Bitcoin inheritance checklist: the question most plans fail

Most bitcoin inheritance planning ends when the boxes are ticked. I'm the non-technical one in our marriage, and my husband holds our bitcoin in self-custody. For years I nodded through his explanations. I couldn't have done anything with it, and no checklist would have shown that.

So here's a checklist, from the side of the person who would have to use it. The last item is the one that proves the rest. It's one part of a bigger picture, and our full guide to bitcoin inheritance has the rest.

In short

Every item on a bitcoin inheritance checklist should have a plain yes or no answer.
No secrets go on the checklist or in the instructions. They only say where things are.
You can tick almost every box yourself. You can't tick "she can do it."
The question most plans fail: has she done it alone, start to finish, ending with a small test payment?

Before you start: what this checklist is for

A checklist shows what's in place. It doesn't show whether it works. Those are two different questions, and most plans only ask the first.

Answer each item with a yes or a no. "Mostly" is a no. "She knows about it" is a no until you know what she can actually do.

Start with the plan you have today, not the one you mean to have. If an item is a no, write down what's missing next to it. That turns the checklist into a to-do list.

One more thing before you begin: the checklist itself should contain no secrets: no seed phrase, and no private keys. It's a list of what exists and what's ready. You should be able to leave it on the kitchen table without worrying.

The bitcoin inheritance checklist

Your family knows the bitcoin exists. Not vaguely. They know there's something to look for, and that there's a plan.
You've listed what exists. Exchange accounts and self-custody wallets, with plain names, and no balances or secrets. This list of your digital assets is what keeps your heirs from stopping at the first thing they find.
A will or trust says who inherits. Your estate plan, whether it's a will, a revocable living trust, or both, names who receives it. If an account offers a beneficiary designation, you've decided whether to use it.
Written instructions exist, and she knows where they are. A letter of instruction that the person who would act, whether that's your wife or your executor, can find without asking.
The instructions contain no secrets. No seed phrase, no private keys, no PIN.
Every secret has a known place. The seed phrase backup, a passphrase if there is one, and the PIN each have a location the instructions point to.
Every item has a picture and a plain name. A hardware wallet, a backup, a cable: she can match what's on the page to what's in front of her.
Each step ends with a checkpoint she can verify alone. She can tell whether it worked without calling anyone.
The instructions are dated. Your family knows which version is current.
You've followed them yourself, to the letter. Using only what's written, nothing from memory.

If your setup uses a multisig wallet, add one more item: the wallet descriptor, the file that describes how the keys fit together, is listed and findable too.

What a checklist can't tell you

Look at that list again. You can tick almost every box yourself, from your side.

That's the problem. When you read your own instructions, you fill every gap without noticing. You know which device "the wallet" means. You know what the next screen should look like. A missing step is invisible when the answer is already in your head.

I was on the other side of that gap for years.

A checklist measures preparation. It can't measure whether the person who would follow your instructions can actually follow them. You can't tick "she can do it." Only she can.

Your executor, a trustee, or an estate attorney can confirm the legal side is in order. None of them can confirm that your wife can move the bitcoin. That box stays open until she's tried.

The question most plans fail

Here it is: has the person who would follow the plan done it alone, start to finish, ending with a small test payment she sends herself and sees arrive?

The first time I worked through his instructions alone, my husband sat behind me with one rule: no helping. I didn't get far before I got stuck, mostly on words he didn't hear as jargon.

Whenever I got stuck, I said how I'd have put it, and he rewrote the step in my words. Our first version took about twenty rounds. After we simplified the setup, the new version took seven more.

The last step was a small test payment I sent myself, and I saw it arrive. Then he followed the guide to the letter himself, in case he's the one who forgets.

Your number of rounds will be different. What matters is that every stop shows you a step to fix. That's the part of bitcoin inheritance planning no checklist can do for you.

The loop that gets her to "alone"

1She follows the steps, from the start.
2You watch from behind. No helping, no hints.
3She stops. You note the exact word or step.
4You rewrite that step in her words. Back to 1.

Done when she finishes alone and sends a small test payment herself, and sees it arrive.

Every stop shows you one step to fix. The number of rounds doesn't matter.

How to answer it this weekend

You don't need anything new. You need your real instructions and some quiet time.

Hand her the instructions. Let her start where she'd start if you weren't there.
Sit behind her and don't help. No hints and no pointing.
Note every stop. Write down the exact word or step.
Rewrite that step in her words. Ask how she'd have said it.
Repeat until she finishes alone. Start from the beginning each time.
End with the small test payment. She sends it herself, checks the full receiving address on the device's screen, and sees it arrive.

Use the real setup and keep the amount small. Keep secrets out of any notes you take. The full version of this test, with what to watch for, is in can my wife access my bitcoin.

Keep the checklist current

A bitcoin inheritance plan that was true two years ago may not be true today. We redo ours once a year.

Run it again after any change to the setup, the places, or the people. A new hardware wallet, whether it's a Coldcard, a Ledger, or a Trezor, changes what she needs to recognize. Moving an item changes where the instructions lead. Someone new in the plan needs to know where their part begins.

Each time, update the letter of instruction, put the new date on it, and make sure older copies are gone. Then let her run through it again.

Our instructions contain no secrets. Instead, they say where things are and how to confirm each step worked. For what goes in them and how to write them for her, see how to write a bitcoin letter of instruction.

Frequently asked questions

What should a bitcoin inheritance checklist include?

What exists, who inherits, where the instructions are, where each secret is kept, a picture and a plain name for every item, checkpoints, a date, and your own run-through. The last item is the test: she has done it alone, start to finish. A crypto inheritance checklist for other digital assets works the same way.

Should my seed phrase be on the checklist?

No. The checklist says a seed phrase backup exists and that its location is known. The words themselves never go on the checklist or in the instructions.

Do I need a lawyer for a bitcoin inheritance plan?

For the will, any trust, and who inherits your digital assets, ask an estate attorney or another professional where you live. Crypto estate planning has a legal side and a practical side. A lawyer handles the first. Your instructions, and her test run, handle the second.

How often should I review my bitcoin inheritance checklist?

Once a year, and after any change to the setup, the places, or the people. Each review should end the same way: she follows the current instructions alone, and you fix every place she stops.