Creating a Comprehensive Estate Plan for Cryptocurrency is Essential

November 18, 2024

Creating a comprehensive estate plan for cryptocurrency is essential. Cryptocurrency is no longer just for tech enthusiasts. With the growing popularity of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital currencies, estate planning now involves accounting for these unique assets. Cryptocurrency brings new challenges, unlike traditional investments, such as real estate or bank accounts. There’s no customer service to help recover your funds, and if you don’t have the proper protection in place, your digital wealth could be lost forever.

One of the main differences with cryptocurrency is how it’s stored. Digital wallets protect your crypto holdings, and private keys control access to those wallets. A common phrase in the crypto world is “Not my key, not my coin,” which means that you don’t have access to the funds if you don’t have the private key.

If you don’t create a secure plan to transfer these keys to your beneficiaries, your cryptocurrency could be lost forever after your passing. Imagine losing a loved one and knowing they invested in Bitcoin without knowing where to find it or how to access it. There are no bank statements or account numbers to check, and without a clear estate plan, their digital wealth may disappear for good.

According to ACTEC, you must establish a secure plan for transferring these digital assets. One option is to use a third-party custodian to manage and store your cryptocurrency’s private keys. This minimizes the risk of losing your digital wealth through theft or mismanagement.

Some people prefer to store their private keys on physical items like a metal plate or a secure USB drive. While this method gives you direct control, keeping these items safe and ensuring that your heirs know where to find them is crucial. If these physical keys are lost, so is your crypto.

Another approach is to transfer your cryptocurrency into a corporate entity. This can simplify managing and passing down your crypto holdings, reducing the burden on your heirs to figure out how to handle the technical aspects of private keys.

Cryptocurrency is decentralized, which means there’s no central authority or institution to recover your assets if things go wrong. If you don’t create a clear plan for your crypto, it can easily be lost forever, leaving your family with nothing.

Creating a comprehensive estate plan for cryptocurrency is essential. This plan should clearly outline where your private keys are stored, how to access them and who will manage them after you’re gone.

If you’ve named a fiduciary, such as an executor or trustee, to manage your cryptocurrency, they may face unique difficulties. Cryptocurrencies are known for their volatility, with values fluctuating rapidly. Most fiduciaries are tasked with preserving the value of assets, and managing such volatile investments can be particularly challenging.

There’s also the issue of security. Fiduciaries may not be equipped to handle cryptocurrency’s technical requirements. They could accidentally lose access to these assets if unfamiliar with how digital wallets and private keys work. Selecting a fiduciary who understands these complexities or can seek help from those experienced in cryptocurrency management is essential.

Regarding taxes, the IRS treats cryptocurrency like any other property. You’ll owe capital gains tax if you sell your cryptocurrency for more than you paid. If you’ve held the cryptocurrency for over a year, you’ll pay long-term capital gains tax, which generally has a lower rate.

Cryptocurrency also plays a role in estate and gift taxes. Timing is essential here. If you transfer your crypto during a market downturn, you could lower the tax burden on your estate. Once the value goes back up, your heirs will benefit from the appreciation without the estate being taxed on the total amount.

Without a detailed estate plan, your cryptocurrency could be lost, mismanaged, or subject to excessive taxes. As digital assets become more common, it’s essential to account for them in your estate plan, just like any other investment. Estate planning lawyers can help you navigate these digital challenges and ensure that your cryptocurrency is adequately passed down to your heirs.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to secure your cryptocurrency. Speak with an estate planning lawyer today to create a solid plan for passing down your digital wealth. If you would like to learn more about managing cryptocurrency in your estate planning, please visit our previous posts.

Key Takeaways:

Protect your cryptocurrency: Digital wealth could be lost forever without proper estate planning.
Secure transfer of assets: Create a clear plan to ensure that your loved ones can access your cryptocurrency after your passing.
Reduce tax burden: Plan strategically to minimize capital gains and transfer taxes on your cryptocurrency.
Choose the right fiduciary: Select someone knowledgeable about cryptocurrency to manage your digital assets securely.

Reference: The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) (Sep. 8, 2022) “Understanding Cryptocurrency in Estate Planning”

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You need to make a Plan for Digital Assets

June 14, 2023

What happens to digital assets when you die? There are state laws offering the executor of an estate or an estate planning attorney to obtain access to a person’s online accounts after incapacitation or death. These laws—including RUFADAA (Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act)—will help to protect digital assets, but only if you have a digital estate plan, reports the article “How to Tackle Digital Estate Planning in Four Easy Steps” from Kiplinger. Whether or not your state has created these laws, you need to make a plan for your digital assets.

RUFADAA has a three-tier process for accessing digital assets:

Tier One: Some digital service platforms offer a way to designate what happens to digital assets after death. Yahoo has an inactive account manager to designate a friend, which guides what happens to digital assets.

Tier Two: If there is no such tool, the owner’s estate planning documents must dictate what should happen with the asset.

Tier Three: If neither of these tiers is in place, refer to the platform’s Terms of Service Agreement (TOSA) to see how the executor may access these accounts.

What makes up your digital estate? It includes all electronic and virtual accounts, passwords and assets, including:

Social media
Email
E-Commerce accounts
Photos saved in cloud-based storage
Cryptocurrency keys, wallet, and any related accounts
Cellphone and cellphone apps
Domain accounts
Text, graphic and audio files and any other intellectual property
Blogs and domains
Loyalty benefit programs, like credit card perks and frequent flier rewards programs
Utility accounts, including electricity and cable tv
Online banking
Gaming
Online shopping accounts

Electronic bank accounts are considered digital assets. However, the money in the bank account is not a digital asset. Likewise, cryptocurrency account access platforms, such as Coinbase, are digital assets, but the actual cryptocurrency, such as Ethereum or Bitcoin, is not a digital asset.

Here are the four steps to creating a digital estate plan:

Create a complete digital asset inventory. This should include all account names, usernames, passwords and the URL or address of the digital asset.

Decide how you want digital assets handled. List intentions for every account, so your executor knows what you want to happen. This is known as a “directive” and will likely be required by the platform to indicate your wishes. Some companies have conditions in the TOSA, so make sure your wishes can be followed. For example, Twitter and Google have “legacy” policies. Facebook lets family members memorialize your account.

Name a digital executor. This person doesn’t need to be the same as your executor. You’ll want to select someone familiar with the online world.

Store your digital estate plan in a secure place. Make sure that your digital executor knows where the information can be accessed. There are online platforms to help organize digital estate plans in the event of an emergency. Note that they are not the same as password managers, which store passwords. These platforms should include directives indicating what you want to happen with your digital assets.

The bottom line is this: you need to plan for your digital assets or your family may loose access to them. The digital estate plan is considered informal, if your state has not passed RUFADAA. Ask your estate planning attorney if you can formalize it by making it a codicil to your will. If you would like to learn more about digital assets, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Kiplinger (May 16, 2023) “How to Tackle Digital Estate Planning in Four Easy Steps”

Consider these Overlooked Elements in your Planning

April 26, 2023

When creating an estate plan, consider these overlooked elements in your planning. There are details which seem minor but are actually very important, says a recent article from mondaq, “Four Provisions People Often Forget To Include In Their Estate Plan.”

Don’t forget to name alternative beneficiaries and executors. If the will names a beneficiary but they are unable to take possession of the property, or they are deceased, the asset will pass as though you didn’t have a will at all. In other words, the state will determine who receives the property, which may not be in accordance with your wishes. If there’s an alternate beneficiary, the property will go to someone of your choosing. A backup executor is also critical. If your primary executor cannot or does not want to serve, the court may appoint an administrator.

Personal possessions, including family heirlooms. Most families have items with great sentimental value, whether or not they have any financial value. Putting a list in your will makes it very difficult if you want to change your mind over time. It’s best to have a personal property memorandum. This is a separate document providing details about what items you want to give to family and friends. In some states, it is legally binding if the personal property memorandum is referenced in the will and signed and dated by the person making the will. A local estate planning attorney will know the laws regarding personal property memorandums for your state.

Even if this document is not legally binding, it gives your heirs clear instructions for what you want and may avoid family arguments. Please don’t use it to make any financial bequests or real estate gifts. Those belong in the will.

Digital assets. Much of our lives is now online. However, many people have slowly incorporated digital assets into their estate plans. You’ll want to list all online accounts, including email, financial, social media, gaming, shopping, etc. In addition, your executor may need access to your cell phone, tablet and desktop computer. The agent named by your Power of Attorney needs to be given authority to handle online accounts with a specific provision in these documents. Ensure the list, including the accounts, account number, username, password and other access information, is kept safe, and tell your executor where it can be found.

Companion animals. Today’s pet is a family member but is often left unprotected when its owners die or become incapacitated. Pets cannot inherit property, but you can name a caretaker and set aside funds for maintenance. Many states now permit pet owners to have a pet trust, a legally enforceable trust so the trustee may pay the pet’s caregiver for your pet’s needs, including veterinarian care, training, boarding, food and whatever the pet needs. Creating a document providing details to the caretaker concerning the pet’s needs, health conditions, habits and quirks is advised. Make sure the person you are naming as a caretaker is able and willing to serve in this capacity, and as always, when naming a person for any role, have at least one backup person named.

Make sure your consider these overlooked elements in your planning. Discuss all of your options carefully with an experienced estate planning attorney. If you would like to learn more about drafting an estate plan, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: mondaq (March 16, 2023) “Four Provisions People Often Forget To Include In Their Estate Plan”

Photo by Mikhail Nilov

Safeguarding Digital Assets in Estate Planning

April 12, 2023

The highly secure nature of crypto assets results largely from the lack of personally identifiable information associated with crypto accounts. Unfortunately, this makes identifying crypto assets impossible for heirs or executors, who must be made aware of their existence or provided with the information needed to access these new assets. Safeguarding digital assets in estate planning is critical.

The only way to access crypto accounts after the original owner’s death, as reported in the recent article “Today’s Business: Cryptocurrency and estate planning” from CT Insider, is to have the password, or “private key.” Without the private key, there is no access, and the cryptocurrency is worthless. At the same time, safeguarding passwords, especially the “seed” phrases, is critical.

The key to the cryptocurrency should be more than just known to the owner. The owner must never be the only person who knows where the passwords are printed, stored on a secreted scrap of paper, on a deliberately hard-to-find thumb drive, or encrypted on a laptop with only the owner’s knowledge of how to access the information.

At the same time, this information must be kept secure to protect it from theft. How can you accomplish both?

One of the straightforward ways to store passwords and seed phrases is to write them down on a piece of paper and keep the paper in a secure location, such as a safe or safe deposit box. However, the safe deposit box may not be accessible in the event of the owner’s death.

Some people use password managers, a software tool for password storage. The information is encrypted, and a single master password is all your executor needs to gain access to secret seed phrases, passwords and other stored information. However, storing the master password in a secure location becomes challenging, as information cannot be retrieved if lost.

You should also never store seed phrases or passwords with the cryptocurrency wallet address, which makes crypto assets extremely vulnerable to theft.

This information needs to be stored in a way that is secure from physical and digital threats. Consider giving your executor, a trusted friend, or relative directions on retrieving this stored information.

Another option is to provide your executor or trusted person with the passwords and seed phrases, as long as they can be trusted to safeguard the information and are not likely to share it accidentally.

Passwords and seed phrases should be regularly updated and occasionally changed to ensure that digital assets remain secure. If you’ve shared the information, share the updates as well.

A side note on digital assets: the IRS now treats cryptocurrency as personal property, not currency. The property transaction rules applying to virtual currency are generally the same as they apply to traditional types of property transfers. There may be tax consequences if there is a capital gain or loss.

Properly safeguarding seed phrases and other passwords for your digital assets is critical in estate planning. Include digital assets in your estate plan just as a traditional asset. If you are interested in reading additional posts regarding digital assets, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: CT Insider (March 18, 2023) “Today’s Business: Cryptocurrency and estate planning”

You Need a Digital Estate Plan

February 21, 2023

You are interested in creating an estate plan to manage your tangible assets. That is great, but you also need a digital estate plan. Laws about intangible assets used to be a legal niche practice area. However, today’s estate planning attorney addresses digital assets as much as tangible assets, according to the article “How to Start Digital Estate Planning in 2023” from yahoo! Social media, emails, websites, photos and even the contents of a hard drive contain a vast amount of digital assets. Managing these assets is known as digital estate planning.

Digital estate planning is the process of including online and digital assets, a simple concept but one which is quite complicated. Assets in your digital estate include (but are by no means limited to):

Social media accounts
Websites and domain names
Online stores and businesses
Software and code
Pictures, video, and other media
Financial records or financial assets owned digitally
Contents of hard drives, phones, tablets and other devices
Contents of cloud storage

Today, your digital assets can be some of the most important assets left behind. Photos are the photo books of today, and websites are often the family’s business. Neglecting to plan for digital assets is the equivalent of putting family heirlooms, photos, stock certificates and cash into a storage unit and neglecting to tell anyone of the existence of the storage unit, or how to access it.

Passwords and logins. The sheer volume of passwords, combined with the increase in two-factor authentication, makes it difficult to keep track of information for users. Imagine what your executor will face when trying to locate digital assets. You need to have a secure record of accounts, including the platform, your user name, login and password information. Keeping an old-school logbook of important user names and passwords is an option, since online password storage sites themselves are occasionally hacked.

Legal authority for access. There are a surprising number of laws about who is allowed to access your digital access. Your last will needs to be clear in directing your executor as to what you want to happen to specific digital assets. Make it clear who is to inherit the account and what you want them to do with it.

Distribution and rights. One of the growing problems with digital assets is that often companies are selling indefinite licenses disguised as purchases. You may think you own something, only to find you simply rented it. On Amazon Prime, the button may say “Buy,” but you are actually downloading a licensed product and the company retains the right to end your access at its discretion. Such licenses typically expire upon the death of the buyer, with no ability to transfer the data or product to anyone else.

Your estate planning attorney will be able to explain why you need a digital estate plan and how to prepare it, so it is as protected as your traditional assets. While making a complete inventory of digital assets may be overwhelming, consider the value of such assets as family photos and videos. Chances are, they’re worth passing down to your descendants. If you would like to read more about managing digital assets, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: yahoo! (Jan. 28, 2023) “How to Start Digital Estate Planning in 2023”

Digital Assets need to be Included in Planning

January 11, 2023

Most of us don’t even realize just how much of our life is lived online, from streaming services and banking to apps to monitor our front door. All of these online accounts are digital assets and need to be included in estate planning says a recent article, “Estate planning and online accounts,” from American Legion.

Start by making a complete list of all of your online accounts, together with information about each account. Your list should include username, password, account number and a description of what each account includes. If you change passwords frequently, as recommended by cybersecurity experts, you’ll need to update your inventory every time.

Digital assets fall into four major types: personal, business, financial and social media. Personal accounts including emails, photos, videos, music and apps used on smart phones or tablets. This information is typically backed up on a computer hard drive or cloud-based storage account.

Financial assets include savings and checking accounts, retirement accounts, investment accounts, utility accounts and shopping and frequent flyer accounts. If you do banking or investing online, or if you own cryptocurrency, you’ll want to include these accounts.

Business related accounts include intellectual property, websites or blogs, written work, photos, videos, musical compositions and software. If your side gig includes selling items on eBay or Esty or similar websites, this information also needs to be included in your digital asset inventory.

Social media accounts include well-known platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Snapchat, WhatsApp and any other platform where you are actively engaged. Gaming sites, e-sports and gambling sites should also be included.

Storage and protection is the second part of a digital estate plan. This involves saving the list and backing up important files and account information. The inventory itself needs to be secured, as it could easily be used to access your identity and steal your entire online life. The inventory can be as simple as a list on a pad of paper, stored in a secure location. If it is stored in a digital manner, make sure it is encrypted. There are programs to store and encrypt passwords. However, they are only as good as the software used to create them.

Saving the information on a desktop, laptop or tablet is risky, since these devices are hacked and contents are compromised fairly often. An external thumb drive might work. However, what if it was lost?

Select a digital executor and discuss your digital assets with them. Many states have now passed laws governing digital assets. Speak with an experienced estate planning attorney to learn if yours is among them. On some platforms, the executor needs to have been named in advance as a legacy contact before they are legally permitted to access the digital asset. In many cases, having the user’s name and password doesn’t give the executor a legal right to access the accounts according to the Terms of Service Agreement (TOSA) between the user and the platform.

Your estate plan should include a letter of instruction to the digital executor to tell them specifically what you wish to happen to your online accounts and digital assets. It should include recommendations for the distribution of various accounts, assets, files and information to heirs. It may be needed to prove your wishes or directives for digital assets, if there should be a challenge to the executor.

Managing digital assets is a new and changing area of the law and need to be included in your estate planning. Making provisions for your digital estate will make it possible for your executor to protect your digital assets, as much as a traditional estate plan protects traditional, tangible property. If you would like to learn more about managing digital assets, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: American Legion (Dec. 13, 2022) “Estate planning and online accounts”

Incorporate Cryptocurrency into your Estate Plan

March 15, 2022

If you have $10 in a cryptocurrency wallet or $1 million stashed offline in cold storage, you need a plan to help your next of kin gain access when you die, especially if heirs are not familiar with the brave new world of digital money. That’s the no-nonsense message from a recent article titled “What Happens to Your Crypto When You Die? Make a Plan, Or Lose Your Investments Forever” from Next Advisor. It is estimated that early buyers of cryptocurrency have already lost millions or billions because they died without a succession plan or lost their wallet keys and were not able to access their accounts. You need to incorporate cryptocurrency into your estate plan.

Cryptocurrency is not small change today. It is here to stay.

Crypto estate planning is a balance between keeping the assets secure and accessible at the same time. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are decentralized, meaning they are not issued by any country’s central banking authority. Unless another person has the right information to access the account, the assets will be gone permanently when you die. There is no paper trail and no 800-number to call.

The first step is to set up proper storage for the crypto and any other digital assets, like NFTs (non-fungible tokens) under a number of layers of security. You will need to set up tiered back-up accounts to store these assets, with varying layers of security.

If you buy and sell crypto on an exchange, loved ones may be able to access the exchange by signing into the company’s portal, similar to ones commonly used for banking, accounting, or financial investments. They need to know your password and username and will probably need access to your cell phone and email to receive a two-step verification code.

However, if you have significant sums of cryptocurrencies, you will need a more secure back-up option, which will be harder for executors to access. You will need to give your executor a crypto education as well as an estate plan.

There are centralized crypto exchanges, like Coinbase. There are hot wallets, also known as mobile wallets, that are not on a centralized platform and require a 12 or 24 word secret seed phrase to gain access. There’s also cold storage, which works like a digital safe via a USB drive. A 12 or 24 word secret seed phrase is also needed to recover or backup account information.

Your plan to pass these assets to the executor includes a physical copy of security phrases and a physical fireproof, waterproof lock box. Secure your cold storage hardware wallet—a private wallet key with a 12 or 24 word secret seed phrase—in the lockbox and make sure your executor knows the location of the safe and how to access it. Then, in one or preferably more than one separate location, store physical documents describing each digital wallet.

Describe each wallet in detail: is it an exchange, mobile wallet, or hardware wallet? Include all of the security keys, seed phrases, usernames, password information with instructions for each, including cell phone codes for the mobile wallets on your phone. Do not store anything on the internet.

You will likely need to educate family members about how crypto and other digital assets work. They may not be comfortable with this new kind of asset. An alternative is to liquidate digital currency into more traditional assets, by transferring the crypto from the wallet into a centralized exchange, then selling it for U.S. dollars. There will be taxes due, since the IRS recognizes selling crypto as selling assets. Incorporating cryptocurrency into your estate plan is a complicated process that should only be undertaken with the advise and guidance of your estate planning attorney. If you would like to learn more about protecting digital assets, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Next Advisor (Feb. 17, 2022) “What Happens to Your Crypto When You Die? Make a Plan, Or Lose Your Investments Forever”

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Storing Passwords in Case of Death

February 11, 2022

As more and more aspects of our lives become digital, storing passwords in case of death becomes even more urgent. Despite having the resources to hire IT forensic experts to help access accounts, including her husband’s IRA, it’s been three years and Deborah Placet still hasn’t been able to gain access to her husband’s Bitcoin account. Placet and her late husband were financial planners and should have known better. However, they didn’t have a digital estate plan. Her situation, according to the Barron’s article “How to Ensure Heirs Avoid a Password-Protected Nightmare” offers cautionary tale.

Our digital footprint keeps expanding. As a result, there’s no paper trail to follow when a loved one dies. In the past, an executor or estate administrator could simply have mail forwarded and figure out accounts, assets and values. Not only don’t we have a paper trail, but digital accounts are protected by passwords, multifactor authentication processes, fingerprints, facial recognition systems and federal data privacy laws.

The starting point is to create a list of digital accounts. Instructions on how to gain access to the accounts must be very specific, because a password alone may not be enough information. Explain what you want to happen to the account: should ownership be transferred to someone else, who has permission to retrieve and save the data and whether you want the account to be shut down and no data saved, etc.

The account list should include:

Social media platforms
Traditional bank, retirement and investment accounts
PayPal, Venmo and similar payment accounts
Cryptocurrency wallets, nonfungible token (NFT) assets
Home and utilities accounts, like mortgage, electric, gas, cable, internet
Insurance, including home, auto, flood, health, life, disability, long-term care.
Smart phone accounts
Online storage accounts
Photo, music and video accounts
Subscription services
Loyalty/rewards programs
Gaming accounts

Some digital accounts may be accessed by using a username and password. However, others are more secure and require biometric protection. This information should all be included in a document, but the document should not be included in the Last Will, since the Last Will becomes public information through probate and is accessible to anyone who wants to see it.

Certain platforms have created a process to allow heirs to access assets. Typically, death certificates, a Last Will or probate documents, a valid photo ID of the deceased and a letter signed by those named in the probate records outlining what is to be done with assets are required. However, not every platform has addressed this issue.

Storing a list of digital assets, such as passwords, in case of death is about as much fun as preparing for tax season. However, without a plan, digital assets are likely to be lost. Identity theft and fraud occurs when assets are unprotected and unused.

Just as a traditional estate plan protects heirs to avoid further stress and expense, a digital estate plan helps to protect the family and loved ones. Speak with your estate planning attorney as you are working on your estate plan to create a digital estate plan. If you would like to learn more about managing digital assets, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Barron’s (Dec. 15, 2021) “How to Ensure Heirs Avoid a Password-Protected Nightmare”

How to Protect your Digital Life

December 15, 2021

Today there is a new kind of asset class requiring attention when creating or reviewing your estate plan: digital assets. A recent article, titled “Everything you need to know about digital estate planning” from the Daily Herald, describes how to protect your digital life.

Let’s start by defining a digital asset. These include social media, email accounts, online subscription services, personal images (photos and videos) stored online, blogs, online businesses, cryptocurrency, websites, web domains, gaming accounts and gambling websites, to name a few.

Signing up for any of these accounts involves a lengthy terms of service agreement (TOSA), which we all scroll past without reading and click “Agree.” What we don’t realize is our agreement is a legally-binding contract with the platform or service provider agreeing to whatever terms they have created. Many of these TOSAs include provisions stating when the original owner passes, the company may terminate their account, regardless of the value of the digital property or the wishes of the owner.

Most states have adopted legislation of some kind to address digital assets after the person has passed. Generally speaking, they grant the traditional executor or representative access to digital information. However, here’s the problem: the tech companies stand by their contracts. Protection of the original owner’s privacy is often cited as the reason contents cannot be shared with another person. Even if the executor knows the username and password, they may find the account and its content deleted. The executor may only find a small portion of the online information or be accused of committing fraud for logging on using the decedent’s username and password.

Big tech companies take the position the data and accounts were owned by one person. As a result, they have a responsibility to protect the person’s privacy. Therefore, they are not legally permitted to share data or content. The headlines of heirs trying to get family photos or police departments attempting to get evidence represent a tiny portion of the many people trying to access their loved one’s digital property. There are also millions lost in cryptocurrency from actual owners who forget their keys, or owners who never shared information with their heirs about accessing crypto wallets.

What can you do to protect your digital assets?

Appoint a digital executor in your will and provide them with the necessary materials to access your digital assets.

Create a digital asset inventory. There are online programs for this purpose, or you can use paper and pen. If you create a spreadsheet on a computer, you should encrypt it. Otherwise, you can expect it to be hacked and stolen. The only question is when, not if!

Keep the inventory up to date every time you change a password or username.

Decide what you want to happen to each digital asset after your death. Do you want your Facebook account changed to a “memorialized” account for a period of time? Or would you prefer it to be shut down, immediately?

Certain digital platforms have a process for assigning an executor—not many, but some. Find out what the policies are for all of your accounts.

Don’t share any digital asset information in your last will. The last will and testament becomes a public document when it is filed in the court. Anyone can gain access to it. Protect it the same way you would protect any major traditional asset.

Talk with your estate planning attorney about your state’s digital assets laws and how to protect your digital life. This is still a relatively new asset class, but one that deserves the same level of protection as other assets. If you are interested in learning more about digital assets, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: Daily Herald (Nov. 10, 2021) “Everything you need to know about digital estate planning”

Cryptocurrency should be Considered in Estate Plans

December 1, 2021

Cryptocurrency accounts are not like any traditional investment accounts. However, their growing prevalence and value means cryptocurrency should be considered in more and more estate plans, especially when they take an enormous leap in value. These accounts are more vulnerable, according to the recent article “Millennial Money: What happens to your crypto if you die?” from The Indiana Gazette, and in most cases, there’s no way to name a beneficiary for your crypto accounts.

If you store your cryptocurrency on a physical device at home and a few friends know your key—the crypto password that grants access to a crypto wallet—one of those friends could very easily wander into your home and steal your crypto without you even noticing.

On the flip side, if you don’t share your key with anyone and become incapacitated or die, your crypto assets could be lost forever. Knowing how to store these assets safely and communicate your wishes for loved ones is extremely important, more so than for traditional assets.

How is crypto stored? Crypto “wallets” are digital wallets, managed on an app or a website, or kept on a thumb drive (also known as a memory stick). How you store crypto depends in part on how you intend to use it.

A “Hot Wallet” is used to buy and sell crypto. They are usually free and convenient but may not be as secure as other methods because they are always connected to the internet.

“Cold Wallets” are used to store crypto for a longer period of time, like a deep freezer.

The Hot Wallet is more like a checking account, with money moving in and out. The Cold Wallet is like a savings account, where money is kept for a longer period of time. You can have both, just as you probably have both a checking and savings account.

Whoever holds the “keys” to the wallets—whoever has custody of the password, which is a series of randomly generated numbers and letters—has access to your cryptocurrency. It might be just you, a third-party crypto exchange, or a hybrid of the two. Consider the third-party exchange a temporary and risky solution, as you don’t have control of the keys and exchanges do get hacked.

Naming a beneficiary in your will and adding a document to your estate plan containing an inventory of cryptocurrency and any passwords, PINs, keys and instructions to find your cold wallet is part of an estate plan addressing this new digital asset class.

Do not under any circumstances include any of the crypto information in your will. This document becomes part of the public record when filed in court and giving this information is the same as sharing your checking, saving and investment account information with the general public.

Some platforms, like Coinbase, have a process in place for next of kin, when an owner dies. Others do not, so it’s up to the crypto owner to make plans, if they want assets to be preserved and passed to another family member.

Cryptocurrency should be considered in your estate plans if you plan to trade heavily in it. Preparing for cryptocurrency is much the same as preparing for the rest of your planning. Keep the plan updated, especially after big life events, like marriage, divorce, birth, or death. Keep instructions up to date, so the executor and beneficiaries know what to do. Bear in mind that crypto wallets need occasional updates, like every other kind of digital platform. If you would like to learn more about cryptocurrency and estate planning, please visit our previous posts.

Reference: The Indiana Gazette (Nov. 7, 2021) “Millennial Money: What happens to your crypto if you die?”

Category: Cryptocurrency

Creating a Comprehensive Estate Plan for Cryptocurrency is Essential

You need to make a Plan for Digital Assets

Consider these Overlooked Elements in your Planning

Safeguarding Digital Assets in Estate Planning

You Need a Digital Estate Plan

Incorporate Cryptocurrency into your Estate Plan

Storing Passwords in Case of Death

How to Protect your Digital Life

Cryptocurrency should be Considered in Estate Plans

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