Crypto wallet instructions for a beneficiary who has never used crypto

If you hold crypto and something happens to you, your family may not know it exists, and may never have used a wallet or an exchange.

The SEC's investor bulletin explains why that matters. A wallet does not hold the coins; it holds the private keys that control them. With self-custody you alone are responsible for the keys and seed phrase, and if they are lost you may lose access. Cold wallet devices can be lost, damaged or stolen, which may mean permanent loss. With an exchange or other third-party custodian, the custodian controls the keys.

This template gives your beneficiary a calm, written map: what you have, where the device and recovery information are physically kept, and the first safe steps. It sits with your will and other estate papers.

1. Download the CSV and open it in Excel or Google Sheets. Delete the three example rows when you start; they are fictional.
2. Fill it in on a device you trust, then consider printing it and deleting the digital copy. Even without secrets, it reveals that you hold crypto, and the SEC advises keeping holdings private.
3. Add one row per wallet or account, including old ones.
4. Write first steps for someone new to crypto. Tell them never to type the recovery words into a website or app, to ignore anyone offering to "recover" funds, and to talk to your attorney before moving anything.
5. Store the printed copy with your will, and tell your executor or your spouse where it is. Store the recovery phrase separately, in its own secure physical place, so that finding one doesn't give away the other.
6. Review it yearly and whenever you open or close a wallet, then update "Last checked".

• This is not a will. It does not decide who inherits your crypto. It tells someone where things are. Who receives what is set by your will, trust or other estate documents.
• Legal access is separate from practical access. In states that adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, a provider's own online tool, then your will, trust or power of attorney, then the provider's terms of service decide who may access an account. Under the model act, an executor asking a provider for access gives a written request, the death certificate and proof of appointment, and the provider may ask for the account's username, which is why that column exists.
• Taxes still apply. For US tax purposes, digital assets are property, not currency. Your executor will need records of what you held.
• When to see a lawyer. If crypto is a meaningful share of your savings, is held in a business, or uses multi-signature setups, ask an estate planning attorney how to give your executor both the legal authority and the practical steps.