Bitcoin, the Blockchain, and How Crypto is Changing Life Insurance and Estate Planning

Over the last few years, there has been an increase in people who obtain crypto assets. So how do cryptocurrencies impact estate planning?

Well, the foremost estate planning concern with crypto assets is “that if no one knows you have it, and you meet your demise, then its gone.” Institutions like Two Ocean Trust are beginning to address these concerns. Two Ocean Trust is reportedly the first institution to offer a comprehensive digital asset wealth management platform.

According to Two Ocean Trust’s CEO Joel Revill, “decentralized digital currency may not be compatible with estate planning due to the reluctance to hand over the keys to your digital wallet.”

One way to address the concerns is to create a cryptocurrency access guide, which may include information on how to obtain the private key to digital assets. It also isn’t a bad idea to share your private keys and other information with trusted family members. 

Below are some important estate planning steps that can be taken to protect cryptocurrencies: 

1.  Share your seed phrase and private keys
2.  Transfer your crypto to a trust and designate successors
3.  Place digital assets in a custody (such as a hardware wallet) or with a custodian service
4.  Use a “dead mans switch” to trigger the transfer of digital assets
5.  Select a cascading multi-signature wallet instead of a self sovereign wallet

See Bitcoin, the Blockchain, and How Crypto is Changing Life Insurance and Estate Planning, Insurance and Estates Blog, November 20, 2021. 

Special Thanks to Jason Kenyon for bringing this Article to my attention.