DIGITAL INHERITANCE IN BRAZILIAN SUCCESSION LAW: LIMITS ON HEIRS' ACCESS TO PASSWORD-PROTECTED DIGITAL ASSETS IN LIGHT OF RESP NO. 2.124.424/SP

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the legal limits of heirs’ access to password-protected digital assets within Brazilian Succession Law, with special attention to Special Appeal No. 2.124.424/SP, judged by the Superior Court of Justice. The research adopts a qualitative approach, based on bibliographic, documentary, and case-law research, developed through the deductive method and grounded in the analysis of applicable legislation, specialized academic literature, institutional documents, and judicial decisions. The legal nature of digital assets, their classification into patrimonial, existential, and hybrid assets, as well as their causa mortis transmissibility, are examined. The limits arising from the protection of intimacy, private life, and the rights of third parties are also analyzed. The results demonstrate that the right to inheritance does not authorize automatic and unrestricted access to all digital content left by the deceased, making it necessary to distinguish between transmissible legal positions and predominantly personal content. The analysis of Special Appeal No. 2.124.424/SP demonstrates the possibility of adopting a judicial mechanism aimed at the identification, classification, and assessment of digital assets, without indiscriminate exposure of the private sphere. It is concluded that digital succession requires a balance between the effective exercise of inheritance rights and the protection of personality rights, while greater legal certainty and specific legal regulation on the matter remain necessary.