Digital Assets in Estate Planning: Securing and Passing Down Your Crypto Wealth

Digital assets have become a meaningful part of modern wealth, but they don’t fit neatly into traditional estate planning frameworks. Crypto, NFTs and tokenized assets are controlled by private keys—not custodians. Without the right planning, they can become permanently inaccessible. Estate plans must now address technical custody issues alongside legal, tax and beneficiary planning.

Here’s how to ensure your digital wealth is preserved, protected and accessible to the next generation.

Protect Your Keys and Establish a Transfer-Ready Custody Plan

The foundation of any digital asset estate plan is safeguarding private keys while still allowing trusted parties to retrieve them when needed. Without the keys, your heirs cannot access your assets—regardless of what your will or trust says.

A smart custody plan should address:

• How and where private keys are stored (hardware wallets, multisig, institutional custody)
• Who has access, and under what conditions access is granted
• How seed phrases, recovery instructions or key shards are secured
• What happens if a trustee or fiduciary needs to step in?
• Protocols for updating custody information as your holdings evolve

This approach provides a balance between strong security today and seamless access later.

Build a Modern Estate Plan that Anticipates Digital Assets

Traditional estate documents weren’t written with crypto in mind. Your plan needs to clearly outline what you own, how it’s accessed and how it should transfer. The goal is to prevent assets from being lost, locked or mishandled.

When designing your plan, focus on:

• A revocable living trust that explicitly holds or references digital assets, enabling smooth transfer without probate delays
• A trustee or co-trustee who understands crypto or has access to an advisor who does
• A digital asset memorandum that inventories wallets, exchanges and platforms without listing private keys directly
• Power of attorney documents that authorize access to digital and online accounts under state digital asset laws
• Training or guidance for heirs, especially if they are not familiar with wallets, security practices or blockchain-based assets

A well-structured plan ensures your executor has lawful authority to access the assets and your beneficiaries understand how to manage what they receive.

Preserve Your Digital Legacy

Digital assets offer both opportunity and complexity. With careful planning around custody, documentation and beneficiary education, you can ensure your crypto wealth remains secure today and fully transferable in the future. Illumination Wealth can help you build an estate strategy that protects your digital property and empowers the next generation to manage it responsibly. Contact us today to get started.