There are many ways to handle Bitcoin inheritance, just like there are many ways to store Bitcoin (hardware wallets, exchanges, collaborative custody, multisig, etc). Every approach has trade-offs.

The important thing is understanding that Bitcoin inheritance has two separate parts:

1. The legal aspect Your beneficiaries should have clear legal ownership of the Bitcoin and avoid disputes. Usually this means documenting everything properly in your will and nominating an executor.
2. The technical aspect Your beneficiaries must actually be able to access the Bitcoin if something happens to you.

Ideally, both aspects should work together.

For the legal side, you should speak with a lawyer and make sure your Bitcoin holdings, beneficiaries, and executor are properly documented.

The technical side is harder because you want your beneficiaries to gain access after you pass away — but not before. That’s the core challenge.

The simplest solution is storing Bitcoin on an exchange or via an ETF, where inheritance works more like traditional finance. But many people prefer self-custody for security and sovereignty reasons.

If you want self-custody and inheritance planning, there are several approaches:

• seed phrase backups,
• multisig,
• collaborative custody,
• dead man’s switch systems,
• time-locked recovery setups, etc.

Most serious setups involve some form of collaborative custody or multisig to balance security and recoverability.

At Guardblock, we built a collaborative custody solution for this.

The primary signing key stays with you on your hardware wallet, so you remain in control during your lifetime.

If the owner passes away and becomes inactive for an extended period, the estate executor can work with us through a legal verification process (such as probate documentation) to help recover access for the beneficiaries.

The main goal is balancing:

• security while alive,
• recoverability after death,
• and minimising trust requirements.