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Passing on your bitcoin
If no one knows your bitcoin exists, or how to reach it, it can be lost forever. A simple plan fixes that.
- Your family needs to know the bitcoin exists and who can help them.
- Write down where things are, never the secrets themselves.
- Keep the plan apart from the backups and update it when things change.
Banks and brokers have estate departments. A wallet you control has no one to call, so the plan is yours to make.
A simple plan
- A letter that lists what you hold, where each device and backup is kept, and who can help. Our kit builds one in your browser.
- A trusted helper who understands bitcoin and has agreed to guide your family.
- Your will, which mentions the bitcoin so your executor knows to look for it. Keep the letter itself out of the will; wills can become public.
Keep the pieces apart
The letter should never contain your recovery words. If it did, anyone who found it could take everything. Store it with your will or a lawyer, and keep the backups somewhere else.
Not legal or financial advice. Inheritance rules differ by country and state.
Want to go deeper?
What about bitcoin on an exchange or in an ETF?
Those are claimed like any other account: your executor contacts the company with the usual estate documents. Still list them in your letter so nothing is missed.
Is multisig better for inheritance?
It can be. With 2 of 3 keys spread between you, a relative and a lawyer or service, no single person can take the coins, yet your family can still reach them. How multisig works.