what your family finds when you die (often nothing)

self-custody means nobody can take the coins. it also means nobody can find them.

the checklist

• an asset map. one page listing what exists and where: which wallets (wallet type and software), which chains, which derivation path, which exchange accounts. it says where things are, not the keys themselves.
• access without handing over keys today. the map points to the route: “the backup is in the sealed envelope at a named place”, “a lawyer or another trusted party has the letter”. nobody needs the seed phrase while the owner is alive.
• no seed phrases in the will. a will usually has formal requirements, and after a death it can be read by heirs, the court and others handling the estate. a secret written into it stops being one.
• a trusted person who knows the plan exists. not necessarily someone who holds keys. someone who knows where the letter is.
• pins, passwords and 2fa. a device needs its pin, an exchange account its email and 2fa. the map says where each is kept.
• exchange accounts are a separate track. custodial accounts usually go through the provider’s estate process, with a death certificate and proof of who represents the estate. processes vary by provider.
• test it, and keep it current. a dry run: the trusted person reads the letter and explains the steps back, without touching the real backup. the backup itself gets a restore test. a date on the map shows when it was last checked.

the one-page map, filled in (hypothetical)

1. wallet A · bitcoin · hardware wallet + its app, desk drawer
   derivation path: m/84'/0'/0' (native segwit)
   pin: in the letter
   backup: steel plate in a sealed envelope, home safe
   passphrase: yes, stored apart from the words (see letter)
2. wallet B · ethereum · software wallet on the phone
   derivation path: wallet default (m/44'/60'/0'/0)
   backup: paper, same envelope
3. exchange account · login email: main personal address
   2fa: authenticator app on the phone, recovery codes in the safe
4. first call: the trusted person. then a lawyer.
last checked: (made-up) march

nothing on it can move a coin. without it, heirs often find a device they can’t open.

the letter: what it says

• where the map and each backup are.
• the order of things: keep the devices safe, never type a seed phrase into a website or computer, get help before moving anything.
• that anyone offering to “recover” coins for a fee is very likely a scam.
• who can help technically, and that no single helper gets the backup alone.

where it leaks

• every copy is a risk. each extra copy of a seed phrase, and each person who knows where it is, is a theft risk today. the plan makes the trade-off between safe now and findable later a choice instead of an accident.
• complex setups can fail heirs. multisig and timelock recovery can make a plan sturdier, but give heirs more steps to get wrong.
• this is not legal advice. laws differ by country. check the rules where you live. wills and inheritance are a job for a local lawyer.

the boxer has buried things in the garden he will never find again. he calls it cold storage. (a joke, not a method.)

a wallet leaves more than a seed phrase behind. live permissions are covered in wallet approvals.

nerd corner

• a bip-39 passphrase opens a different wallet from the same words, so the plan needs both.
• derivation path and wallet type tell software which addresses belong to the seed. the wrong path can make a wallet look empty (bip-44, bip-84).

not financial advice. dyor. you can lose all of your money. interests: see /disclosure.