The article is devoted to the key issues that arise when digital objects are included in the heritage. The author consider how the classical theory of inheritance law can be used in the case of digital inheritance and what clarifications should be made to this theory. The purpose of the research is to examine the features of the category “objects of hereditary succession” and its transformation in the case of the digital transformation in society. In order to achieve this purpose the author in the first part of the research studies the general issues of the theory of objects of inheritance. The second part of the article it is analyzed the problems of attributing some objects of civil legal relations that have arisen in the process of digitalization of society to the hereditary mass (digital rights, cryptocurrency, social nets accounts). Finally, in the third part, using inductive reasoning, the researcher formulates general conceptual problems of the development of legislation related to digital objects of inheritance. Based on the results of the research, it was concluded that the following legislative solutions to the identified problems are possible: the establishment of a complete ban on inheritance of digital assets; the creation of a separate legal regulation of inheritance relations specifically for digital assets; the assumption of the fact of inclusion in the hereditary mass of a digital object only if it is really possible to put it into circulation; the assumption of some features of inheritance of “digital objects”. Undoubtedly, the choice of approach strongly depends on the state’s policy in the field of the digital economy, which in turn should proceed from sound concepts and practical proposals. The position of the author of the article is that the legal regulation of “digital” hereditary relations in Russia has be based on a mixed method,including a combination of traditional and technological methods. Such a method is most correlated with the assumption of the fact of inclusion in the hereditary mass of a digital object only if it is really possible to put it into circulation.
For citation: Volos A.A. (2022) Digitalization of Society and Objects of Hereditary Succession. Law. Journal of the Higher School of Economics, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 51–71 (in Russ.). DOI:10.17323/2072-8166.2022.3.51.71.