Inheritance and backup planning

How to make sure your crypto can be found and recovered by the right people if something happens to you, without making it easier to steal today.

Last reviewed 2026-10-27 · 2 min read

On this page
  1. What your family would need
  2. Approaches, from simple to advanced
  3. Things to avoid
  4. Review regularly

Crypto that nobody can find is lost forever. Many families have no idea what wallets exist, where the seed phrases are or how to use them. Planning for this does not need to weaken your security today.

What your family would need

  • To know it exists: which wallets, exchanges and assets you hold.
  • To be able to find the backups: where seed phrases, passphrases and hardware wallets are kept.
  • To know what to do: simple, written instructions, or the name of someone trusted who can help.
  • Access to exchange accounts through the exchange's official process for deceased account holders, which usually requires legal documents.

Approaches, from simple to advanced

A sealed letter of instructions
Describe what you hold and where the backups are kept, without writing the seed phrase in the letter itself. Store it with your will or with a lawyer. Update it when things change.

Seed backup in a secure location your executor can access
For example a safe deposit box or a home safe whose location and access is described in your instructions.

Shamir backup (SLIP-39)
Some hardware wallets can split a backup into several shares, of which a set number (for example 2 of 3) is needed to recover. Shares can be kept with different people or places. No single share reveals anything about the wallet.

Multisig
A wallet that requires several keys to move funds, for example 2 of 3. Keys can be held by you, a family member and a trusted third party or service. More complex to set up and use, but no single lost or stolen key is fatal.

Things to avoid

  • Splitting a single seed phrase into halves. It weakens the seed. Use a scheme built for splitting.
  • Writing the seed into your will. Wills can become public records in some countries.
  • Relying on memory for passphrases or PINs nobody else knows.
  • Telling too many people. Each person who knows the full details is another way for the secret to leak.

Review regularly

Check the plan once a year or after major changes: new wallets, new hardware, moving house. Make sure the instructions still match reality.