What happens to your Bitcoin when you die?

It’s not a cheerful topic, but it’s an important one, and self-custody makes it unavoidable. The same thing that protects your Bitcoin from everyone else — only you can access it — means that if something happens to you, your coins can simply vanish.

Why this needs a plan

There’s no bank to call, no “next of kin” form, no support line that can release your funds to your family. If your loved ones can’t reach your seed phrase, your Bitcoin is gone for good — provably out there on the ledger, and permanently unreachable. A surprising amount of Bitcoin is already lost exactly this way.

“Not your keys, not your coins” has a quiet sequel: not anyone’s keys, not anyone’s coins.

The two halves of a plan

A good inheritance setup answers two questions: can the right person get access, and will they know what to do with it?

• Access. Someone you trust needs a path to your seed phrase — without you leaving it lying around while you’re alive. People use sealed instructions with a lawyer, a backup stored alongside an estate plan, or splitting a backup so no single person holds the whole thing.
• Instructions. Your heirs may not be Bitcoin people. Plain-language steps — what they’re holding, what a seed phrase is, how to restore it into a wallet, and crucially, never to type it into a website — turn a pile of mystery words into recoverable money.

Keep it secure while you’re here

The tricky part is planning for later without weakening your security now. Don’t text your seed phrase to anyone or stash it in a shared cloud drive. The goal is a path that only opens when it should — sealed, split, or held by a professional — not a copy floating around in the meantime.