Bitcoin Forum

What's your plan for your bitcoins when you die since you've probably not shared your private keys with anyone or have you? Do you have someone you trust enough, say your spouse, to let them in on your BTC private keys or will you be buried with your coins even if there are family or loved ones to whom your bitcoins may be of benefit?
Do you have plans to share the keys down the line?
What if an accident happens and you're incapacitated or worse?

Is it worthwhile sharing the key with someone due to the unfortunate happenstance of the unexpected or do we just coast along with the hope that death is a long way off?

What's your plan for your digital wealth in case you die, suddenly? It's hard for people with no loved ones. What's your advice for such people and what's your own plan for your bitcoins when you die?


For me, I have no plans at the moment, so I hope to gain insight from your comments on what to do.

Some people are stone cold at heart, if something bad happens they don't care about placing their Bitcoin in the hands of another person, some people will rather die burying the secret of rich with them.

This doesn't make them bad, it's just that they don't trust people around them or maybe they don't have someone they really love enough to pass down their private key to, it's all about peoples different mindset and experiences in life.

Even rich men don't want to pass their properties and wealth down to their children, they believe it will weaken them and they won't be able to pursue their own dreams, some believe that the children won't know what it takes the parents to acquire wealth, so they will waste it all away.

I have seen a lot, but I plan to leave mine with my children, I had a ugly childhood and I plan to give my children the best lessons that will help them when growing up, I believe giving up your keys for the ones you love is the best thing you can do.

I have no plans like you.
But I write everything in my diary which is safe in my locker. And I keep the keys of my locker in my pocket. When I will die so my spouse will get it and can access to my locker easily. So there is no issue for me because she can easily access to my locker.
She didn't know much about Bitcoin but now I have taught her much and she and me are still learning much. When I get any information or learn something new I try to teach her too. So she can easily access the Bitcoins after me.

i have no plans to share my private keys at this time. it's not that i don't trust the people closest to me, but i'm just not sure that they can protect the private key. but even so, that doesn't mean i don't plan not to share my private key with other people, it's just that the timing isn't right, maybe later i'll tell my wife or children about it, because i think that they are the people who have the rights to the assets i own.

This is a very important question that don’t often come to mind because we still feel we are doing fine and healthy and expecting to live long to see our savings grow bigger and bigger not knowing that death can come at anytime and take one away knowingly or unknowingly. Since I have not thought deeply about that happening, I haven’t decided to will the private key to anyone yet but since my family knows that I am into bitcoin, I will let them know the importance of the private key and how secretive it is that if when disclosed, we can lose everything.

Whenever I disclose it to them, they will hold it with all their life and not allow any outsider knows about it. Telling them about it all is okay to me since the money will be for all of them and not for just one person to inherit if something later happens. I wish there’s a better way, but I can’t think of any now, I will also follow up on other’s comments to have an idea about it too.

Death is inevitable and unpredictable that is why every who cares should prepare for death. Preparing for death in my culture is seen as an abomination but I have seen many losses and problems caused by unprepared deaths.
I don't think anybody has the intention of allowing his Bitcoin to be added to the number that has been lost. Even if you don't have any relatives or dependents, it will not be a bad idea to plan to donate it to charity.

But in this world that is ruled by greed and selfishness trusting someone is becoming risky and difficult. The news is filled with fearful news of people scamming or even killing people who trusted them with sensitive materials.

Some persons might decide to include their bitcoin in wills and put the seed phrase in the custody of a lawyer. Some people also keep it with a trusted custodian for safekeeping. Others who don't care about centralised platforms might decide to put their coin in corporate institutions that offer custodian services. But you could also share the keys with a family member who is trusted. For me, I think who has access to your password or seed phrase should be top secret and shouldn't be discussed in a public forum..

Maybe we can see some answers on the following thread?

• What happens to your Bitcoin when you Die? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2472488.0)
• What Happens to Cryptocurrency When You Die? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2212454.0)
• What happens to the coins after your death ? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5346148.0)
• Bitcoin is private and decentralized, ok but what if someone dies? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5329991.0)
• in case of death; mandatory bitcoin deathswitch Dead man's switch (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5394317.0)
• Possibility of Bitcoin insurance or handover: (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5477180.0)

I imagine that an investor with a lot of bitcoins will not die pleasantly knowing that their bitcoins will be lost and will not be transferred to their family who may be in need of serious financial assistance. This is why I think that every investor should plan for their bitcoins like they were to die the next minute.

If you cannot trust a close member of your family, Your wife, your husband, your children, your brothers and sisters, then maybe you can get two lawyers who do not know each other and will be bound by law, split your seed phrase between the lawyers to deliver to your next of kin on the occasion of your death, timely or untimely.

A timelock can also be set, if you die before the time, and it is passed to your family, they will still need to wait for the time on the lock to elapse before they can assess it.

To be honest, similar matters have been discussed in multiple threads before. I have a spouse who can access my BTC, and I also hope that someone else from the family will be able to figure out how to do it in case something happens to both of us. We trust each other, so it's not really a problem for me. And we similarly have access to each other's bank accounts, so Bitcoin isn't different in that regard.
If you don't have anyone you can trust with this, perhaps writing a letter of inheritance and mention the important information in it, so that it can be dealt with when you're gone.

I still don't have any intention of sharing my secret key with anyone. I am not married yet and people in my family are not technically advanced in order to understand what it actually is. Even if I show them the whole process they won't be able to do it properly or may forget over time. Maybe one day when I get married, hopefully she will understand how it works and I can trust my private key to her.
I don't have that much saving which is worth sharing with others in case something happens to me. If I die it goes to grave with me. But yeah, maybe one day I will share it with someone.

Death cannot be predicted and will definitely happen regardless of time and age, and this must be thought about or planned before the time comes so that the Bitcoin or crypto we own can be inherited by the right person.
And for this problem I did it a year ago, I was married and also had a child who was only 2 years old. So I put my trust in passing my Bitcoin to my wife and I also gave my private key to my wife, and I also gave her directions or a way to access it.
And another reason is because we both are always open to each other on any issues, including financial issues, and he also knows that I have been involved with Bitcoin for a long time. So in my opinion he is the one who is very worthy to be the heir to my Bitcoin and also for my future children.

i have no plans to bring my coins with me to the grave so i wrote my keys down in my notebook. my wife should see it if ever i suddenly just drop dead. along with the altcoins i hold too.

you can never tell whether you'll have a chance to write it down when you are dying of pneumonia pandemic. if it's very quick like a truck flew right on you while you are just on your porch. just share it with someone you trust and make sure you also tell them no to give away the private key to anyone.

Your digital wealth, especially your bitcoins, is more than just money. It's a legacy that shows you believe in a future without centralised power. Thus, you need to make a plan soon. Sharing your private keys? Yes, it's risky, but there are safe ways. Think of multi-signature wallets. To authorise a transaction, more than one key is needed, which adds an extra layer of protection.

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It's still not clear how to plan for the death of digital assets, but things are changing. New services are popping up that combine the technicalities of blockchain with the rules of the law. They can make sure that your bitcoins get to the people you care about without putting your security at risk. You need to be strategic instead of reactive. Even if something goes wrong, your bitcoins shouldn't disappear.

Last, those without family can donate. You might want to set up a trust that gives your bitcoins to a good cause. In this way, your purchase will still have an effect after you're gone. The future of your bitcoins is your responsibility, so plan ahead. It's about leaving a digital trace that says, "I was here, and I made a difference."

This question has been asked so many times by many members, and I have replied to few, I'm telling this because the answer that I am going to give will reflect that I know everyone has to die, it is inevitable, but still, I also did not think of any backup plan for my funds, I just have a mere thought that when I will die my last words would be some kalimas (that are religious terms) and if I will have extra time then I might tell the ones near me about the funds so that they at least would utilize them.

I have no plans, but my little brother knows I am on this forum, and he also knows I have some BTC, but he has no access to my funds, and he doesn't know how to even access them without me) we should have some backup plan for this, and it is also necessary that you give your funds to a responsible and trusted person, and brothers, and friends are one of them, not every person can't be trusted.

That's up to you if that's what you want to do. If it were me, I wouldn't share it without making sure that it was handled properly. For me, I would first teach that person how this works and how to handle everything before sharing it. Secondly, I would set a lock period. So even if I'm gone, one wouldn't have full access to my funds all at once. Instead, because of the lock period, a portion of my funds will be unlocked after a designated time. So one won't be able to use all of it recklessly.

I know this is really hard for us to find trustworthy person who will continue our legacy or take the benefits from the investment that we started. For me since I'm married, I have my spouse and I'm still starting to teach her about bitcoin and all the stuffs, most especially when it comes to wallet security. I know in the long run I have her got my back that's why I'm now starting to expose to her my stuffs in bitcoin as well as my private keys so that if I encounter sudden death, then I will be confident to leave to her all my bitcoin property.

Death is inevitable that's why we have to always prepare for it. The reason if we can find trustworthy person earlier, the better. But if there's really none, then we will come to bring with us our bitcoin investment in death, since we don't have choice either.

I think this question has been raised several times here in the forum, many solutions have been offered to this problem but for me unfortunately I have not taken any action to share my private notes after my death.

Perhaps people hope to live a long time and do not think about death, so they constantly postpone this important issue. These assets in our wallets belong to our children in the end, and we must find the appropriate way to hand them over to them after our death.

I am currently working hard to be successful with my bitcoin investment so that I can have something to relay to my children in the future.  So that if anything happens to me, it won't be hard to leave them for good because I have already secured their future. So as early as now, I will be educating them about bitcoin and how it works, and most likely share my private keys as well when they reach their mature age to understand the different conditions with bitcoin.

Although I have also my spouse, my better half, but I can see that my children are more inclined on technology which comes to my senses that they're perfect with bitcoin. Luckily, my spouse is just always there to support me whatever my decision is.

This is a timely warning. People are known to kill for money, but who do we trust?

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 This seems brilliant if the lawyers don't find a way of knowing each other.


Seems rather too casual to me. What if she doesn't or someone else does?

I think the best way to handle this is to leave a long set of clues that must be followed on different continents so that your heirs spend a great deal of time and effort trying to get ahold of your lost treasure.  It could be a like scavenger hunt you see in the movies.  Really find out who wants it the most.  LOL

More seriously...  Things like this are why some people have been waiting for an ETF to invest in Bitcoin.  People already have succession plans for their traditional portfolios and may not be comfortable taking control of plans to pass on their coins.  It's just not something that most people want to worry about...

This is one of the discussions in the forum that has no ending. We have discussed this time without number and I believed the answers will not change even they are paraphrased. Let me also contribute to knowledge. Like the guy that die early this month or late last which was announced in the Reputation Board would have given how seed phrase to a close and trusted relative. In life when you have gotten a family on you own, you make a will to your child, and in the will you wrote the seed phrase and sealed it so that nobody will see it.

And when the child grow up you teach him how to use Wallet and when you see that he or she is capable of handling your funds then gradually release part of the funds to his wallet to see if he can do well with them. And if you sick seriously then you tell him the seed phrase of the main Wallet or you call the lawyer to come and read the will to them before you pass out. Showing the seed phrase to a trustworthy person in the family is also good because dead is inevitable.

When I received a notification of this topic on the Tryninja notification bot, I had a feeling that this forum must have witnessed a question like this in the past, but for a newbie like me, it's the first time. I have thought of this before, and I think I have put this case in place already.

The day I saw the post of one of our deceased, I thought of making proper arrangements for my life. Even though I'm still very young, I still have to be cautious, though planning for death is more like insane. But we must all acknowledge the fact that we are all going to die some day, even if it's not today.

I have told my closest family member of my little investment that I have somewhere, but I have never told her the exact thing because I don't have enough bitcoin yet, so I don't have to worry myself now, but as soon as I get a hardware wallet, I will have to disclose the private key to her. That's my plan for now, but this might change in the future.

There were too many discussions about this topic a long time ago and will continue to be discussed as long as someone opens it. Well this time, I have already planned it and I've left some hints to my family just in case I'll be leaving this world all of a sudden. But just as we, people change and I might change that plan if ever something I've found that I don't like based on their actions and behavior towards me.

This thing about trust I don't know how you guys look at it, especially when it comes to family, marriage, children, and all that. Before you move ahead and get married to a man or woman, there are things that you use to judge them before making your decision, and if you don't trust them at all, there is no way you are going to start a family with the person.
 
So, to cut the whole story short, if you are married for security reasons, your spouse should at least be aware of some of your holdings destinations in case of emergency.
 
Currently, almost all my wallet's details I don't hide from one of my trusted family members; he doesn't have access to them currently, but if an emergency arises someday, he knows the way about my holdings, and with little support from others, they could be able to access them, so my holdings are secured to some extent.

if you cannot even trust your wife with your finances then its time for a divorce

bitcoin offers a feature called a multisig
if you have 2 kids and you worry they will try to get greedy and take funds before your death. put your funds into a 4 of 5 multisig

each kid has a key, the wife has a key you have a key and the lawyer holding your un-publicised Will has a key
individually your lawyer, wife, kids cannot unlock the funds independently.

whilst alive you and your family(basically you as you keep copies of their keys) can move funds using your key
you dont reveal your key.

after your death the lawyer announces the 5th key that is used instead of your key. that way if you never disclose your key to family. the family can use in conjunction with lawyer the key to be the 4th of 5th replacement of your key. under the guidelines of what your wrote in the will as the direction of agreed distribution of funds

you dont even have to have one lump of funds to move at the directions wrote in a will upon death.. you can pre fund amounts distributed to intended inheritors but they are unable to be spent by them until you sign or you die and the lawyer signs
you can preset 3 multisigs
EG
kid A, wife .. husband or lawyer of 3 of 4
kid B, wife .. husband or lawyer of 3 of 4

wife.. husband or lawyer of 2 of 3

I don't have a problem sharing my Private Keys with my parents/partner in life.  My wealth is theirs as they are the reason why I am working. So to answer the question of when to share my private key is when the wallet address got its first fund.  Many may disagree with me but that is my belief.  I don't want my hard work go to nothing when the time comes.  And that also give me a peace of mind that my accumulated wealth is secured in the hand of my beloved.

This is actually a topic or subject that have been discussed here several times, but then, this is still a very valid question and something interesting to further discuss about.

For me, I sincerely have no plans yet, am still quite young and am filled with the hope and believe that death is still very far off from me, I mean, no man prays to die untimely right? Yeah, and when we pray not to die untimely, it is important we back it up wit faith while keeping a clean hands and avoiding what could lead to an untimely death.

But again, aside from what I said above, I am not married yet, I can't possible share my bitcoin wallet private keys or details to my siblings or parents, I can only share this information with my wife and children when I finally get married and we have our own children.

People take trust issues too extreme but the truth is that you've no choice but to have someone to put your trust in and confide in him or her for this reason of sudden death to be sure you have your family to benefit from your investment in the case of emergency that takes your life or a brain damage.  When we choose who to marry we also unconsciously and consciously have taken a decision of sharing certain vital secretive informations with that person we call spouse, what I see as to why many people are scared of leaking such vital information as private keys to spouse is due to how  prevalent the divorce cases has been on the surge nowadays and it has become a lesson for them in the aftermath of what resulted in such divorce cases. But still, we ought to have someone to trust with informations because life events such as death is unpredictable and inevitable.

This may become a debate because it involves individual preferences. And each individual's preferences may be different. Moreover, this is related to private keys, because this is quite a sensitive matter, involving assets and money. I'm sure not just random people can find out our private keys and we will definitely share them with people we really trust and we can take that risk. because this is a risky thing, so we have to be really sure about telling him, if not, then it's better to forget it first.

I personally believe in my wife, we have been living together and already know each other about assets in crypto. And he also understands this, so it's not a problem for me to put this trust in him. because this is also for the future of our children. We may not know what will happen in the future, but there is nothing wrong if we believe in someone who is currently very important to us and our small family. It would be better that way.

Such topics appear on the forum from time to time, and there is a feeling of “déjà vu” in the answers that users post.
OP, I won't be original. If you do not have close people, people whom you trust as yourself, you have nothing to worry about, since you can die calmly. Sorry for the cynicism. But your question contributes to this.
I will not reveal the secret, and you also write about it, that anything can happen by chance and unexpectedly. But you must have at least one person to whom you can entrust everything that remains after you, including private data. Tell and show what needs to be done in case of your absence.
But if there is not a single person to whom you can tell this, just forget it. ;D

What did I just read?

Everyone's goal is to collect wealth in any form of asset, including Bitcoin, for the welfare of their family in the future. No one wants the assets they have collected so far to be buried with them just because of greed or not having trust in anyone to access their wallet. Sharing private keys with loved ones such as wife and children would be better than carrying them in a coffin.
Wife and children are beloved people who are always every husband's priority. If you are not ready to share the private key with them, save the paper or whatever you write the private key on with a few notes so that people who find it are not confused about the contents stored in it. Unless they are already very close to Bitcoin.

Sounds careless but you’re right. Especially if you death happened unexpectedly. Dont stress yourself over thing you cant control. You know the saying that you cant bring your riches when you die.

Personally I prefer to liquidate all my assets and sahre it to the fam. I dont want them stressing out over my things when im gone. But there are other options too like teaching your relative what to di and sharing to them your seedphrase. Or if you have no relative, maybe donate it to a charity? Whatever happens happens for a reason.