecdf22&tab=librarydocuments (you can download and read the legislation on your own here)