What happens to my Bitcoin when I die?

[Quidat]

If I die (let's be honest, that will probably happen), would my wife or family get my coins? What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

You can stick to all the technical solution to it, but my two cents, is go ask you, now do you trust your wife or child(ren) right now and if by chance death call you now do you think they deserved it for real and not because they are for family? If so you can make things less complicated and work with the answers you give now, if you trust your wife or child (ren)  you can let her into some secrets but make sure you trust her, they are many lost bitcoin already due to this uncertainty of unplanned death.

Majority of men on here on this forum doesnt really trust up their wives for sure even myself when it comes to finances yet we know that but there are people or men who do really give all their trust but honestly who would be the ones will really be benefiting all of your hard work?
Of course it would be your family but there are just some personal reason on why we cant just trust up even on family members
which i dont able to explain it well.

[leverageguy]

Bitcoin is safe. Others can access your bitcoin only if they have your key. If you have shared your key with someone else, they will be able to use it after you die. And if you haven’t, your bitcoin will be lost forever. No one will be able to make use of it.

[KaliLinux]

If I die (let's be honest, that will probably happen), would my wife or family get my coins? What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

Death is not a Probability, it is certain and if you do wish your loved ones to have your private key(s) to then you have to share it with them in some way, maybe immediately, or plan how they will access it when Death happens which is a good Idea because I don't suppose we all want what we have invested in to go to waste at the end.

[Masplanc]

This is an important  topic one should look into and consider. No one is going to live forever. In life there must be someone around us that is very close and can be trusted, people  like this can get some important belongings even if anything happens. Like my son would have access  to my private keys when ever am down or something else .

[bitterguy28]

This is an important  topic one should look into and consider. No one is going to live forever. In life there must be someone around us that is very close and can be trusted, people  like this can get some important belongings even if anything happens. Like my son would have access  to my private keys when ever am down or something else .

we have worked hard for our money here and this is the reason why we must let others know about our funds and how they can access in time of dying.
because what is the sense of our working and effort if all of our funds will come to nothing just because of unexpected death?
turn to others let them find our keys when there is a chance

Bitcoin is safe. Others can access your bitcoin only if they have your key. If you have shared your key with someone else, they will be able to use it after you die. And if you haven’t, your bitcoin will be lost forever. No one will be able to make use of it.

well that is the question actually that must be answered and let OP learn what to do in His  coin.

share with others and not let it die with you .

[Ararbermas]

If I die (let's be honest, that will probably happen), would my wife or family get my coins? What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

they can if you will make ways or idea how they can open it once you're gone.. If you have large amount of BTC as of now then as soon as possible make backups and find a safe place where you can hide your private keys.. And then a notes incase what will happen to you. Of course its up to you which place you want to hide it because you're the one who know them well.

[galambo]

If I die (let's be honest, that will probably happen), would my wife or family get my coins? What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

they can if you will make ways or idea how they can open it once you're gone.. If you have large amount of BTC as of now then as soon as possible make backups and find a safe place where you can hide your private keys.. And then a notes incase what will happen to you. Of course its up to you which place you want to hide it because you're the one who know them well.

That may be one good option. IMO in everyone life there are people who are very close to you and for whom we work day and night. They may be your parents, wife, children, siblings etc. Better give them recovery materials in case anything happen to you, so that all you hard work is not lost on the darkness of blockchain.

[Desmong]

If I die (let's be honest, that will probably happen), would my wife or family get my coins? What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

This is a question you need to ask yourself not the forum. I think there was similar question to this before now so you can always jump in to see similar replies for yourself. If you eventually die without disclosing your phrase with anyone, the that's nobody business. You can always get try as much to tell people around your secret phrase or where to get it, so they can steal from you...simple!

[andriarto]

If I die (let's be honest, that will probably happen), would my wife or family get my coins? What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

This is a question you need to ask yourself not the forum. I think there was similar question to this before now so you can always jump in to see similar replies for yourself. If you eventually die without disclosing your phrase with anyone, the that's nobody business. You can always get try as much to tell people around your secret phrase or where to get it, so they can steal from you...simple!

and the way to give the secret key I think is by giving a will, because when we die of course no one will know it, it could happen if it is too early to tell at this time, so we need to make a will for people who will be the heirs of our assets later. if this is not done and no one knows, our assets will freeze automatically, because no one can access them

[qwertyup23]

If I die (let's be honest, that will probably happen), would my wife or family get my coins? What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

If you happen to die without sharing your private key/wallet to someone else or to your family members, then they will be lost forever or just stuck there- thus contributing to its inflation in the future. Just to give you an example, Satoshi Nakamoto owns around 750,000-1,000,000 BTCs in his wallet but they remained to be untouched. This is why some speculated that he may be dead due to the lack of movement from his address.

That is why, it is somehow advisable that you store your BTCs in a hardware wallet and brief your wife/family members about its existence in the event that you unexpectedly die. In this way, they will be able to reap the benefits you left compared to it being stuck forever.

[riskarcher]

If I die (let's be honest, that will probably happen), would my wife or family get my coins? What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

This is a question you need to ask yourself not the forum. I think there was similar question to this before now so you can always jump in to see similar replies for yourself. If you eventually die without disclosing your phrase with anyone, the that's nobody business. You can always get try as much to tell people around your secret phrase or where to get it, so they can steal from you...simple!

Why people always ask something that is not important in the forum? We don't know anything about your bitcoin assets. if anyone dies, we must always have preventive measures from every asset we have, not only bitcoin, communicated with his family, not in forums. because the asset you have is your responsibility and you should know what to do. if you have a close person or family, say your secret phrase to someone you trust, your bitcoins will be useful for other people

[Henrobakkara]

If I die (let's be honest, that will probably happen), would my wife or family get my coins? What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

This is a question you need to ask yourself not the forum. I think there was similar question to this before now so you can always jump in to see similar replies for yourself. If you eventually die without disclosing your phrase with anyone, the that's nobody business. You can always get try as much to tell people around your secret phrase or where to get it, so they can steal from you...simple!

I m really trying to understand what you are saying here but I guess you are saying the OP should not disclose his secret phrase or keys because you fear people might steal your crypto? You are correct in one thing though, your crypto and whatever you do with them is everyone's business but I don't think we want our crypto assets lost because we didn't give access to them to anyone.

[amihada]

If I die (let's be honest, that will probably happen), would my wife or family get my coins? What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

if you don't hand over the private key to your wife and children, of course your bitcoins can't be taken by them, your bitcoins can be an inheritance for your children and your wife as long as you hand over the private key to them.

[swogerino]

Tomorrow is never promised to anyone that he will reach it.We take it for granted but that is how life is built on,it is full of surprises,even when we sleep there is risk of heart attack or some nasty scorpion bites you,I know this happens extremely rarely but they do have happened.

After having said that it is true that after we die the coins are gone forever if we don't leave behind Private keys,Passphrases or Seeds and Passwords to anyone.However most of us here are young at age (I know a few forum members who have gone missing suddenly,may their Spirit be in heaven) but this is something not to be worried right now,personally I hope to be alive for some other years and to see Bitcoin raise in price and I convert it to cash,do what I like plus leave inheritance in cash to my child for the moment (hopefully I will have another one or two in the near future).I don't intend to leave to anyone my private keys or seeds as they are not technical capable of using it so for me it is a gamble,if I die the coins are gone but that is ok for me.

I am sob/sad/bored after reading this thread,please no more threads like this.

[perfect999]

If I die (let's be honest, that will probably happen), would my wife or family get my coins? What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

I believe that most of us heard the story of a crypto company CEO that died years back, and due to the fact that he was the only one who knows the private keys of where the company stores their cryptocurrency, there was no other way for the company to continue due to they have lost access to the cryptocurrency that was being held by their CEO. Even the wife doesn’t even know about it.

So, if you should die without any of your family members at all knowing your private keys or passwords to your wallet, there is no way that they can be able to gain access to it. So, we are just going to say that your cryptocurrency that you have in that wallet is lost for good.

[Kakmakr]

Well, the best thing to do is to leave instructions with your lawyer for your family to find your "Private Keys" and passwords. I have hidden mine in a secret location and I left instructions with my lawyer that only my friends and family would be able to decipher. (Easy explanation : "Please find a little bag, buried at our favorite tree at our best family holiday location")

Just make it more complex.... so that the lawyer could not find the "hoard" by asking a couple of simple questions. Prepare the family that they will receive a question as part of your Will. 

[Xampeuu]

If I die (let's be honest, that will probably happen), would my wife or family get my coins? What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

I believe that most of us heard the story of a crypto company CEO that died years back, and due to the fact that he was the only one who knows the private keys of where the company stores their cryptocurrency, there was no other way for the company to continue due to they have lost access to the cryptocurrency that was being held by their CEO. Even the wife doesn’t even know about it.

So, if you should die without any of your family members at all knowing your private keys or passwords to your wallet, there is no way that they can be able to gain access to it. So, we are just going to say that your cryptocurrency that you have in that wallet is lost for good.

that is when the holder of the private key dies, and doesn't tell anyone, so the asset is gone. even living people have lost their private keys, and many have asked if they can be recovered, but unfortunately if the private key or phrase is lost there is nothing that can be done to recover it.

[syedzakir]

Well this issue needs to be discussed by every bitcoin user bit no-one thinks about it.  As giving your seed phrase might be risky but what if you put it on a safe place and mention it in your will which much be disclosed after your death.

[Mpamaegbu]

What if they don't know my passwords/private key?

The situation is simple – your family won't get the Bitcoin if it happens that way. It's the same way that you (as owner) won't be able to gain access to your wallet or exchange if you can't remember your password to them. It's obvious a lot of people have died this way leaving their wallets inaccessible because they didn't get to reveal their passphrases to any family member. I'm one of those who believe that there's no way the maximum total supply of 21 million BTC will be feasible. A lot of Bitcoin will never be recovered because of such a scenario as OP has painted.

[bL4nkcode]

Well this issue needs to be discussed by every bitcoin user bit no-one thinks about it.  As giving your seed phrase might be risky but what if you put it on a safe place and mention it in your will which much be disclosed after your death.

Yeah, every man who has enough wealth to be given to its beneficiary can just make its will, including the wallet name, passwords, seeds, etc. with the power of attorney.
But if you don't trust such way, you can just make your family members knows about your cryptocurrency thing, let them know where you pull all your holdings and how to access it.