What Happens To Your Crypto When You Pass Away

The Crypto World puts us in front of more challenges. For quite a long time we all have already been concerned with the level of security to keep scammers away from our coins. There are numerous ways to store crypto and passwords extra protected. However, life goes on and we are facing a brand new problem now. What will happen to our crypto savings after death?

Can you leave crypto savings to a friend or a relative?

Undoubtedly, the first question that crosses our minds is — is it possible to leave your crypto funds to someone? The answer is yes, it is possible. Moreover, some countries have a legal procedure for that.

Legal Procedure

For example, in the USA digital currencies are regulated by a number of state laws. Most of the states support the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Asset Act (RUFADAA), which defines the rights for beneficiaries in the event of death or incapacity of a digital asset owner. According to this law, the beneficiary named in the account takes precedence over the legal documents. So the owner has the right to name the beneficiary and it would not be changed under any circumstances (including marriage).

Crypto exchanges’ solution

Unfortunately, not all countries offer a legal procedure for such a situation. In this case there is an opportunity to use solutions provided by the crypto exchanges, such as Coinbase. This service has a way to pass crypto assets to the third party in case of the owner's death. In order to do this it is necessary to prepare documents, including a death certificate, will, and ID.

In case nothing else works

The universal solution is to pass the whole information needed to access your crypto account to another person. If you choose this method, you should consider several points:

1. Secure your assets
   
   Start with making sure that your funds are safe and no other person but you can access them.
2. Choose the right person
   
   Keep in mind that this person will receive access to your funds and will be able to dispose of your savings at his/her own will while you are still alive, so this should be someone trustworthy.

What should you consider if you want to leave crypto savings to someone?

Here is some advice in case you are thinking about passing your crypto assets to someone in the future:

1. Think of one service for various types of digital assets
   
   If you own not only tokens and coins but also NFTs, it may be a good solution to put them into one wallet that supports various types of assets.
2. Make a list
   
   In case your crypto accounts are linked to your email addresses, this information is essential and should be written down carefully. The next part of the list should also contain all the passwords, private keys, and backup codes. Without this data, it’s impossible to use accounts fully.
3. Leave technical advice
   
   The Crypto World is changing fast. Thus, a part of security is to be aware of what is going on with the services you use and to react accordingly to changes. The person who will operate on your behalf should have some knowledge about how to act in different situations. Additionally, it may be a good idea to leave instructions on how to liquidate the account and how to withdraw savings.
4. Think of securing the information about crypto accounts
   
   Remember that your email addresses and passwords provide a unique opportunity to access your funds. This information should be stored in a safe place.
5. Write your will carefully
   
   In some countries, for example in the USA, it is allowed to include information about the future of your crypto accounts into your will. However, pay attention to details. The will becomes public, and you do not want any private information to be revealed.

Please, remember that it is very important to make sure that only the chosen person has access to private data that allows to manage your crypto. If it falls into the hands of intruders, the consequences will be sad and irreversible.

Points to pay attention to

Even though it is absolutely possible to turn your crypto funds into someone’s heritage, it is extremely important to keep in mind several points.

1. Using cryptocurrency requires some technical skills
   
   Undoubtedly, developers are constantly working on making crypto easy and user-friendly. Nonetheless, you have to know something about wallets, coins, and platforms. The last part may be crucial. It is a well-known fact that the Crypto World is fast developing, thus projects come and go. No specialists can give any guarantees about the lifetime of the project. So anyone who owns cryptocurrency is supposed to be alert and ready to change platforms when necessary.
2. Passwords and authentication
   
   Security is a significant point. Whoever will be the beneficiary of your crypto savings should have a very clear understanding of how they are protected.

As it is stated above, there is no problem with passing your crypto assets to someone else. However, it is strongly advised to take care of the transfer long before it becomes a necessity. Just like we usually make a plan for our estate or bank deposits, we can make an emergency plan for the crypto assets. If you meet all the safety measures, there will be nothing to worry about.