The Executor's Playbook: Recovering Bitcoin After Death

If you have been named executor of an estate that includes Bitcoin, the first thing to know is that the rules you're used to don't apply. There is no bank to call, no broker to email, no platform that will release funds against a grant of probate. The asset answers to one thing only: the keys.

Step one is discovery. Before you touch anything, build an inventory. Look for hardware wallets (small USB-shaped devices, often by Trezor, Ledger, or Coldcard), seed phrase backups (24 words written on paper, metal plates, or stored in safes), exchange account statements, and any reference in the deceased's records to a custody provider, lawyer, or 'estate co-signer'. Photograph everything in place before moving it. Do not power on devices yet.

Step two is securing what you've found. Bitcoin is bearer property - whoever has the keys has the coin. Until the estate is administered, any seed phrase or hardware wallet you locate must be physically secured: locked safe, safe deposit box, or attorney's strong room. Do not leave devices in the deceased's home, do not photograph seed words and store them digitally, and do not share what you've found with beneficiaries until you understand the structure.

Step three is identifying the custody architecture. If the deceased worked with a professional custody partner, there will be a custody schedule - usually held with their estate planning lawyer or with the custodian directly. This schedule tells you what wallet structure exists, who holds which keys, and what process governs recovery. If no schedule exists and the holdings appear to be in single-signature self-custody, you are in the highest-risk scenario: the estate's recovery depends entirely on whether complete seed material can be located and validated.

Step four is engaging specialists. Even with a custody schedule in hand, executing a Bitcoin recovery is technical work - signing transactions, verifying receive addresses for beneficiaries, and coordinating multisig signatures across multiple parties. Most executors are not equipped to do this themselves, and the cost of a mistake (sending funds to a wrong address, exposing seed material) is total and irreversible. Engage the custody partner named in the schedule, or a specialist firm if none was nominated.

Step five is the actual transfer. Once authority is established, beneficiary addresses are verified, and signing parties are aligned, the transfer itself is straightforward - a single on-chain transaction moves the assets to the beneficiaries' wallets. From there, the executor's job on the digital asset side is complete: you've done what a will alone could never do.

If you are reading this because you have been named executor and the holder is still alive, the most useful thing you can do today is start the conversation. Ask them whether their Bitcoin is structured for succession, who their custody partner is, and where the schedule is kept. The discovery work above is dramatically easier when the holder is the one explaining it.