What happens to your crypto when you die?

Imagine your relative or friend getting rich from crypto and passing away. Yes, you would grieve, but you may also wonder what happens to their belongings. And if they left you one, the question becomes, how are you supposed to access it?

According to Jaime Herren, an attorney at Holland & Knight, these are questions anyone with cryptocurrency ownership should consider, even at a young age.

As the crypto industry matures, an often overlooked consideration is wealth planning for your wealth when you succeed. Since many crypto assets are held in both hot and cold wallets and guarded by private keys (among other security elements), these funds can be lost virtually forever without a plan.

“The call to action is to do it,” Herren said. “Don’t think you’re too young to plan your wealth.” (This advice, of course, also applies to people with traditional wealth.)

Herren, who manages complex assets, technology, digital assets and intellectual property for individuals, generally says most clients looking for wealth plans are older. “The only people under 40 who do it are those who have a baby. Sometimes the first child triggers people to want to take care of them or leave things to them. But nobody [else] think about it until mortality starts ticking after 55 or 60 years old,” she said.

But the story can change. According to Caring.com’s 2023 Wills and Estate Planning, there has been a 63% increase in adults between the ages of 18 and 34 planning their estate over the past three years. study.

However, it is important to note that this applies to general wealth planning and not planning around crypto assets.

Wealthy individuals who have more than $10 million in crypto assets should update their estate plans every six months, Herren said. “Blockchain asset owners move a lot of assets, so they need to update their estate plans to reflect that.”