Anyone with a significant amount of cryptocurrency should ensure that if you die your heirs can retrieve it. But inheritance planning is not trivial. It doesn't need to be hard to do, but there are a number of things you should be aware of before assuming your assets can be inherited.
- Relevant law. Inheritance is a legal process that usually has unintuitive requirements and consequences. Simply ensuring someone will receive your cryptocurrency does not ensure they have the legal right to those assets. You don't want your intended heirs to be sued because you didn't properly include them in a will, for example.
- Loved ones state of mind. Grieving relatives often don't act rationally, and making things clear for them can save your heirs a lot of trouble.
- Tech savviness of heirs. The reality that your heirs may not know how to use the cryptocurrencies they're inheriting, how to use the particular hardware, software, and services you use for them, or how to securely handle things like seeds. An inheritance plan should give clear step-by-step instructions for heirs so they don't make mistakes. Loved ones may think they understand or even pretend they understand even when they don't.
- Software and process rot. Inheritance is a long game. You might not die for decades, so the systems you choose to use to ensure your heirs can properly inherit your assets should be systems you can be confident will still work properly when they're needed in the potentially far future.
- Security in transit. Your assets might be safe while you're alive, but if transferring them to your heirs is not designed properly, it can expose your funds to risk of theft or loss. For example, seeds should not be collected together by the will executor or any other person or institution.
- Will Executor. Someone will be given legal responsibility to go through the probate process of verifying the authenticity and validity of the will, fulfil the things you set out in your will, and settle any bills and taxes, among other things. This could be someone you appoint, or if not, someone a court will appoint.
See the Inheritance Plans for specific guidance on how to structure inheritance.
All information in this repository is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, establish any attorney-client relationship, or create any responsibility on the writers of this repository whatsoever.