DIGITAL INHERITANCE IN INHERITANCE LAW IN THE BRAZILIAN LEGAL SCENARIO

Abstract

Digital inheritance refers to the set of digital assets, data, and information that a person leaves behind after their death. This includes social media accounts, emails, files stored in the cloud, photos, videos, documents, cryptocurrencies, passwords, website profiles, blog content, or personal pages, among others. Nowadays, there has been much discussion about how these types of inheritance influence the inheritance process. Given this scenario, this study aimed to analyze the legal and social aspects of digital inheritance in the inheritance process in Brazil. In the methodological field, it was based on a literature review, based on scientific articles, books, and current legislation and case law on the respective topic. Data collection was carried out through databases such as Scielo, Google Scholar, among others, in the period from 2020 to 2025. In the results, in the Brazilian legal system, there is still no specific law that deals with digital inheritance. However, there is Bill 1.689/2021, currently being processed in the Chamber of Deputies, which establishes rules for internet application providers to process profiles, pages, accounts, publications and personal data of deceased individuals. Brazilian case law has already been ruling on cases where there is a dispute over digital assets. For example, in a recent decision in Resp nº. 1878651-SP under the reporting of Minister Moura Ribeiro, the Superior Court of Justice understood that air miles without monetary consideration are not part of hereditary assets.