What Happens to Our Bitcoin and Other Assets If We Die?

[tranthidung]

You should manage something right now since you are thinking about what happens after you die. Have to teach your family members or have to trust someone else who knows everything about how to recover.

Exactly a must thing to do.

A true story from my experience. Years ago, in early of 2018, my friend asked me what happens if someone dies and his coin on cryptocurrency exchanges. I introduced him about crypto and he asked this question after reading news about a sudden death of a CEO of an exchange (I think you knew that case too). I told him that he should write down his email, email password, exchange account information (password, 2FA) and any related thing to his accounts.

I also told him that even his wife can get access to his phone, email but if suddenly exchanges ask for KYC before approving withdrawal request, it will become terrible case.

Unfortunately, he died in a motorbike accident a few weeks later. His wife fortunately has a notebook in which he wrote down all things but does not know what to do with it. She came to me, asked for help and all went well.

From this story, if anyone does not make backup of such things, a sudden death will be a termination of all cryptocurrency assets on exchanges or in custodial wallets too.

I managed a notebook to manage all my credentials related to cryptocurrency. So in case of death, someone should be able to handle the funds. I wrote a couple of a number of my dearest friends who are able to recover. And I am teaching my family members as well. But the notebook is under my control of me. I don't trust anyone right now.

You did a good plan B.

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[qwertyup23]

Hello guys just don't get me wrong. As we all know that one day we have to die. So for this I was wondering that if we have at east 1 million dollars in cryptocurrency or just couple of buck like me   and nobody in our family and also friends do not know anything than what should be the possibility.
I think that's the reason still there are millions of BTC that are still missing cause of lost key or dead Bitcoin holders too.
I think we should at least make backup  file and should transfer in Bank Safe so that when they receive than they know how to retrieve it.

Still not getting Any merit 😁

Yup you are right- most tangible assets are transferred to your respective heirs (mandated by law) and/or to the persons stipulated on your last will/testament. In case of cryptocurrencies, since the latter is not regulated by any institution, it is up to you on how you would transfer your assets in case that you meet an unfortunate death or accident.

Generally, it is somehow dangerous to keep your private keys with someone else. I do suggest, however, that you put them inside a deposit box and name someone as the beneficiary of such in the event that something happens.

[BTCat]

You can create a file with manual on how bitcoin works and how and where your coins are stored and retrievable.

Obviously non tech people will need assistance, as long it is clear who becomes the next owner.

It's no different as other assets. If there is no one that knows of the crypto's it will go lost without anyone caring about it.

[Jody.Drummer]

If we die and still have some bitcoins all we have to do is give the private key to a trusted person like our family, wife or children. I once had the experience of losing 1 btc in 2015 just because I forgot to back up the private key and it hurts when you look at the current bitcoin price. So even if you feel lost, you better give it to your trusted person, maybe it will be more useful.

Bitcoin becomes legacy, maybe so. All assets that we have today are none other than for our families in the future, whatever that includes bitcoin. That's what they should know about this (bitcoin). But it becomes vulnerable to loss. I mean if we tell all our families about the assets we have, because not all family members can be trusted 100% trust, let alone tell us the private keys of our wallets. That's a big mistake in my opinion. It's better to only tell those we trust and can hold on to our beliefs. Or we can also give it with a will.

Better if its on will rather than giving and telling on into your keys when you are still alive.Risks on getting accessed would really be there.I dont really like to put up some doubts and suspicion into my family member but

its better to avoid it for now because its true that 100% trust isnt something that you could guarantee even if we do talk about your loved ones.There's always possible risk or chance that things turns out to be mess
when we do speak about money.

Money can change everything,even if it need to break up someones trust and relation.This is why its better to avoid while its still early.

In this case it is true and as you said because with something like this it is clear that if you do not fully believe it will actually boomerang for yourself.
But indeed on the other hand it will be very difficult too if we do not make any plans from now on especially for the age obviously no one knows.
There must be a third person like a Notary, maybe this can be used as an option, but indeed this is still another risk because we really have to find someone who can really be trusted in this matter.

[adzino]

It's simple. If no have has access to your private keys, then the coins are lost forever unless someone somehow manages to get into your computer/wallet to withdraw the coins which in this case means you haven't completely kept your coins secured. So when you die and no one has access to your coins, the bitcoins are lost forever. This will create more scarcity of the coins. If you want

I think we should at least make backup  file and should transfer in Bank Safe so that when they receive than they know how to retrieve it.
-snip-

So the bank will have access to your keys? If you really want someone to inherit your "coins", then just share parts of the keys with your lawyers or different family members and when you pass away, let they act together to recover your coins.

[Ayers]

I think we should at least make backup  file and should transfer in Bank Safe so that when they receive than they know how to retrieve it.

it is also a way but for me, i create a full backup file of all the necessary information accessible to my crypto assets and give it to my wife to keep. although she doesn't know anything about cryptocurrencies at the moment, in the future i will slowly teach her about basic usage such as how to recover and access assets as well as related to buying and selling

i would rather give it to my loved ones than transfer it to the bank. now i try to hard work every day for my family, so i think they are the people i trust the most and deserve to know all my secrets

[_BlackStar]

When you die and nobody knows your private key then your bitcon is gone, no matter how many bitcoin you are having all is gone, so it's better you secure your private key in a place where it can be seen after your death, so that your bitcoin won't just remain in your wallet forever, I know this have happened to lot's of people, most of them won't back up their private key where their relatives will be able to see it, some people's relatives don't even know they are having bitcoin in their wallet, why some people's relatives don't really know about bitcoin, so if you die then your bitcoin is wasted because it will remain in wallet forever and it won't be accessible.

Bitcoin is not lost just because someone can no longer access the wallet, it just stays forever on the blockchain without being able to be moved. Bitcoins are not stored in a wallet, so your wallet only provides a private key to transfer the bitcoin to your other bitcoin address.

One might have to think about having a backup of his wallet file ^{[private key or seed]} and securing it somewhere. Bitcoin can be inherited, there are several ways to do it and I think that could be considered. But if someone doesn't do it before his death, then of course the bitcoin will forever be stored on the blockchain.

[awik p]

When you die and nobody knows your private key then your bitcon is gone, no matter how many bitcoin you are having all is gone, so it's better you secure your private key in a place where it can be seen after your death, so that your bitcoin won't just remain in your wallet forever, I know this have happened to lot's of people, most of them won't back up their private key where their relatives will be able to see it, some people's relatives don't even know they are having bitcoin in their wallet, why some people's relatives don't really know about bitcoin, so if you die then your bitcoin is wasted because it will remain in wallet forever and it won't be accessible.

Bitcoin is not lost just because someone can no longer access the wallet, it just stays forever on the blockchain without being able to be moved. Bitcoins are not stored in a wallet, so your wallet only provides a private key to transfer the bitcoin to your other bitcoin address.

One might have to think about having a backup of his wallet file ^{[private key or seed]} and securing it somewhere. Bitcoin can be inherited, there are several ways to do it and I think that could be considered. But if someone doesn't do it before his death, then of course the bitcoin will forever be stored on the blockchain.

this is the main problem for us to lose assets in cryptocurrencies, where the private key is the main key to open assets, at least we tell someone closest to us to know where our files store assets. that way the assets we have can be useful for our families. I don't think anyone has been able to open a wallet without the owner's private key, even phishing requires an access process to get the private key, not looking for it yourself to get it

[abel1337]

If you did not share your keys to someone or you even didn't store your private key on  somewhere where your loveones can't find it, The asset you have in your wallet will basically be untouched forever unless it is store in a custodial wallet where there's a possibilty of being touched. Just make preparation incase. Personally I've got some few ways where my loveones or the one close to me can recover or inherit my funds. I put it somewhere where the only one who can access or find it is the closest to me.

 Extra tip in making a preparation. Put some trick on your instructions, just like treasure hunting! I'm sure it's fun. Also,  make sure that the only the one closes to you will open your wallets.

[LoyceV]

I have a person I fully trust who has access to my coins

Aren't you afraid of adding a second point of failure (for instance from a $5 wrench attack)? You're the first point of failure, and if you make a terrible mistake, you lose your coins and have only yourself to blame. But giving someone else the same access is a huge risk, even if they don't take your coins on purpose.

[KingsDen]

Please before you ask what happens to our bitcointalk account if we die, please use the search buttons, many of these topics have been discussed.

I think how to use a search button should be among the pined posts, atleast newbies joining the forum won't have to be creating threads that have been created multiple times before, am sure some newbies on the forum don't know about the thread and they don't even know how to use the search button.

I think you have a very good insight here. How to use the search button should be among the pined posts. This sounds good, but I bet you, if such post is pinned only 2 out of 20 newbies might be able to read it.
The forum unofficial rules and other pined posts are always ignored to create topics, such that older members will now reply the thread with the links to the same pinned posts The worst case is that some newbies never return to the topic they created to follow up the conversation. So we have no other option than to continue to caution and report to moderators when necessary.

[Rikafip]

Aren't you afraid of adding a second point of failure (for instance from a $5 wrench attack)? You're the first point of failure, and if you make a terrible mistake, you lose your coins and have only yourself to blame. But giving someone else the same access is a huge risk, even if they don't take your coins on purpose.

I think that risk of giving someone else the access heavily depends on the person you choose. In my case I would even say that it is safer with that person than it is with me as he lives in a rural part of country, and is ex-military who is very cautious and security oriented because of the job he did. On the other hand, if you give it to someone that is close to you and who you can trust not to steal from you but is not really cautious and doesn't care about safety, then you are asking for trouble.

[Davidvictorson]

Still not getting Any merit 😁

Hey fennic, I want to take this time out to point something out to you. You should see earning merits as what is exchanged for knowledge shared according to filliponne. Merits will flow naturally if you shared knowledge, answered the query of a user to their satisfaction, stated an opposing point of view in a respectful and polite manner. You may not believe this but if you hang here long enough, you'd understand. Here's how he put it

It’s all about the knowledge. Try to think about merits as a knowledge exchange: you give merit when you learn something new, you get merit when you teach something new, or you make other people think about something old in a new way. Once you progress in the knowledge you can start answering other users' question and solving their problems, or start contributing to  the forum providing new resources or tools, if you have the skills. Just try to figure out the best way to do so that suits your capabilities and resources.

[Mate2237]

Hello guys just don't get me wrong. As we all know that one day we have to die. So for this I was wondering that if we have at east 1 million dollars in cryptocurrency or just couple of buck like me   and nobody in our family and also friends do not know anything than what should be the possibility.
I think that's the reason still there are millions of BTC that are still missing cause of lost key or dead Bitcoin holders too.
I think we should at least make backup  file and should transfer in Bank Safe so that when they receive than they know how to retrieve it.

Still not getting Any merit 😁

Ahahah!!! The last paragraph or clause is making me laugh. What do you mean by

Still not getting Any merit 😁

? Do you create the thread for merits or for knowledge or information? The question you asked is a good question but this your last statement spoiled everything.

Let see your first statement. We all know earth is not a permanent place for all the humans. So any how you acquired properties other people will inherit them, (that is for the physical properties) but when it comes to digital assets (cryptocurrency bitcoin), it will lost in the internet, if nobody knows your private key. So with that we were advised to show a trusted sibling or your parents or your friend about your key so in case of any demised, they can withdraw the fund from the wallet and give to your children and if your children are well trusted too, you can show one or two of them so that they can be able to use the fund when you are no more.

[TribalBob]

Hello guys just don't get me wrong. As we all know that one day we have to die. So for this I was wondering that if we have at east 1 million dollars in cryptocurrency or just couple of buck like me   and nobody in our family and also friends do not know anything than what should be the possibility.
I think that's the reason still there are millions of BTC that are still missing cause of lost key or dead Bitcoin holders too.
I think we should at least make backup  file and should transfer in Bank Safe so that when they receive than they know how to retrieve it.

Still not getting Any merit 😁

it's actually simple, every time we have valuable assets, there must be a careful planning who our heirs will be, even if in small quantities if it is useful in the future, it is mandatory to record it and to whom we will give it

[coinerer]

Hello guys just don't get me wrong. As we all know that one day we have to die. So for this I was wondering that if we have at east 1 million dollars in cryptocurrency or just couple of buck like me   and nobody in our family and also friends do not know anything than what should be the possibility.
I think that's the reason still there are millions of BTC that are still missing cause of lost key or dead Bitcoin holders too.
I think we should at least make backup  file and should transfer in Bank Safe so that when they receive than they know how to retrieve it.

Still not getting Any merit 😁

it's actually simple, every time we have valuable assets, there must be a careful planning who our heirs will be, even if in small quantities if it is useful in the future, it is mandatory to record it and to whom we will give it

It is very simple but when this simple task is not done properly it is marked as the biggest mistake of the whole life. Those who have no means of recovery or correction. Lost forever. To tell someone in your family member who is your trusted and share your information so that no one in your family has to fall in such a situation.

[glendall]

When you die and nobody knows your private key then your bitcon is gone, no matter how many bitcoin you are having all is gone, so it's better you secure your private key in a place where it can be seen after your death, so that your bitcoin won't just remain in your wallet forever, I know this have happened to lot's of people, most of them won't back up their private key where their relatives will be able to see it, some people's relatives don't even know they are having bitcoin in their wallet, why some people's relatives don't really know about bitcoin, so if you die then your bitcoin is wasted because it will remain in wallet forever and it won't be accessible.

death can't be determined by us, without any preparation or anything
preparing early is also not good because there will be other unforeseen circumstances such as fraud and embezzlement of funds from people we trust to keep our private keys
honestly I'm confused in this case to determine which is the best

[samuraijin]

if you die, you can get rid of your bitcoins by leaving them in your wallet if you don't want your wealth to be inherited, but if it is inherited you have to create a folder to store all the wallet key files into your flash drive, don't forget to provide some kind of tutorial on how to access it. your bitcoins in that wallet and how do you get your bitcoins or your other cryptocurrencies, I think everyone has a will so write it down in paper form or file like PDF for your family or loved ones

[Issa56]

I think you have a very good insight here. How to use the search button should be among the pined posts. This sounds good, but I bet you, if such post is pinned only 2 out of 20 newbies might be able to read it.
The forum unofficial rules and other pined posts are always ignored to create topics, such that older members will now reply the thread with the links to the same pinned posts The worst case is that some newbies never return to the topic they created to follow up the conversation. So we have no other option than to continue to caution and report to moderators when necessary.

You are right, most people won't check the pin post, even the rules and regulations guiding the forum that have been pinned, newbies still those not care to read it, I don't know how many minutes it will take them just to open it and go through it, that's why at the end most of always go against the forum rules and they get banned. some people are just lazy, to be honest just as you said even if the post is pinned newbies won't still open it, but if I tell you it's not only newbies, their are some high rank people that won't still care to open it, they will just go ahead to create thread even if it has been created multiple times before.

[romero121]

All our cryptocurrency holdings serves to be an investment for the entire family. Once after the death, close ones who have got the access to the recovery phrases will be able to take control of the holdings. If we share the recovery phrases with our close ones When we're alive, they can take control over it. Just to overcome such issues it is good to keep it secure in some place or there are legal services to do it.