Cryptocurrency Inventory: Start Here for Inheritance Planning

Pamela Morgan
2 min readOct 27, 2017

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You know you need to do estate planning for your cryptocurrencies, because if you don’t your family likely won’t be able inherit them. You’ve probably been thinking about it for awhile, but it hasn’t made it to the top of your “to-do” list yet (it probably never will). Instead of waiting until you’ve got the time/resources/energy to devote to building an entire estate plan, here’s a simple template that you can complete in less than 5 minutes; it might be the difference between your family inheriting your crypto and them losing out.

Edit: my book Cryptoasset Inheritance Planning: a simple guide for owners is now available at Amazon.com (and at amazon sites throughout the world)

Basic Cryptocurrency Inventory Template

While using this template won’t guarantee your family can inherit your cryptocurrencies, not using it will almost certainly guarantee some or all of your crypto will be lost when you’re gone — especially if you’re into more than one currency.

How to use the template:

(1) Customize it for your situation. Add, delete, change whatever you like, it’s your document, designed for your family, and your holdings; we’ve just provided a starting point.

(2) If you’ve told your sister/cousin/friend about your bitcoin, ether, or other cryptoassets and they’re your inheritance plan, consider having them complete the document (with your help) as a way to help them understand what you have.

(3) While nothing in the inventory is security critical, protect it from fire and water damage, and untrustworthy people. Consider storing it with your other important documents.

(4) Keep more than one copy of the inventory and update them regularly. Given the current ICO craze, we’re recommending at least quarterly updates; monthly if you’re actively buying new types of tokens.

This inventory alone is not enough to guarantee your family will be able to inherit your bitcoin, ether, or any other cryptoassets but it’s a great start and it’s far better than doing nothing. To be sure they’ll have access and things will happen as you want them to, you’ll need a more through technical and legal plan.

If you’re not ready for a whole technical and legal plan but want to do a bit more, consider using our more detailed Letter to Your Loved Ones Template (only after your inventories are complete though). You can learn more about estate planning and cryptocurrencies in my latest book Cryptoasset Inheritance Planning: a simple guide for owners, available now at Amazon.com (and at amazon sites throughout the world).

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Pamela Morgan
Pamela Morgan

Written by Pamela Morgan

Educator. Entrepreneur. Attorney. Empowering others. Believer in social justice, freedom, & smiling at strangers. Author: Cryptoasset Inheritance Planning book

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