Could inheriting Bitcoin from love ones be that difficult?

[Ale88]

Although its quit difficult to trust somebody in this present world. But recently I have started educating my wife about Bitcoin. Before now she taught I was just wasting my time on the forum since she was not seeing any financial benefit. She never knew that I was taking my time to learn and observe from the forum. Just yesterday I enlightened her about wallets. I showed her how much I have and how the market affects my account. I also taught her about passwords and keys. I showed her where I kept the password and keys and told her how to use them in case I am not around. For me she is trustworthy and can handle my finance for the good of the children when I am not around. I just want to make it easy for her because she might not be technically sound to go through any other complex process to retrieve or have access to my wallet.  

I agree with you, the only way is to completely trust someone, either your wife/husband or kid/s. It's something that must be done little by little, at the end it's not that difficult to access a wallet and move funds but explaining the whole process to someone completely new, well, it's a lot of information, especially because it takes you just one small mistake and you can lose everything.

[skarais]

I agree with you, the only way is to completely trust someone, either your wife/husband or kid/s. It's something that must be done little by little, at the end it's not that difficult to access a wallet and move funds but explaining the whole process to someone completely new, well, it's a lot of information, especially because it takes you just one small mistake and you can lose everything.

Wives and children are people we should be able to trust about money. They are the inheritors of all the treasures we will leave behind so it would be fine for me to tell or teach them a bit more about using wallets and making transactions. It makes absolutely no sense to me not to trust them now and in the future about the money or wealth I have even though I haven't fully told them how to actually access the wallet.

I am very positive about my wife and children, they are people I love and care about and whatever we have now is for their sake. So, it is very natural to believe it about any money or assets we have today.

[BitcoinPanther]

I think this issue (inheritance difficulty) depends on the trust between the owner and inheritor.  Aside from that, the technical knowledge of the inheritor should be considered.  If there is no problem between the transparency and technical knowledge, then inheriting Bitcoin wouldn't be that difficult.

[xSkylarx]

Although its quit difficult to trust somebody in this present world. But recently I have started educating my wife about Bitcoin. Before now she taught I was just wasting my time on the forum since she was not seeing any financial benefit. She never knew that I was taking my time to learn and observe from the forum. Just yesterday I enlightened her about wallets. I showed her how much I have and how the market affects my account. I also taught her about passwords and keys. I showed her where I kept the password and keys and told her how to use them in case I am not around. For me she is trustworthy and can handle my finance for the good of the children when I am not around. I just want to make it easy for her because she might not be technically sound to go through any other complex process to retrieve or have access to my wallet.  

I agree with you, the only way is to completely trust someone, either your wife/husband or kid/s. It's something that must be done little by little, at the end it's not that difficult to access a wallet and move funds but explaining the whole process to someone completely new, well, it's a lot of information, especially because it takes you just one small mistake and you can lose everything.

Well, I think if only about explaining how to transfer it to another wallet is just as easy, but for you to explain to them what the meaning of this is really takes a lot of time. Transferring that money is the only key and it's their choice to those who inherited the bitcoin if they want to learn from it. You can transfer it without prior knowledge. Just follow the simple instructions that were given to you and you can transfer it (but you should be shadowing your wife/husband or kid/s to transfer it, not videos online).

I recently taught my wife to transfer my bitcoin to our bank and she already knew how to do it in just under an hour.

[Welsh]

I think this issue (inheritance difficulty) depends on the trust between the owner and inheritor.  Aside from that, the technical knowledge of the inheritor should be considered.  If there is no problem between the transparency and technical knowledge, then inheriting Bitcoin wouldn't be that difficult.

Not really, as most trust issues can be avoided with the LockTime mechanism. There's some caveats in that plan potentially. If you expect the person you're leaving the coins too, to do harm to you then that's a potential issue or if you leave your coins to someone that you are regularly with, and you happen to have an accident which leads to both of you dying. So, there's definitely things to consider with the LockTime method, but it alleviates some trust issues.

I recently taught my wife to transfer my bitcoin to our bank and she already knew how to do it in just under an hour.

My concern wouldn't be the transferring onto an exchange, and depositing it back into a bank, rather it would be handling the Bitcoin securely up until that point.

I guess another question would be; would she see more benefit of holding it rather than converting to fiat. So, might be worth giving her the run up on why, and how to secure it, plus the potential benefits of holding it instead of fiat, assuming she doesn't already know which she may well do.

[d5000]

Perhaps a P2SH timelock or Multisig would be a more suitable alternative [...]

Yep. A CheckSequenceVerify-style timelock allows to get rid of the periodic renewals.

As it was not mentioned in this thread, I take the opportunity to promote again the (imo, very good) approach invented by user Andriian which (s)he has even implemented in a mobile wallet:

1. Create (offline, of course!) a transaction from your cold wallet with two if-else branches, without broadcasting it. The coins can be moved in two forms:

• With your heir's keys, but locked by CSV. Your heir can only use the coins if (s)he waits the time you defined (e.g. one year).
• With your own keys, at any time.

2. You print out this transaction to paper or save it safely digitally and give it to your heirs.
3. If you pass away, the heir can simply broadcast the transaction, and after the timelock expires, they can move the coins to an address they want.
4. If your heir broadcasts the transaction while you still are alive, or someone steals the transaction and broadcasts it, then you can simply transfer the coins to another of your addresses. (And if it was your heir who moved it, you may reconsider if they're really the person worthy of the coins.)

The advantage to the Locktime method is clear: you only need to renew the transaction if you move the coins or if the transaction was broadcasted earlier than expected. There may be minimally more trust involved, but practically your heir doesn't have any incentive to abuse of the transaction, as you always will have time to react if the CSV timelock is long enough.

[mr_enoc]

I have seen so many threads and topics about what happens to our Bitcoin when we are no more and if our Bitcoin asset can be transferred from one generation to the other. This is a serious topic we need to look into maybe we can consider a good alternative that can save us from total lose of our Bitcoin when we are dead. Based on my shallow knowledge on Cryptocurrency, I think If you don’t create a copy of that key and put that key in a safe place where the people that you trust can find it and know what to do with it, then the wealth that you’ve accumulated in crypto is just going to sit there. Could there be an advenaced way to get this done?

The nature of Bitcoin just like other cryptocurrencies that makes it complicated to pass down. Bitcoin is usually stored on the blockchain, a digital ledger that’s formed by a network of computers throughout the world that record transactions, including the exchange of Bitcoin. People usually make these transactions by using public and private keys. Public keys work like bank account numbers, and serve as an address that you can use to send other people crypto. Private keys work like passwords, and are made of unique, extremely long strings of characters that unlock your crypto. Unlike other types of passwords, however, private Bitcoin keys can’t be recovered once they’re lost or forgotten. That means that without those keys, people who are entitled to inherit their loved one’s Bitcoin won’t be able to get it.

We can always pass down assets that we already know and love like car, house, clothes etc and they are handled by law but with Bitcoin, it doesn’t really matter what the law says if you don’t actually have access to transfer those assets because there’s no formalized way to pass down Bitcoin, investors are coming up with their own sometimes bizarre protocols to guarantee that their heirs will get their digital assets. These plans can involve everything from locking their keys in secret lockboxes to hiring professional services to manage their crypto for their successors. But other crypto owners are still struggling with what to do, and have yet to find financial advisers who know much about crypto or who can even direct them to someone who does.

what happens to your Bitcoin later?

Families have been locked out of enormous fortunes because they couldn’t find their loved one’s keys. A man named Michael Moody was unable to unlock the Bitcoin that belonged to his son, Matthew Moody, who died in a plane crash in California. Matthew Moody was an early miner of bitcoin, which means his Bitcoin would be worth a lot of money today.

Technically, nothing. Again, Bitcoin is stored on the blockchain, so there’s a permanent record of it. That means your Bitcoin will exist as long as the blockchain exists, and regardless of whether you’re alive or dead. How your loved ones will be able to use that Bitcoin is a different question, one that largely depends on whether they know about it and if they know how to access it.

https://www.vox.com/recode/22971265/bitcoin-wills-estate-planning-cryptocurrency-nfts-death

When you are married and you trust your wife or husband, much better to have an organized details of your assets specially when it is in the form of cryptocurrency. Whatever happens, there will be someone who can manage your belongings.

[Darker45]

If one is really protective of his/her Bitcoin and did not leave any instructions as to how the funds would be redeemed when he/she is gone, it would be very hard for his/her family members to make the recovery.

But for as long as your family is aware that you are into Bitcoin, they must know that somewhere in the house or in your room is a set of information which leads them to your hidden Bitcoin savings.

To a certain extent, this is also how I am keeping my Bitcoin. They know I have Bitcoin. What they don't know is where I stored my seed phrase. But they must know it is somewhere in my little room. It would take them some effort to locate it but they should understand that safety and security matter.

[ilovealtcoins]

Wives and children are people we should be able to trust about money. They are the inheritors of all the treasures we will leave behind so it would be fine for me to tell or teach them a bit more about using wallets and making transactions. It makes absolutely no sense to me not to trust them now and in the future about the money or wealth I have even though I haven't fully told them how to actually access the wallet.

I am very positive about my wife and children, they are people I love and care about and whatever we have now is for their sake. So, it is very natural to believe it about any money or assets we have today.

What we're trying to earn every day is for our wife and kids, for our family and not just for ourselves so I think it wouldn't be too much if we shared our secrets with them. I also share everything I hold with my wife, although she doesn't know too much about bitcoin or crypto right now, she knows where I keep the keys and what assets I hold. I think it's a good thing that we share.

[kryptqnick]

If you've seen the threads, op, then you've probably seen all sorts of solutions. You can use LockTime as was mentioned in the thread, or you can give an instruction to the person you trust and want to inherit the coins in case of your death. I have a person like that, and we share access to the BTC wallet. In case we both die, there is another person who will likely figure out how to access the coins, and we also can figure out how to access his coins. I think it's okay to make personal arrangements like that, as long as you have someone you can trust. If not, then it's trickier, but really a shame when money is just lost this way after a person dies.

[franky1]

here in the UK, inheritance of fiat is very difficult

with fiat all property, value, goes into 'probate' where its frozen and handled by an administrator/executor, who wants to check on death certificates and also search legal claims of wills and contracts. it is then organised and after a lengthy time then distributed.
you wont get access to funds the same day..

however.. with bitcoin. you just need to have a private key stored somewhere. and then just a way to inform loved ones how to locate it. and its theirs...  family can have access to it within minutes of finding the private key. much more easy then wills , probate and 'executor's/administrators..

if you cant trust your wife/kids. maybe get a divorce and cut your kids out from their inheritance before you die

[Welsh]

here in the UK, inheritance of fiat is very difficult

with fiat all property, value, goes into 'probate' where its frozen and handled by an administrator/executor, who wants to check on death certificates and also search legal claims of wills and contracts. it is then organised and after a lengthy time then distributed.
you wont get access to funds the same day..

I'm not entirely sure, but as far as I know, you can cut out the solicitors to some degree. Your will could just say x decides the fate of the money. Then, the process is handed over to that person, who can then decide how its distributed to the family. I do believe if you don't have a will, the inheritance laws suggest that your civil partner will be the one to determine it.

however.. with bitcoin. you just need to have a private key stored somewhere. and then just a way to inform loved ones how to locate it. and its theirs...  family can have access to it within minutes of finding the private key. much more easy then wills , probate and 'executor's/administrators..

You would still be required to report it to the tax authorities, since every inheritance is subject to 20% tax I believe. So, it's not like you can just do it all yourself, and not involve another third party.

So, yeah while it probably is easier for escaping some of the fuss, still need to go through some legal processes.

[qwertyup23]

No, there shouldn't be any issue with BTC inheritance, but unless there is a will after a persons death, then it would be down to a countries specific laws, and then we get into the problem of government regulation of crypto, and that's where things get tricky.

I do not think so- cryptocurrencies have financial freedom and free from any government control. This is the reason on why it is decentralized in the first place- the only regulation that comes with its transactions are the laws imposed, which I do think hampers such inheritance process.

The best way for BTCs to be inherited is to at least inform your parents or children about it. Create a lock and purchase a safe where it may contain all your wallet addresses, etc. for your love ones to utilize in the time of an untimely death.

[Doan9269]

Families have been locked out of enormous fortunes because they couldn’t find their loved one’s keys

i want to believe that any member of a family who wish to leave anything down for his members will definitely find someone in the family to confide trust with on how to access his keys whenever time places such a need, the exception are those family members whose right and entitlement does not warrant accessing such key, in such case the user intentionally make it difficult to be accessed by the family, sometimes doesn't even want anyone to benefitted from such because of the relationship they had which does not warrant any benefits, I've personally see some people who made it in life all through by themselves without the help of any family and yet don't want to have anything do with then except for his children, wife may be exceptional in some cases.

[fiulpro]

Most mobile wallets now a days are providing an alternative, which generally helps you to decide who you want to give your wallet to when you die? It might be your family members or your friends does not matter and you have to fill their information correctly and after that just let them know about the wallet company they need to approach in these circumstances.

Other than that I do think it is important to understand that you can also use legal help in this matter, these things would be able to help you legally transfer your paper wallet or your USB after your death and you don't have to tell any of the body involved about it, which is honestly good but then again you cannot expect people to know how to use it and how it would function, for example: if I die, I would rather put someone I trust incharge so that they can encash the smallest amount I might have there and send it to my family since no one actually knows how to use it and therefore for them it would be a futile attempt.

[Welsh]

i want to believe that any member of a family who wish to leave anything down for his members will definitely find someone in the family to confide trust with on how to access his keys whenever time places such a need, the exception are those family members whose right and entitlement does not warrant accessing such key, in such case the user intentionally make it difficult to be accessed by the family, sometimes doesn't even want anyone to benefitted from such because of the relationship they had which does not warrant any benefits, I've personally see some people who made it in life all through by themselves without the help of any family and yet don't want to have anything do with then except for his children, wife may be exceptional in some cases.

You'd be surprised. While I haven't seen it in my family, I've seen other families get torn apart by financial stuff. I think it's partly the reason why the legal process of inheritance takes so long, and why it has somewhat high costs associated with it, and not just tax. Only takes one person in the family to challenge what the will/contract says, and you'd have to hash it out. Usually, as long as a legal representative can determine exactly what the contract says, usually you can't dispute too much of it.

I do think Bitcoin inheritance is a little better, since using the locking system reduces the fine print of what a contract would say. Although, I'm not if you would need to get it written down, and witness by a legal representative to prevent other family members from challenging it. Probably, worth consulting someone before doing it.

[jrrsparkles]

You can share the access with someone you love or keep it for yourself because I don't think there is anyway to pass the Bitcoin after we're dead. But in future when we need for that we may have technology for sure so this is a topic need to be addressed then only we may try to find a solution for this.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Most mobile wallets now a days are providing an alternative, which generally helps you to decide who you want to give your wallet to when you die? It might be your family members or your friends does not matter and you have to fill their information correctly and after that just let them know about the wallet company they need to approach in these circumstances.

If it is as simple as your family contacting your wallet provider and then your wallet provider sends them all your coins, then your wallet is entirely custodial, your wallet has fully control over all money, you don't actually own any coins whatsoever, and you should move to a new wallet as soon as reasonably possible.

I do think Bitcoin inheritance is a little better, since using the locking system reduces the fine print of what a contract would say. Although, I'm not if you would need to get it written down, and witness by a legal representative to prevent other family members from challenging it. Probably, worth consulting someone before doing it.

The other family members don't even need to know. If you mix all your coins before you put them in to cold storage, then no one in your family will know how much you have. You could set up a small wallet to be distributed out between various people to keep them happy, and then have the bulk of your funds locked behind a timelocked transaction which only one person knows about. When the time comes, that person can claim the bulk of your stash without anyone else being any the wiser.

[AicecreaME]

I think it's better to create a program or find a program online that will send an email to your love ones regarding about the seed phrase or private key for them to access your bitcoin wallet once something happened to you, like being deceased because of an accident. It's more safe doing that way rather than giving them your private key while you're alive, it's hassle to make a program like that so there's another way.

For example, leaving clues, and instructions to crack the code they need to figure out your seed phrase, morse code is the best one.

[BlackHatCoiner]

I think it's better to create a program or find a program online that will send an email to your love ones regarding about the seed phrase or private key for them to access your bitcoin wallet once something happened to you

This sounds extremely dangerous. You'll have to trust an unknown third party to carry your seed phrase and send it to your family after you pass away. Besides that, you also have to be aware of your family's email provider as they'll know your seed phrase as well.

It's more safe doing that way rather than giving them your private key while you're alive

It's much much safer to hand them out your keys directly instead of messing up with strangers.

For example, leaving clues, and instructions to crack the code they need to figure out your seed phrase, morse code is the best one.

Or just avoid the complication by doing what I've said in the first page.