Safety and smarts, told plainly
Crypto inheritance
Your coins were built to last forever. A little planning makes sure they reach the right hands. Here is how to hand your crypto to the people you love, with clear steps, tidy records, and calm conversations.
Reviewed and current as of September 12, 2026
01Why your coins need a plan
Bitcoin is yours in a way bank money cannot match. Your keys mean your coins. That freedom is the whole point of crypto, and it comes with one honest truth: the network answers to math alone, and math keeps perfect records for anyone holding the keys. So the plan you write today decides how smoothly your coins reach the people you love.
Think of it like a treasure chest only you can see. The chest sits exactly where you left it, safe and waiting. All your family needs is the map and the keys, written down clearly and kept somewhere they can reach. This guide shows you how to prepare both.
02The lesson from QuadrigaCX
In 2019 the Canadian exchange QuadrigaCX learned this the hard way. Its founder, Gerald Cotten, passed away suddenly while traveling, and he was the only person who could open the company's wallets. Overnight, more than a hundred thousand customers found their funds behind a door only he could unlock.
What followed was a long recovery. A trustee, the accounting firm Ernst and Young, spent years tracking down assets, and customers eventually received a large share of the recovered value. The lasting lesson travels further than the coins did: always build more than one way in. A plan with a backup for the backup keeps everyone protected.
03Three good ways to hand it over
Families solve this in three proven ways. The first is the sealed letter: you write clear recovery steps, seal them in an envelope, and leave it with a trusted person or in a lawyer's office. Simple, and it works for holdings of any size.
The second splits the keys themselves. A multisig wallet needs, say, two out of three keys to move coins, and you give one key each to three people you trust. Any two together can act, and one lost piece changes nothing. It is the teamwork answer to the single key problem.
The third brings in professionals. Inheritance services and custody firms run defined handoffs: they verify the heirs, follow your written instructions, and move the coins. It costs more, and for larger holdings the structure brings real peace of mind.
04What your written plan should say
Your plan is one clear letter, updated every year. It names every wallet and exchange account you use. It says where the recovery words live, in plain words, while keeping the words themselves in their own sealed envelope. It gives recovery steps a smart teenager could follow, names a trusted helper who understands crypto, and says who should receive what.
Keep copies in two places, and tell your heirs where the letter is. A plan works best when the right people know it exists.
05Tidy records make taxes easier
Heirs inherit paperwork too, and tidy records are a kindness. Keep a simple log of what you bought, when you bought it, and roughly what you paid. In the United States, heirs generally take over assets at the value on the day they receive them, which makes the old records useful for the new owners when they later sell. Our Taxes Guide covers the basics in plain words.
06Start the conversation today
The best inheritance plan is a conversation that starts before it is needed. Tell someone you trust that the plan exists. Show them where the letter lives. Answer their questions while answers are easy to give. One calm afternoon of planning can save your family months of detective work.
Your coins were built to outlive banks, borders, and every institution in between. With a little planning, they will also outlive you, arriving exactly where you meant them to go.
01Who can recover my crypto if my family loses the keys?
Only the keys open the coins, which is why a written plan matters so much. The network answers to math alone: it treats grief and carelessness exactly the same. Name a trusted person, seal the recovery steps, and your family walks through the right door.
02What happens to bitcoin when the seed phrase is gone?
The coins rest exactly where they are, while the network keeps running around them. It is the strongest argument for a written plan kept somewhere your family can find, with recovery words sealed in a second place they can reach.
03What is the simplest way to pass crypto to my children?
Start with a sealed letter: which wallets you hold, where the recovery words are stored, and recovery steps a smart teenager could follow. Name a trusted helper who understands crypto. For larger holdings, a multisig wallet or a professional inheritance service adds welcome structure.
04What did the QuadrigaCX case teach the crypto world?
Gerald Cotten was the only person who could open his exchange's wallets when he passed away in 2019, leaving more than a hundred thousand customers waiting for years. The trustee's long recovery eventually returned a large share of the value. The lesson stands: always build more than one way in.
05Should I tell my family my seed phrase today?
Share the plan itself; the phrase stays sealed until it is needed. Tell them the plan exists, where the letter lives, and who to call. The recovery words themselves stay sealed until they are needed.