Crypto inheritance: how to make sure your family can reach it
2 min readUpdated
Money in a bank or a brokerage account reaches heirs through a known process. Crypto in self-custody often doesn't: if the only way in is a key nobody else knows about, it can be lost for good. Planning for it means making sure your family can find and reach your savings without giving anyone the power to take them while you are alive.
Why crypto gets lost
- Nobody knows it exists. Family members may not know which wallets, exchanges or devices hold anything.
- The keys die with the owner. A seed phrase in someone's head, or in a drawer nobody knows about, is as good as gone.
- The keys are shared too early. Handing a seed phrase to a relative gives them full control today, and one more place it can leak.
The usual options
| Option | How it works | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Share your seed phrase | Someone you trust holds a copy | They, or anyone who finds it, can take everything now |
| Put it in your will | The will says where the keys are | Wills can be read by many people, and are often only opened after a delay |
| Keep it on an exchange | The exchange's estate process applies | You depend on the exchange's security and survival |
| A timer | Funds move to a chosen account after a long silence | The destination must still be reachable, and the timer must not fire by mistake |
A simple plan
- 1List where your crypto is: wallets, exchanges and devices. Not the keys, just the places.
- 2Tell one or two people where to find that list, and what to do with it.
- 3Keep long-term savings where they end up somewhere with an estate process, such as your own exchange account, if you go silent.
- 4Review the list and the plan once a year, and whenever you open a new account.
How Fortcore helps
A Fortcore vault has a home: your own exchange account. If you go silent for the period you choose, 12 months by default, a 30-day return sends your savings there, where the exchange's estate process applies. Nobody needs your keys, and any activity from your phone cancels it.
The app makes a one-page note naming the exchange and the vault, for whoever needs it. With Protect, a named heir or your lawyer is told when the return starts. Fortcore never decides a death, interprets a will or pays a newly supplied address. This guide is general information, not legal advice; for a will or a trust, talk to a lawyer where you live.
Frequently asked questions
Should I give my family my seed phrase?
Usually not. Anyone with it controls everything immediately. It is safer to tell them where your savings are and how they would reach your heirs, and to use a setup that doesn't depend on a shared key.
How long until my heirs can reach Fortcore savings?
With the default setting, the money reaches your exchange 12 months and 30 days after your last activity. After that, the exchange's own estate process applies, which takes its own time.