Inheritance planning guide
Bitcoin inheritance planning guide and continuity kit
Organize the people, documents, devices, and rehearsals your family may need without typing wallet secrets into a website or printable worksheet.
Where Bitcoin inheritance plans fail
Self-custody removes the account provider that might otherwise reset access or identify an owner. A plan can fail even when the wallet backup itself is intact.
- No trusted person knows the bitcoin or continuity plan exists.
- A backup exists, but nobody can identify the wallet type, required software, signing policy, or help contact.
- Instructions and wallet secrets sit together, so discovery also grants immediate spending power.
- Legal documents name an authorized person, but the operational plan cannot be followed under stress.
- A multisignature setup depends on missing descriptors, unavailable devices, or people who have never rehearsed it.
The four layers of a working continuity plan
A useful plan separates discovery from authority and recovery. That separation gives heirs a place to start without exposing current access.
Discovery
The right person knows a plan exists, where the controlled instructions begin, and whom to contact.
Legal authority
Current estate documents identify who may act and what professional review is still required.
Operational recovery
Separate private records explain wallet type, devices, software, signing policy, and recovery-material locations.
Rehearsal and maintenance
People test discovery and a safe recovery path, then update the plan after material changes.
Legal and professional boundaries
A continuity worksheet is not a will, trust, power of attorney, beneficiary designation, or tax record. Those documents depend on jurisdiction and personal facts. The worksheet records operational references so an authorized person can find the right private records and professional help.
In the United States, state law may govern fiduciary access to digital assets, while federal and state tax rules can affect records and disposition. Other countries use different rules. Ask a qualified professional to connect the operational plan to the documents that apply where you live.
- Who has authority during incapacity and after death
- Whether a will, trust, power of attorney, or other instrument should refer to digital assets
- How privacy and probate records affect where operational details belong
- Which transaction, valuation, basis, and tax records the estate may need
- How custodial accounts differ from self-custodied wallets
A safer planning method
Start with a map of references, not a copy of the recovery material. The continuity kit is deliberately incomplete without the separate records and authority process you control.
- 01
Name roles before locations
Decide who coordinates, who receives notice, and who can provide technical or professional help.
- 02
Describe the wallet without exposing it
Record custody model, signer count, required signatures, and a household label. Exclude balances and addresses.
- 03
Point to controlled records
Use document and location references that still require proper authority and separate physical access.
- 04
Rehearse the handoff
Test discovery, watch-only verification, or a separate low-value wallet. Do not experiment with primary holdings.
Private browser worksheet
Bitcoin Inheritance Continuity Kit
Fill this worksheet only with non-secret operational references. Entries stay in this browser tab and clear on reload. Print a local copy if your storage plan calls for one, or download a blank PDF to complete offline.
Stop before entering wallet data
Never enter a seed phrase, private key, passphrase, PIN, balance, Bitcoin address, safe combination, or account password in this worksheet.
BitcoinSafe does not submit, save, synchronize, or analyze the values entered below. Progress is calculated in memory inside this page.
A browser or device may still retain input through autofill, accessibility software, screenshots, print history, malware, or operating-system features. We request autofill off, but this page cannot guarantee what your device retains.
Printing includes worksheet entries, section labels, warnings, and version details. Navigation and advertising are excluded.
Worksheet progress
0 / 21 fields completed
A fictional plan for Alex and Sam
Illustrative example only. These names and references are invented. This is a planning record, not a wallet backup or a legal document.
- Plan owner or household reference
- Alex and Sam, family plan A
- First person to contact
- Sam, who has agreed to coordinate the next steps
- Wallet inventory reference
- Inventory A, a separate private record. No balance or wallet address in this example.
- Document location reference
- Envelope A, an agreed label. The authorized person receives access instructions privately.
- Professional follow-up
- Ask the estate adviser who has authority to act and how that person can obtain the documents.
- Rehearsal result
- Sam found the sample instructions but could not identify the backup contact. Alex will clarify that step before another rehearsal.
Try the instructions without touching funds
- Give a willing participant only the fictional plan. Ask them to identify the first contact and the document reference.
- Ask them to describe the next authorized step in their own words. Note missing explanations without sharing recovery material.
- Revise the instructions and agree on the next review. Stop before accessing a real wallet, entering a seed, or signing a transaction.
This checks whether the instructions make sense. It does not prove that a wallet can be recovered or that a person has legal authority. Keep real access instructions private and seek advice appropriate to your jurisdiction.
Open the free inheritance kitTreat the completed worksheet as sensitive metadata
This kit excludes spend authority, but names and location references can still help an attacker. Store printed copies according to the same threat model you use for estate and household records. Limit who knows where the completed worksheet is kept.
Keep wallet secrets in a different controlled process. Bitcoin.org and wallet manufacturers warn that anyone who obtains recovery material may gain control of the wallet. A continuity worksheet should point toward that process without reproducing it.
Rehearse recovery without risking primary holdings
A rehearsal should prove that the next person can find the plan, identify the wallet structure, locate required software or devices, and contact appropriate help. It does not need to expose primary recovery material.
For transaction practice, create a separate low-value wallet or use watch-only information. Stop if a participant is asked to type recovery words into an ordinary computer, browser, message, or support form.
- Confirm that the coordinator can find the continuity document from the discovery instructions.
- Confirm that the wallet model, signer count, required signatures, and software are understandable.
- Confirm that every location reference still points to an available controlled record or device.
- Practice a watch-only check or separate low-value recovery and signing flow.
- Record the rehearsal date, unresolved questions, responsible professional, and next review date in the appropriate private records.
Professional review and completion
An estate professional should review legal authority and distribution. A tax professional should identify jurisdiction-specific records and reporting. A technically qualified person should review whether the wallet can be reconstructed from the separate private records.
No reviewer can turn an untested plan into a guarantee. Repeat the exercise after changing wallets, devices, signers, passphrases, storage locations, household roles, legal documents, or jurisdiction.
Before you call the plan complete
- Remove any secret, balance, address, password, or safe combination mistakenly entered in this worksheet.
- Verify that each named person still understands their role and can find the starting document.
- Check that private recovery records remain separate and that the authorized path still works.
- Have the legal and tax documents reviewed for your jurisdiction.
- Set the next review date and repeat the rehearsal at least annually.
Sources and methodology
Technical boundaries come from public Bitcoin and wallet documentation. Legal and tax links illustrate why professional advice is jurisdiction-specific. BitcoinSafe did not test a reader’s wallet or estate documents.
- Bitcoin.org: Securing your wallet
Backup completeness, multiple secure locations, and the limits of wallet recovery.
- Bitcoin Core: Managing the wallet
Wallet backup, restoration, metadata, and the need to test backup files safely.
- Bitcoin Core: Output descriptors
Why a multisignature wallet may depend on descriptor information in addition to signing devices.
- Trezor: How to use a wallet backup
Manufacturer guidance not to digitize, share, or enter wallet backup words outside the expected device flow.
- Uniform Law Commission: Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act
An official U.S. model law showing that fiduciary access to digital assets is a legal authority question.
- U.S. IRS: Digital asset tax questions
A U.S.-specific tax source stating that digital assets are treated as property for federal income-tax purposes.
Frequently asked questions
Should this Bitcoin inheritance worksheet contain my seed phrase?
No. Do not enter a seed phrase, private key, passphrase, PIN, balance, address, password, or safe combination. The worksheet should contain only non-secret references to separately controlled records and locations.
Is the continuity kit a will or estate-planning document?
No. It is an operational worksheet. A qualified professional must connect your wallet plan to the will, trust, power of attorney, tax records, or other documents required in your jurisdiction.
Does BitcoinSafe store what I type in the kit?
The page keeps entries only in memory and does not submit them, place them in URLs, write them to web storage, or include them in analytics. Your browser or device may still retain input through autofill, screenshots, printing, malware, or operating-system features.
How often should a Bitcoin inheritance plan be rehearsed?
Review it at least annually and after material changes to wallets, devices, signers, storage, household roles, legal documents, or jurisdiction. Use discovery, watch-only data, or a separate low-value wallet rather than primary holdings.
Does multisig automatically make Bitcoin inheritance safer?
No. Multisig can distribute control, but heirs may also need working devices, keys, wallet descriptors, compatible software, and a rehearsed signing process. Extra complexity without documentation and practice can make recovery harder.
Continue from this risk to the next practical decision
Use the broad safety map when you need context, or open the closest specialist guide for the next action.
Start with the complete Bitcoin safety map
Separate network, price, custody, scam, transaction, backup, and inheritance risk before choosing a control.
Build a Bitcoin inheritance checklist
Separate asset discovery, authority, instructions, and secret access so heirs do not have to guess.
Check your own setup with the private threat assessment
Review six operating practices locally and receive explainable priorities without entering wallet secrets.
Prepare and test a 2-of-3 multisig wallet
Plan signer roles, coordinator data, backups, verification, and recovery before moving meaningful funds.
Test the handoff, not your luck
A plan is useful when another authorized person can find it, understand it, and complete a safe rehearsal without guessing or exposing current wallet access.