The social media world has created opportunities for careers in content creation that were unthinkable just years ago. And with these shifting, complex income streams (many of which may be entirely new to estate planning practitioners), finding solutions for content creators can require unique considerations. While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, this article endeavors to identify a few relevant considerations—"who”, “what”, “when”, “where”, “why”, and “how"—that estate planners and attorneys working with content creators should be aware of when advising content creator clients.
It’s 2026, and the internet is bigger than ever. That’s literal, of course, but it’s also true in the sense that more brands are turning to digital marketing, influencer partnerships, and social media platforms to sell products and services. The “creator economy” has grown to more than $250 billion annually, with predictions that it could grow to nearly $480 billion over the next three years.
Much of that wealth is ending up in the pockets of individual content creators. Some of the world’s most famous influencers reportedly pull in more than $2 million per post on their social media platforms. But even “micro influencers"—those with followings of 15,000 to 75,000 across platforms—can make $2,000 to $8,000 per post from sponsored promotions, brand partnerships, affiliate marketing, or off-screen enterprises driven by social media engagement
With regular effort, income from content creation can stack up fast, even for those without a massive following or “influencer” status. For many, the allure of a career in content creation is not only the high earning potential but also the flexibility to build a bespoke business on their terms and from anywhere in the world. It is precisely this flexibility that requires attorneys working with content creators to craft individualized solutions for clients with individualized concerns, balancing wealth preservation, contingency and succession planning, unique privacy needs, and the creator’s long-term legacy.
Who Are the Players?
Content creators. Content creators fall into various categories based on their following, from the “nano-influencer” with a few thousand followers to major celebrities, who are brands in and of themselves. In evaluating whether you need to think about your client’s estate plan as one involving unique content creator issues, a good rule of thumb would be whether your client’s income and asset mix is so wrapped up in the creator economy that losing access to these streams would be material. This is true of early-stage creators (whose income in this sphere comes primarily from the content itself) as well as established creators (who may use their platform to drive traffic to unrelated sources of income). A doctor who occasionally posts sketches on her Instagram for the benefit of her friends will not need this kind of special treatment. But a doctor with supplemental (or primary) income from promoting healthy products on a science-focused social media account probably does.
Fiduciaries. One of the most critical decisions that an attorney needs to advise a client on is who to nominate for various fiduciary roles, such as trustee, executor, and attorney-in-fact. While some content creators may have sufficient assets for a corporate fiduciary to take on the account, the creator may be concerned that a corporate fiduciary may not be nimble or savvy enough to manage the creator’s brand in the event of death or incapacity. Thus, an attorney should be ready to discuss with their client whether they want to appoint a trusted friend, a relative, or a private professional fiduciary—in any event, someone who understands the creator’s brand, business, and long-term goals.
Business managers. Increasingly, content creators are also working with formal business managers who may have insight into details of the creator’s business that the attorney does not themselves have. Clients may want to loop these advisers in early, which can be advantageous to understanding the landscape. Still, an attorney must proceed with caution in involving a creator’s management team, which may pose confidentiality and conflict questions.
Estate planners. As with any private client matter, the attorney should be ready to discuss with the client who the beneficiaries of their estate will be. The difference for content creators is that creators trend younger, and an attorney should be ready to amend a creator’s plan as their family and priorities change.
What Assets Will Be in the Creator’s Estate or Trust?
Intellectual property rights. The client’s asset mix is one of the biggest differences an attorney will need to contend with when advising a content creator. Successful creators will have valuable intellectual property assets, much of which may be copyrightable or otherwise protectable. An attorney without intellectual property expertise may need to consult with experienced intellectual property counsel to determine what, if anything, needs to be done to protect the client’s intellectual property.
Access to digital assets. Planning will also involve the management of digital assets like social media logins, emails, virtual storefronts, and other workstream platforms. This, in turn, may require the fiduciary to comply with the California Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access To Digital Assets Act, and may be particularly important if the creator uses online services to drive traffic to affiliated sites with other income streams. Recognizing the importance of accessing online accounts in the event of incapacity, the California legislature recently updated the California RUFADAA to allow access by conservators and attorneys-in-fact. Alternatively, an established creator may be operating through an entity, and it may be that entity that has control over these digital assets. Ensuring that there is no delay in accessing these platforms will be critical to the post-death administration of these digital assets, and an attorney should be prepared to discuss with their client where fiduciaries will be able to access these assets.
Administration of digital assets. Access to a content creator’s accounts is only the first step. A content creator may have specific plans for what happens to their online presence after their death. After all, social media platforms have allowed content creator accounts to become businesses that need succession plans. A creator may wish to include specific instructions in their controlling instrument(s) as to how they want those accounts handled after their death. An attorney advising content creators should also be familiar with the terms of service of the relevant platforms and what posthumous activities they allow, and how those rules affect personal and business accounts, because a creator may have both.
Estate planning for equities and business interests. An estate planner may also be surprised to see valuable equities and business interests in the content creator’s portfolio. Brands have been known to compensate content creators with equity, which could be valued in the millions of dollars, or the creators may have diversified their assets into unrelated ventures, including real estate.
Critically, creators are frequently and increasingly operating through an entity such as an LLC (smaller creators or those in early stages) or corporation (which can be more advantageous for outside investment). Thus, an estate planner should be aware of how ownership of those entities will be transferred, whether there are any limitations on transfer, and whether transfer will result in tax consequences—capital gains and basis-adjustment considerations for the creator’s estate planning, for example. Institutional investment, including private equity and venture capital is not uncommon, and estate planners may want to think about their creator clients like startup founders preparing for an exit. There may also be reasons to get the assets out of the creator’s estate for gift and estate tax purposes, if the estate is taxable or the assets are expected to substantially increase in value.
When Does a Creator Need Private Wealth Counsel?
There is no magic, fixed date by which a content creator should have consulted with a lawyer, but several unique considerations for creators lend themselves to early action, and their attorney should advise the client as such.
First, as mentioned above, a creator with valuable intellectual property should consult with an attorney quickly to get the process of protecting that property underway. Recent history has revealed this is not merely hypothetical: In 2024, after a content creator went viral for the phrase “very demure, very mindful,” a race to the US Patent and Trademark Office ensued to get control over that phrase. Without proper planning, the content creator may find a phrase they coined but failed to protect featured prominently in a hit song.
Second, influencers hoping to make use of relatively low asset valuations should act early to get those assets out of their estate before the assets appreciate, and therefore potentially avoid increased estate tax burdens. A creator’s business may be, in effect, a rapidly growing startup business that trades on the creator’s popularity, and attorneys may want to consider advising these clients like they would a startup founder preparing for an exit, preserving low valuations while taking efforts to ensure adequate liquidity.
Third, early action will also be essential in preserving a client’s privacy, which may be even more important for creator clients than non-creators. Of course, privacy is important for many public-facing clients. But creators trade on their public persona and, as a result, may wish to take even more steps to preserve the private parts of their life.
Finally, it is imperative that a creator take action early to ensure there is no disruption in the event of incapacity or death. Substantial time offline while legatees battle over the creator’s assets can spell disaster for the creator’s brand and the goodwill that the creator worked so hard to create over the course of their career. For this reason, it may be advantageous to think early about buy-sell agreements, life insurance, and other business succession planning.
Where Is a Creator’s Domicile for Tax, Privacy Purposes?
State Tax. Content creators may find it advantageous for their careers to live and work in California—not only for the sunshine and palm trees, but also because there is substantial infrastructure that has been built up in California to support the creator economy. But being domiciled there can be problematic from a tax planning perspective. California’s income tax rate (12.3% in 2025 for highest earners) is the highest in the nation. Several states (Florida, Texas, and Nevada, for example) have no state income tax. Thus, planners should work with their clients to determine if state income tax can be avoided by ensuring the creator’s domicile is not California for tax purposes. The Franchise Tax Board (California’s taxing authority) could also potentially reach nonresidents if the income is derived from a California source, particularly if the income producing asset is held in a California-based trust, adding to the benefits of thoughtful domicile planning.
Privacy. As discussed in more detail below, privacy is also likely to be a fundamental consideration for many content creator clients. In addition to offering certain tax advantages, different states have different rules that maintain more or less privacy for the creator. South Dakota, for example, has settlor-friendly rules regarding disclosures to beneficiaries and sealing of court proceedings in the event of a trust dispute. Though admittedly probably not necessary for most clients and in most circumstances, an attorney advising a content creator client may need to be prepared for referrals to or collaboration with an estate planner in a privacy-friendly state.
Foreign countries. The creator economy is also worldwide. Thus, it is important for clients to be aware of the different rules surrounding intellectual property in various states and foreign countries. Proactive planning for international creators could also help reduce significant, potentially overlapping, taxation both during life and on death.
Why Do Creators Need Special Planning?
Many of the reasons why creators need special planning have already been discussed: for example, protecting intellectual property, reducing tax burden, and ensuring proper contingency planning in the event of death or incapacity.
But the list goes on. Content creators are public figures and may wish to protect their privacy. Estate planning done early, efficiently, and correctly can avoid the scrutiny inherent in a public probate and circumvent prying eyes of fans and supporters. This is especially critical for creator clients who have built an identifiable brand based on their public persona. Attorneys working with creator clients should understand that the perceived openness between creators and their fans is critical to the creator’s success, and that steps should be taken to keep non-public information private.
Legacy planning may also be important to creator clients. Careful estate planning can ensure that the brand or audience the creator has built lives on after their death in a way that the creator would be happy with. All of this can be done while preserving flexibility and the creator’s control over their business.
How to Design a Plan for Creators?
Like for any other client, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to advising and planning for content creators. However, a few tools and best practices should not be overlooked.
Framework. As a basic framework, an attorney working with an established creator client may wish to think about their creator clients like startup founders: They have started and grown a business, may be looking for an exit or to diversify, and want to ensure the legacy of this business. If the assets mix and earning potential of the creator calls for it, a planner must also consider whether a certain lifetime gift could minimize the creator’s tax burden. At the same time, a planning attorney must understand that the age of their client and potential for changes to their family and/or preferred beneficiaries might make these lifetime gifts difficult or unadvisable.
Digital assets. An attorney must give sufficient attention to the intellectual property and digital asset considerations of a content creator, and may need to consult with an experience intellectual property attorney. This needs to be done in conjunction with thoughtful planning as to who the client selects as a fiduciary, and a detailed plan for accessing and managing digital assets like social media logins, email accounts, virtual storefronts, and the like. These considerations should be included in both testamentary instruments and those that take effect in the event of incapacity, like a Power of Attorney.. A content creator may also wish to create an inventory of digital assets and access information stored in a secure, accessible location.
Partners. If the client has partners in their creator enterprises (including potentially a spouse, sibling, or other close relation), the client should also consider whether their planning should involve buy-sell contingencies. A life insurance trust, for example, could be utilized as a tool to ensure sufficient funds to facilitate the buy-sell obligations while keeping the brand alive.
Privacy trust. Throughout all of this, substantial care needs to be given to a creator’s privacy. Utilizing the structure of a privacy trust, for instance, can avoid public disclosure of the creator’s ownership in real estate, businesses, or other investments.
While the creator economy may pose new, unique challenges for attorneys, practitioners can utilize their existing tools to plan for contingencies, simultaneously protect the creators’ most valuable assets and privacy, and take steps to reduce tax liability.
This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax, and Bloomberg Government, or its owners.
Author Information
Jacob V. Phillips, an associate in the Private Client Services Group at Greenberg Glusker LLP, advises individuals and families on estate planning, wealth transfer, charitable giving, and trust administration. Very special thanks to Stefanie Lipson, Darryl Cluster, and Matthew Dysart for their insights and assistance in preparing this article.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Soni Manickam at smanickam@bloombergindustry.com;