Digital Testament Instructions Chile

Digital Testament Instructions Chile (Instrucciones Testamentarias Digitales) is a supplementary planning document by which a testator in Chile records detailed instructions regarding digital assets, online accounts, cryptocurrency holdings, and personal data management upon their death, within the framework established by Código Civil (CC) Article 999 for testamentary dispositions and Ley 19.628 on the protection of privacy of personal data. While Chilean law does not yet have a specific statute governing digital inheritance (herencia digital) — unlike jurisdictions such as the United States with the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) — the existing framework of the CC and Ley 19.628 provides the legal basis for testators to document and transmit their digital asset instructions to designated heirs and digital executors.

CC Article 999 defines testament (testamento) as a solemn act in which a person disposes of all or part of their assets to take effect after their death, also being able to contain other declarations. This broad definition — particularly the reference to other declarations (otras declaraciones) — accommodates instructions regarding digital assets, account access credentials, and post-mortem data management as valid testamentary content supplementing asset distribution. Chilean notaries (Notarios Públicos regulated by the COT Articles 399–437) increasingly accept digital asset clauses and digital instruction annexes as part of testamentos abiertos (open testaments) executed before them.

Ley 19.628 on the protection of personal data, administered by the Consejo para la Transparencia and subject to amendment under the ongoing legislative reform toward a General Data Protection Law (Proyecto de Ley Boletín 11144-07), establishes rights over personal data that have posthumous implications. Under Ley 19.628, personal data (datos personales) includes any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person — including digital communications, social media content, photographs, and behavioral data stored in online platforms. The Instrucciones Testamentarias Digitales allow the testator to designate a trusted person (ejecutor digital) to exercise data protection rights on their behalf after death, including requesting deletion or transfer of personal data from platforms operating in Chile.

Digital assets in Chile encompass a broad and growing category: cryptocurrency holdings (Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptoactivos traded on exchanges regulated or monitored by the CMF and SII); NFTs (tokens no fungibles) representing digital art, collectibles, and other blockchain-based assets; domain names and websites generating advertising revenue (ingresos por publicidad digital) taxable under the LIR; digital business assets including software licenses, e-commerce stores, and digital product catalogs; social media accounts with monetization (cuentas de redes sociales con monetización) including YouTube channels, Instagram accounts, and TikTok creators registered as contribuyentes of the SII; and online banking and investment accounts at CMF-regulated fintech platforms and digital banks.

The SII has been increasingly active in regulating cryptocurrency taxation in Chile through its Circular 71 of 2016 and subsequent guidance, treating cryptoactivos as movable incorporeal assets (bienes muebles incorporales) for income tax purposes under the LIR Article 17 N° 8. Gains from cryptocurrency sales or exchanges are taxable as capital gains, and cryptocurrency holdings form part of the declarable estate (patrimonio declarable) under Ley 16.271 inheritance tax rules.

Digital Testament Instructions in Chile are needed whenever a person holds significant digital assets, online accounts, or personal data that would otherwise become inaccessible or improperly managed upon their death. The growing digital economy in Chile means that an increasing proportion of personal and family wealth exists in digital form — and without proper documentation, heirs and family members face significant practical and legal barriers to accessing and managing these assets.

Cryptocurrency investors in Chile who hold Bitcoin, Ethereum, or other digital assets on exchanges such as Buda.com, Orionx, or international platforms, or in personal hardware wallets (Ledger, Trezor), face a critical risk: if access credentials and wallet seed phrases are not documented and communicated to trusted persons, the cryptocurrency becomes permanently inaccessible upon death. The SII requires that cryptocurrency holdings be declared as part of the taxable estate under Ley 16.271, and heirs cannot comply with inheritance tax obligations if they cannot access the assets.

Content creators registered with the SII as contribuyentes — YouTubers, Instagram influencers, podcasters, and TikTok creators generating advertising revenue (AdSense, brand partnerships, subscription income) — need to document their platform credentials, monetization accounts (Google AdSense, YouTube Partner Program), and brand partnership contracts so that their heirs or designated digital executors can continue or wind down the commercial activities after death. YouTube channel ownership, for example, cannot be transferred without access to the Google account.

Small business owners operating e-commerce stores on platforms such as MercadoLibre Chile, Shopify, or WooCommerce-based sites need to document platform access, supplier contacts, customer databases, and intellectual property rights so that the business can be continued or liquidated by the heirs. Domain names registered with NIC Chile (the .cl domain administrator) and hosting accounts must be documented for timely renewal and transfer.

Persons concerned about their personal data and digital privacy — photographs, private communications, medical records stored in digital form, and social media content — need to designate a trusted person to exercise their post-mortem data rights under Ley 19.628, including requesting account memorialization, deletion, or transfer from platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn operating in Chile.

Digital Testament Instructions Chile under Código Civil Art. 999 and Ley 19.628 should contain the following essential components to enable heirs and digital executors to effectively manage digital assets after death:

Identification of the Testator and Digital Executor (Individualización del Testador y Ejecutor Digital): Full legal name, RUT, date of birth, and contact details of the testador. Designation of the ejecutor digital (digital executor) — a trusted person who will carry out these instructions after the testator's death. Provide their full legal name, RUT, email address, and phone number. The ejecutor digital should be different from the albacea testamentario (testamentary executor) named in the formal testament, or the same person with a broader digital mandate. The legal authority of the ejecutor digital should be reinforced by a mandato especial (special power of attorney under CC Article 2130) granting specific digital management powers.

Cryptocurrency and Digital Asset Inventory (Inventario de Criptoactivos y Activos Digitales): A comprehensive list of all digital assets held, for each: - Exchange accounts: platform name (Buda.com, Orionx, Binance, Coinbase, Kraken), registered email, account number/username, and instructions for accessing the account. Access credentials should NOT be stored in the public testament — they should be stored in a secure password manager (1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass) with access instructions provided to the ejecutor digital separately. - Hardware wallets: device type and model (Ledger Nano, Trezor Model T), storage location, and instructions for the seed phrase access mechanism. The seed phrase itself should be stored securely (bank safe deposit box at Banco de Chile or BancoEstado, or in a sealed physical envelope held by a trusted notary). - Software wallets: wallet application names, associated email addresses, and recovery instructions. - NFT collections: blockchain (Ethereum, Solana, Polygon), marketplace accounts (OpenSea, Magic Eden), wallet addresses, and collection descriptions with approximate values for SII inheritance tax declaration purposes.

Online Account Inventory (Inventario de Cuentas en Línea): For each significant online account: - Google/Gmail: account email, recovery options, and instructions for Google's Inactive Account Manager — the deceased's Gmail and Google Drive contents, Google Photos, and YouTube channel should be addressed. - Social media accounts: Facebook/Meta, Instagram, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, TikTok — specify whether to memorialize (memorializar), delete (eliminar), or transfer to an heir. Facebook's Legacee Contact feature and Instagram's memorialization request process should be referenced. - Streaming accounts: Netflix, Spotify, Apple Music — cancellation instructions. - E-commerce seller accounts: MercadoLibre Chile seller account, Shopify store, Amazon Seller account — transfer or liquidation instructions. - Domain registrations: NIC Chile .cl domains, GoDaddy, Namecheap — renewal dates and transfer authorization codes (EPP codes).

Online Banking and Investment Accounts (Cuentas Bancarias y de Inversión Online): List of online banking accounts at fintech platforms (Tenpo, Mercado Pago Chile, Chango) and investment platforms (Fintual, Brickfy, BICE Inversiones online portal), with account numbers and the contact information for the CMF-regulated institutions' estates departments. These are separate from traditional bank accounts which are handled through the standard posesión efectiva process under Ley 19.903.

Digital Business Assets (Activos Empresariales Digitales): Intellectual property rights registered with INAPI (trademarks, software patents, domain names); e-commerce store inventory and supplier contacts; Google Analytics and advertising platform accounts (Google Ads, Facebook Ads); email marketing lists and CRM databases; and SaaS subscription services essential to the business operation.

Personal Data Management Instructions (Instrucciones de Gestión de Datos Personales — Ley 19.628): Instructions for the ejecutor digital regarding personal data under Ley 19.628: whether to request deletion (eliminación) of personal data from platforms; whether to preserve (conservar) specific personal communications, photographs, or documents for family members; how to handle private medical records stored digitally; and specific instructions regarding sensitive data (datos sensibles under Ley 19.628 Article 2) including health, political opinions, or religious beliefs stored in digital form.

Storage and Security Instructions (Instrucciones de Almacenamiento y Seguridad): The instructions document itself should NOT contain actual passwords, seed phrases, or private keys — these must be stored separately in: a sealed physical envelope held by the testator's Notario Público; a bank safe deposit box at Banco de Chile, BancoEstado, or Banco Santander Chile, with a letter of authorization naming the ejecutor digital as authorized to access it; or an encrypted password manager with the master password communicated through a pre-agreed secure channel to the ejecutor digital.

Links to Formal Testament and Legal Documents (Vinculación con Testamento y Documentos Legales): Reference the formal testamento abierto or testamento cerrado executed before a Notario Público under CC Article 999 et seq. that incorporates or references these instructions. The instrucciones testamentarias digitales should be cross-referenced in the formal testament to ensure legal continuity and enable heirs to include digital assets in the SII inheritance tax declaration using Formulario 4412.

Forms-legal.com provides these Digital Testament Instructions Chile as a practical planning template to help Chilean residents address the growing importance of digital assets in estate planning, within the framework of CC Art. 999 and Ley 19.628. Given the evolving regulatory landscape for digital assets and the SII's active stance on cryptocurrency taxation, testators should consult an abogado and a contador auditor specializing in digital assets and succession before finalizing their digital estate plan. Los usuarios de forms-legal.com pueden descargar este documento de forma gratuita en formato PDF o DOCX, completar los campos del formulario guiado y obtener un documento listo para firma.