Two moments when control changes hands
Digital assets pass to other people at two predictable moments: divorce and death. Both expose the same structural feature of the asset class. Title follows the private key, so a spouse or an heir who does not have the key has a legal right without a practical means of exercising it. The Singapore law of matrimonial property and of succession was written for bank accounts, land and shares, where a court order or a grant of probate can be served on an intermediary who then transfers the asset. For self-custodied tokens there is no intermediary. This chapter sets out how the Women's Charter 1961, the Probate and Administration Act 1934, the Intestate Succession Act 1967 and the Wills Act 1838 apply to digital assets, where the gaps are, and how a Singapore practitioner closes them. It ends with the cross-border estate that has Swiss elements, which is the pattern this book's readers most often present.
For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of October 2026.