How to make sure your bitcoin reaches the next generation

[Furball808]

Bitcoin is an asset that a lot of us plan on holding for a long time and even pass on to the next generation. But how can we make sure that our coins will be accessed and used by our heirs? Here are the steps:

First of all, update your will regularly. A lot of people create their wills early on in life and then never check to update it again. Bitcoin is volatile and the crypto industry is always changing so it is essential that you update your will to reflect the recent crypto language as much as possible.

Second, consider that the state or the court may be the one to handle your wealth if you do not have a revocable living trust. It is best that you have an appointed trustee so that he or she will immediately gain access to your crypto wealth when you pass and not have the coins stuck in court.

Third, do not put sensitive information like private keys on your will. But rather put instructions how to access those sensitive information with your lawyer and in the will. The private keys should be stored somewhere safe and secured.

Fourth, choose your trustee well. Make sure your trustee is someone who understands crypto. So if you are planning on giving your crypto to your kids is that you can already teach them way before you pass.

Lastly, consider taxes that would come with selling your crypto.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/06/crypto-investors-estate-planning-taxes-mistakes.html

[ContentWriter]

Third, do not put sensitive information like private keys on your will. But rather put instructions how to access those sensitive information with your lawyer and in the will. The private keys should be stored somewhere safe and secured.

This is what I found interesting. What if the lawyer goes rogue and steals your bitcoins? What are the checks you've got to implement to make sure that that doesn't happen? If the lawyer could gain access to the private keys the coins may not reach your heir. Are there no better ways of doing this?

[SatoPrincess]

Bitcoin is an asset that a lot of us plan on holding for a long time and even pass on to the next generation. But how can we make sure that our coins will be accessed and used by our heirs? Here are the steps:

First of all, update your will regularly. A lot of people create their wills early on in life and then never check to update it again. Bitcoin is volatile and the crypto industry is always changing so it is essential that you update your will to reflect the recent crypto language as much as possible.

I don’t see how Bitcoin volatility affects your will. Let’s say you own 0.1 bitcoin and you want to split it almost your kids, you simply divide the coins between not the fiat value.

Second, consider that the state or the court may be the one to handle your wealth if you do not have a revocable living trust. It is best that you have an appointed trustee so that he or she will immediately gain access to your crypto wealth when you pass and not have the coins stuck in court.

Third, do not put sensitive information like private keys on your will. But rather put instructions how to access those sensitive information with your lawyer and in the will. The private keys should be stored somewhere safe and secured.

Fourth, choose your trustee well. Make sure your trustee is someone who understands crypto. So if you are planning on giving your crypto to your kids is that you can already teach them way before you pass.

Lastly, consider taxes that would come with selling your crypto.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/06/crypto-investors-estate-planning-taxes-mistakes.html

This seems like a tedious and risky process to me. Wouldn’t it be easier and safer to use a timelocked transaction for inheritance?

[Emjay24]

Third, do not put sensitive information like private keys on your will. But rather put instructions how to access those sensitive information with your lawyer and in the will. The private keys should be stored somewhere safe and secured.

This is what I found interesting. What if the lawyer goes rogue and steals your bitcoins? What are the checks you've got to implement to make sure that that doesn't happen? If the lawyer could gain access to the private keys the coins may not reach your heir. Are there no better ways of doing this?

There are better ways, the person in question can use nLockTime to prevent the transactions from being mined until a block height or time specified has been met. What I would consider a better way is locking the UXTO totally with CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY. It is an advanced feature and which you must be familiar with writing scripts since you would be required to write a lock script that would lock the UTXO until the required time or block Height has been met when it would be available for spending.

He should choose a specific time that his children must have become of age to be able to handle the bitcoin, that way no one can spend the UTXO until the time is met and he should refrain from giving the private keys to a lawyer, but keep it safe and only tell the beneficiaries the location of the keys and the time duration before they can access the funds.

[BitMaxz]

You are advanced to think that you are going to die soon, and you want the next generation or someone in your family to receive inheritance from the wealth that you built.

Actually, mine—I already teach them how to import a wallet, and I have my backup in my vault. At least if I die, they already know how to retrieve the wallet and withdraw them once they need them.
I know we don't live long; we are not elves or vampires to live long, so having this backup that is easy to understand with a little guide on how to import and retrieve it once they need it someday.

I don't know about the time lock mentioned above, but it is way safer if you let your loved ones know your backup but keep it in a safety vault.

[fikrett]

Third, do not put sensitive information like private keys on your will. But rather put instructions how to access those sensitive information with your lawyer and in the will. The private keys should be stored somewhere safe and secured.

This is what I found interesting. What if the lawyer goes rogue and steals your bitcoins? What are the checks you've got to implement to make sure that that doesn't happen? If the lawyer could gain access to the private keys the coins may not reach your heir. Are there no better ways of doing this?

As it was outlined, there are ways to get rid of such possibilities from happening, then again, I don't think  a lawyer is a lawyer if it comes down to an "exit" like this.. We can only minimize the risks as much as we can and hope for it to go smoothly, with or without precautions.

[tbct_mt2]

First of all, update your will regularly. A lot of people create their wills early on in life and then never check to update it again. Bitcoin is volatile and the crypto industry is always changing so it is essential that you update your will to reflect the recent crypto language as much as possible.

With Bitcoin, if you have Bitcoin private keys, you can access your bitcoins and can send it to new wallets, new addresses in new BIPs too.

Second, consider that the state or the court may be the one to handle your wealth if you do not have a revocable living trust. It is best that you have an appointed trustee so that he or she will immediately gain access to your crypto wealth when you pass and not have the coins stuck in court.

Fourth, choose your trustee well. Make sure your trustee is someone who understands crypto. So if you are planning on giving your crypto to your kids is that you can already teach them way before you pass.

If you intend to give your bitcoins to your loved ones like husband, wife, children, you must inform them about this and educate them basics so that they will be able to use your wallets and bitcoins when you pass away.

Relying on any other people like family members, friends, lawyers is very risky while you can handle it by yourself inside your family.

Third, do not put sensitive information like private keys on your will. But rather put instructions how to access those sensitive information with your lawyer and in the will. The private keys should be stored somewhere safe and secured.

I don't trust lawyer with my Bitcoin private keys.
Cryptoasset Inheritance Planning: a simple guide for owners.

[tabas]

First of all, update your will regularly. A lot of people create their wills early on in life and then never check to update it again. Bitcoin is volatile and the crypto industry is always changing so it is essential that you update your will to reflect the recent crypto language as much as possible.

First time to hear that we should update our will daily just to stay on holding bitcoin. But I get the point and it's about being firm to that will of holding it for so long so that it will be passed onto the next generation. Change is constant and if we're holders and the time has come that we no longer want to hold bitcoin because of different priority, we can't stop those people that have changed and starts to dump their bitcoins. On this point, updating it regularly or not, it won't change a thing anymore because we've seen on how bitcoin is becoming more valuable each year that passes by.

[Perfectbaby]

I will be focusing more on how to Will someone bitcoin to the next person.
Usually there are people who don't trust anybody to pass their wealth to because they seems to be having that feeling that at any given time one could be scammed for giving access to next of kin, However there are some people who so much trust their kids and not their wife because lady aren't that good with money they would want to venture into the key to know how much that is left inside before he passed on, giving one family access to their investment are not actually bad, it just a matter of choice on whom to take over, but then you must locate whom has the charisma  to take care of the wealth left for them to handle and yes that person most also be that knowledgeable with involving themselves with bitcoin so that they would be that easily becoming a victim of scammers. 

[aylabadia05]

I have prepared my Bitcoin for my family (my wife and children). This Bitcoin is an inheritance that must be well-guarded as a form of respect for the creator (Satoshi).

I have secured my wallet password and seed phrase in the best possible place, and I have told my wife that you should access your Bitcoin wallet and make the most of it for my children's future.
Taxes and other things are not a problem as long as the assets can be owned and used properly if I pass away first. If I can still live to have grandchildren, then it will be safe between us.
A will isn't necessary; I think handing over the password and seed phrase is sufficient.

[coinlary]

I don't know about the time lock mentioned above, but it is way safer if you let your loved ones know your backup but keep it in a safety vault.

With a locktime, you can still let them know your backups, wherever you store them. But instead, it will be that of the wallet they would be inheriting from the time locked transaction. You are keeping the seed safe for them this way, in case they might not do it properly, but they know where it is. That way, you can teach them how to broadcast the locked transaction, keep some copies safe, and also give them some copies of the transaction to keep safe.

The only thing is that they can't inherit it until whenever you want, so you can just set a time you think it's enough to inherit it, Dead or Alive.

I made a guide using Electrum (nLockTime ):
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5566222.msg66081539#msg66081539

LoyceV locktime discussion thread : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5180850.0

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What I would consider a better way is locking the UXTO totally with CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY. It is an advanced feature and which you must be familiar with writing scripts since you would be required to write a lock script that would lock the UTXO until the required time or block Height has been met when it would be available for spending.
~

You can go through this thread : https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2415595.0

[Bluedrem]

I want to keep the Bitcoins that I want to leave for my next generation in a safe. Because it has given me freedom and I also want it to give my next generation financial freedom as well. In that case, your biggest question may be how will my heirs find my Bitcoins after my death? In that case, I want to tell the most honest person in my family about the key to my wallet and I will keep it for as long as I live and I will distribute it among my successors after my death. It may be difficult to understand but I have found this method to be the most effective for dealing with various problems.

[Helena Yu]

Is it a muss to pass your wealth in Bitcoin?

I will have two ways to pass my wealth, when I'm not old enough (less than 50 years old), I will hold whatever assets that I want to invest. Of course, I would have given my trusted person about a way to access my wealth.

However, if I'm already old enough, I would turn my coins in other assets that require government to access my wealth e.g. real estates, stocks etc. Why? because if someday I die, my trusted person will able to access it without I need to give a way to access my wealth, as long as my trusted person follow what the government ask, my wealth wouldn't lost.

[Mrbluntzy]

Bitcoin is decentralized, people can choose to have their different ways of handling this transfer of wealth in Bitcoin, since Bitcoin is not operating like the normal traditional bank, everyone have choice of what to do to let their heirs inherit their coins. Some people just use the time luck and then protect their seed phrase until their heir is fit to handle the security of the asset, then they can let them have it but will only spend or access it fully when the time is due, it could be after the investor has passed away before the heir can get full control of it. The very important thing is to keep your private key or seed phrase very secure, do not trust anyone with it unless it's the person you want to have it coins.

[Zlantann]

Bitcoin is decentralized, people can choose to have their different ways of handling this transfer of wealth in Bitcoin, since Bitcoin is not operating like the normal traditional bank, everyone have choice of what to do to let their heirs inherit their coins. Some people just use the time luck and then protect their seed phrase until their heir is fit to handle the security of the asset, then they can let them have it but will only spend or access it fully when the time is due, it could be after the investor has passed away before the heir can get full control of it. The very important thing is to keep your private key or seed phrase very secure, do not trust anyone with it unless it's the person you want to have it coins.

The truth is that somebody needs to know you own Bitcoin for easy transfer to dependents. Many people don't know what Bitcoin is, which would lead to the loss of the amount held. I know it's risky to trust people these days because of greed and lack of contentment. Still, someone needs to be trusted. It could be a partner, brother, or parent who should know about your Bitcoin. Only one person in my family has access to what I own and the individual knows what to do if I am no more. I am not comfortable with giving out sensitive information to a stranger called a trustee.

[AmaGold70]

Bitcoin is an investment that I have held in high esteem especially for the financial stability of my next generation and I would make sure to pass it down to them carefully, so the first step is to keep them safe from predators and no body should be given a clue that you plan to pass your Bitcoin wealth down to them and I'm never making it known in my Will. When it comes to my Bitcoin investment no body is to be trusted especially not an outsider of a lawyer because they could target your kids easily when you are gone and probably take it away from them in a cruel way, I'd rather risk telling my partner about my Bitcoin investment ahead of time than to let any court or lawyer know that I'm an investment.

[FirmWars]

Third, do not put sensitive information like private keys on your will. But rather put instructions how to access those sensitive information with your lawyer and in the will. The private keys should be stored somewhere safe and secured.

Fourth, choose your trustee well. Make sure your trustee is someone who understands crypto. So if you are planning on giving your crypto to your kids is that you can already teach them way before you pass.

No body will be very dumb to put their private key on a will because they know that the information is very sensitive and anyone that mistakenly gets their hands on the will can steal the coins. What most people do now is to timely introduce their heirs to Bitcoin and also gradually unveil their Bitcoin possessions to them so that in their demise, the heir already knows how to access the Bitcoin, if the Bitcoin was to also be inherited by different heirs, the person will specifically talk about how it should be shared.

Even trustees can turn criminals after the demise of the Bitcoin owner, even some lawyers that served as trustees can not be fully trusted. Just saying this because of some stories we hear in the past about trustees doing an opposite of what a willer asked them to do.