This is not legal advice. This guide is general legal information for Mauritius and does not replace a consultation with a lawyer who has the full context of your case.
Digital assets after death may pass as property, remain subject to a provider's contract, or become inaccessible because no valid credential or cryptographic key survives. A Mauritius estate must identify what exists before deciding what can be transferred, preserved or closed. The device, the account and the content are not necessarily owned on the same terms.
Value and access rights are different
A digital estate can include cryptocurrency, balances held with online services, domain names, monetised channels, photographs, manuscripts, software and contractual royalty rights. Some have a market value. Others matter because they record a family life. A subscription or personal profile may provide only a limited licence that ends at death.
The first question is what the deceased owned. The second is what the service contract permits another person to do. A phone bought outright may belong to the estate while encrypted content remains locked. An executor's title to an asset does not automatically create technical access to every system connected with it.
Inventory accounts, devices, wallets and rights
Look for evidence without attempting speculative logins. Bank statements may show recurring platform charges. Tax papers, invoices, app-store receipts and business records may identify paid services or income-producing accounts. Devices should be preserved in their existing condition, with chargers and storage media labelled. Repeated attempts can trigger a lock or erase setting.
The inventory should distinguish provider-held assets from self-custodied assets. Record the account name, service, apparent owner, likely value and any nominated legacy contact. For a wallet, note the public address and the existence of a hardware device or recovery record, but do not circulate secret material. Estate planning in Mauritius explains how that inventory fits beside land, accounts and family obligations.
The will and service terms may conflict
A will can express who receives property in the estate. It cannot rewrite a contract between the deceased and an online provider. The provider may offer memorialisation, deletion, data download or transfer for certain account types. It may also require a death certificate, proof of authority and a formal request before releasing anything.
Copyright and account control should not be confused. A beneficiary might inherit rights in photographs or written work without acquiring the deceased's profile or licence to use the provider's system. Business accounts can raise a further question about whether the account belonged to the individual, a company or a partnership. These ownership points belong in the same review as making a Mauritian will.
Lawful access, not inherited passwords
Using a familiar password may feel practical, especially where the deceased shared it during life. It can still breach the service terms or amount to access without current authority. The Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Act 2021 addresses unauthorised access to computer data and systems. An executor should therefore approach the provider through its legal or deceased-user channel.
Ask for the least access needed. A statement of balance may be enough to complete an inventory. Transfer of a domain might require different proof from disclosure of messages. The Data Protection Act 2017 governs personal-data processing in Mauritius, and communications may contain information about living people. Estate authority does not remove their privacy interests.
In practice, the delay usually sits at proof of authority rather than at the first email to a platform. Keep the death certificate, will or succession papers, identity documents and provider correspondence together. If later evidence is disputed, the principles in evidence and witnesses in Mauritian courts become relevant.
Cryptocurrency without a private key
Cryptocurrency presents a sharp divide. An exchange or licensed custodian may control the keys and have a process for an authorised estate representative. A self-custodied wallet is different. Control depends on the private key or recovery phrase, not on a letter sent to a central administrator.
If no usable key can be found, legal entitlement cannot recreate it. The asset may remain visible on a blockchain yet be practically unavailable. Do not type a recovery phrase into websites offering help or give it to an unverified finder. Preserve the hardware, original packaging and any clue to the wallet arrangement while specialist technical and legal advice is obtained.
The Virtual Asset and Initial Token Offering Services Act 2021 regulates virtual asset service providers operating in or from Mauritius. The Financial Services Commission supervises those regulated activities. That framework does not turn a private key into an estate record, and it does not establish that a foreign exchange is regulated here. Platform location and custody must be checked.
Privacy, memory and account closure
Not every digital decision is financial. Families may want photographs preserved, a social profile memorialised or an email account closed. Different relatives can reasonably prefer different outcomes. The deceased's written wishes, the will, the provider's options and the interests of people appearing in the material should be considered separately.
A wholesale download may expose confidential messages, medical information or another person's private documents. Limit copying to the estate purpose and record who received it. The point most often missed is that preservation is itself a decision. Cloud storage can be deleted after billing stops, while an unnecessary copy can create a lasting privacy problem.
A secure digital estate record
A useful record tells an executor what exists and where the lawful access instructions are stored. It need not reveal passwords inside the will. Keep the asset inventory separate from credentials, use a secure method that another authorised person can reach, and review nominations after a change of provider or device.
For valuable accounts, record whether custody is personal or institutional and where ownership evidence is held. Cross-border services may also have claims, charges or verification demands tied to another country; see cross-border debts in a Mauritius estate. The property, estates and wills practice places the digital record within the wider succession rather than treating it as a list of passwords.
Frequently asked questions
Can an executor access a deceased person's email in Mauritius?
An executor should use the provider's deceased-user or legal-request process and prove the estate authority being relied upon. Possession of a password does not by itself establish permission to enter or disclose the account. This is general information; the lawful route depends on the provider, the account and the purpose of access.
How do heirs inherit cryptocurrency held by someone who died?
The estate must first identify the asset, ownership evidence and the means of control. A regulated custodian may have a documented death process, while a self-custodied wallet requires the valid private key or recovery material. This is general information; entitlement, transfer and any foreign platform requirements need advice on the particular holding.
Should passwords be written into a Mauritian will?
Usually, no. A will may be produced to several people or offices, and a password can change long before the will is used. A separate, secured access record is generally safer, but this is general information and the estate plan should be reviewed for your accounts and security arrangements.
How Lex Aquila Advocates can help
Lex Aquila Advocates can advise on ownership, succession authority and disputes concerning a digital asset connected with Mauritius. The chambers can also frame requests for information and coordinate the digital issue with the will and administration through its property, estates and wills practice.
The initial consultation is a fixed-fee conference, confirmed in writing when the appointment is made.
use the enquiry form; enquire on WhatsApp; or call +230 5858 7956 · urgent matters.
This is not legal advice. This guide is general legal information for Mauritius and does not replace a consultation with a lawyer who has the full context of your case.