Inheritance Methods

The simplest method is sealed instructions: a sealed document held by a lawyer, in a safe, or in a bank deposit box that explains how to access your Bitcoin, opened only after death. It's easy to set up but relies on the document staying secret and secure, and on the holder's integrity.

Multisig spreads control across several keys, requiring (say) two of three to move funds. You can structure it so an heir or a professional holds a key that only becomes useful alongside others after you're gone. It's robust and avoids any single point of failure, but it's more complex to set up and for heirs to use.

Split-backup schemes like Shamir's Secret Sharing break your seed into shares, where a set number must be combined to reconstruct it. Distributing shares among trusted people or locations means no single share is dangerous on its own, at the cost of more moving parts and the need for heirs to know how to recombine them.

Finally, collaborative-custody providers and dedicated inheritance services handle much of this for you — holding a key, verifying death, and guiding heirs through recovery. They reduce the burden and the risk of mistakes, but introduce a third party you must trust and usually a recurring fee. The right choice depends on your amount, your heirs' technical comfort, and how much trust you're willing to place in others.