Crypto Inheritance Checklist: What Heirs Need to Know

Most crypto is lost because nobody knew it existed, not because someone broke the encryption. An inheritance checklist fixes the discoverability problem without giving away control: it records where the assets are and how they can be reached, while the seed phrase and private keys stay somewhere else entirely. For more, see Crypto inheritance guide and Crypto dead man's switch and Crypto wallet secure inheritance.

What a crypto inheritance checklist is (and is not)

It is an operational document. It tells a family member which exchanges and wallets exist, what each one holds, where the recovery material is kept, and what you want done with it. It is not a will, it is not a password list, and it is not a place to store keys. Keeping those three roles separate is what makes the checklist safe to share.

The seven groups to record

• Exchange accounts — Platform name, the email or phone number used to register, and the account UID. Custodial assets are claimed through the exchange, so account identifiers matter more than the trading password
• Self-custody wallets — Wallet type, hot or hardware, the brand and model, and an approximate address. An address cannot be used to move funds, but it proves the asset exists
• Seed phrase and key backup locations — Where the backups are kept, how many copies exist and who holds them, for example a metal seed plate in a safe plus a sealed envelope with a lawyer. Never the words themselves
• 2FA and recovery codes — Which authenticator app is used, where the recovery codes are kept, and which phone number is bound to the account. This is the step families get stuck on most often
• Holdings and approximate values — Rough quantities by asset and approximate values, so heirs can prioritise and so there is a starting point for tax and estate reporting
• Multisig or custody arrangements — If funds sit in a 2-of-3 multisig or with a custodian, name the co-signers, who holds which share, and how many people must act together
• Your wishes for each asset — What to keep, what to sell and what to close. Stated wishes remove difficult decisions from a family in the middle of a crisis

Step by step: building the checklist

• Step 1: List platforms and wallets only — Do not start with details. List every exchange and wallet you have ever used, including dormant accounts, so nothing is missed
• Step 2: Fill in account identifiers — For each exchange, add the registration email, phone number and UID. For each wallet, add the type, brand and approximate address
• Step 3: Record where the keys live — Record where seed phrases, private keys and keystore files are kept, how many copies exist and who holds them. Locations only, never contents
• Step 4: Capture 2FA and recovery details — Note the authenticator app, the recovery code location and whose phone number is bound, then check that the number will not be recycled when the contract ends
• Step 5: Add a plain-language instruction sheet — Write for a reader who has never used a blockchain: which device, which app, which chain, what fees look like, and never to trust anyone who contacts them first
• Step 6: Store it and name a contact — Store the checklist encrypted, name one trusted contact who can reach it, and tell them the checklist exists without sending the contents

Why the seed phrase never goes in the checklist

A seed phrase is final control of the assets. Anyone who reads it owns everything, and a checklist is built to be read by several people over time: family, a lawyer, sometimes a support agent. Putting the phrase inside the checklist moves a copyable master key into a document that travels. The correct pattern is separation of concerns: the checklist says where the keys are, and the keys are protected by a different mechanism, such as a safe, a split backup or a multisig policy.

The instruction sheet matters as much as the checklist

Knowing that a Ledger exists in a drawer does not tell an heir what to do with it. The instruction sheet should assume zero prior knowledge: which app to install, how to restore from a seed phrase, which network to use, how long a transfer takes and what a network fee is. It should also state plainly that no legitimate service, exchange or lawyer will ever ask for the seed phrase in a chat message. Written once, this sheet is the difference between an inventory and a usable plan.

Where to store it and who should know

Store the checklist in an encrypted digital legacy vault or a password manager that supports emergency access, and keep one offline copy so a service outage does not take the plan with it. TimeWill (时间遗书) is an encrypted vault built for this purpose: it holds the inventory, the instruction sheet and your letters, and releases them to a trusted contact through heartbeat check-in. Name one trusted contact, and rehearse once a year by asking them to describe where the assets are and where the keys live. If they cannot answer, the plan is not finished. A general digital legacy checklist template covers the non-crypto accounts that sit alongside these.

Common mistakes that make a checklist useless

• Writing only that crypto exists — No platform, no address and no key location leaves heirs with nothing to act on. An inventory has to be specific to be usable
• Photographing the seed phrase — A photo of a seed phrase in cloud storage can be exposed by a single account compromise and spreads through photo sync. Keep phrases offline
• Writing it once and never updating — Switching exchanges, hardware wallets or phone numbers without updating the checklist sends heirs to the wrong place, which is worse than having no list

The legal layer

A checklist does not give anyone the legal right to act. Include a clause in your will that covers digital assets and authorises your executor to access and manage them, and check how your jurisdiction treats crypto assets: in the United States the IRS treats them as property, with the tax basis generally set at fair market value on the date of death, and rules differ elsewhere. For significant holdings, pair the operational plan with legal advice. The crypto inheritance guide covers the legal and platform paths in more depth, and the crypto dead man's switch covers automatic release mechanisms for self-custody wallets.

Disclaimer

This article is informational, not legal, tax or investment advice. Crypto regulation, exchange policies and tax treatment vary by jurisdiction and change quickly; verify current requirements with the platforms involved and consult a qualified lawyer or tax adviser for your own situation.