Of everything a person leaves behind, digital assets are the most uneven. Some are recoverable with a death certificate and a little patience. Others can vanish completely the moment the one person who knew how to reach them is gone. The first thing to understand is that “crypto” isn’t one thing — it’s two, and they behave nothing alike.
Two kinds of crypto, two very different outcomes
Before anything else, it helps to know which kind you’re dealing with, because the rest follows from it.
Crypto held on an exchange
If the crypto sits on an exchange — a company that holds it on the owner’s behalf — then it behaves much like any other online account. The company controls the keys, keeps the records, and has a process for releasing a deceased person’s account. That makes it broadly recoverable, in the same way an email or bank account can be reached after a death.
Crypto you hold yourself
If the crypto is in self-custody — held directly by the owner through a private key or a written seed phrase (also called a recovery phrase) — then no company stands between the owner and the assets. There is no help desk, no account to reset, and no record kept anywhere else. That independence is the whole point of self-custody, and it is also what makes it fragile in a way most families never expect.
When a company holds it: the death process
For crypto on an exchange, the path looks familiar to anyone who has settled a financial account before — though the specifics are set by each company, not by a single rule.
What exchanges typically ask for
As of 2026, major exchanges generally require a certified death certificate along with probate or estate documents, plus identification for the representative making the claim. This confirms both that the person has died and that the right person is acting on the estate’s behalf. Because these are company policies rather than law, they differ between platforms and can change over time. The practical step is to confirm the current process with the specific exchange where the account lives.
Why most don’t let you name a beneficiary
With many bank, brokerage, and insurance accounts, you can name a beneficiary who receives the money directly. As of 2026, many exchanges do not currently offer that option. When there is no beneficiary on file, state estate law generally decides who receives the assets — which usually means the account passes through the will or the standard estate process rather than straight to a chosen person. It is worth checking whether your particular exchange offers any beneficiary or estate feature, since this is an area that continues to shift.
When you hold it yourself: the lost-seed-phrase problem
Self-custody is where digital assets stop behaving like other accounts entirely — and where the most heartbreaking losses tend to happen.
Why a lost phrase usually means it’s gone
With self-custodied crypto, the seed phrase is the only way in. If it is lost and there is no backup, the assets are generally unrecoverable by anyone — including the family and the company that made the wallet. This isn’t a customer-service failure that can be escalated; it is how the technology is built. No one is holding a spare copy, because the entire design assumes no one but the owner ever should.
Beware “recovery” services
Because a lost phrase is so final, an industry has grown up promising to recover it. Treat such offers with real caution. If a seed phrase is truly lost and unbacked, there is generally nothing for anyone to recover — and a grieving family is exactly who such promises tend to target. The safer assumption is that a lost phrase is gone, and the only reliable protection is putting the plan in place before it’s needed.
With self-custodied crypto, a lost phrase isn’t a locked door — there is no door, for anyone.
How the law helps your family get in
For the digital accounts that can be reached, the law has slowly caught up to give families a recognized way in — though it is a patchwork rather than a single national rule.
RUFADAA in plain language
Most states have adopted a version of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act — usually shortened to RUFADAA. In plain terms, it can give an executor or an agent under a power of attorney authority over a person’s digital accounts, the way they would have authority over other parts of an estate. The important caveat: this is state law, not a single federal law, so the details vary from one state to the next.
Set up the provider “legacy” tools, and authorize access in your will or power of attorney
Under that framework, the order of priority generally runs like this. A provider’s own legacy contact or inactive-account tool — for example, Apple’s Legacy Contact or Google’s Inactive Account Manager — usually takes priority where it has been set up. Next come instructions in a will, trust, or power of attorney. Only after those does the provider’s standard terms of service apply. The practical takeaway is to turn on those provider tools where they exist, and to authorize digital-asset access in your will or power of attorney — confirming the wording with a qualified attorney, since the details are state-specific.
What this means for your plan
Put the two cases together and a single, simple principle emerges. For accounts a company holds, your family needs to know where the assets live so they can start the death process. For anything self-custodied, they need to know how the recovery method can be found — which secure place, which trusted person, which sealed envelope or hardware device.
What they should never need is the secret itself sitting inside any app or service. The right plan records the map, not the keys: where each account and asset lives, and how the recovery method can be located — while the seed phrase, the private keys, and the passwords stay in the secure place you have chosen for them. That is the line Trust Relay is built to hold.
Common questions
What happens to my exchange account (like Coinbase) when I die?
When a company holds your crypto for you on an exchange, the account can generally be recovered through that company’s death process, much like other online accounts. As of 2026, major exchanges typically ask for a certified death certificate plus probate or estate documents and identification for the representative making the claim. Many do not currently let you name a beneficiary on the account itself, so state estate law usually decides who receives the assets. These are company policies rather than law and can change, so confirm the current process with the specific exchange.
Can my family recover my crypto if I lose my seed phrase?
Generally not, if the crypto is self-custodied and there is no backup. With self-custody, the seed phrase or recovery phrase is the only way in. If it is lost and was never backed up, the assets are generally unrecoverable by anyone — including your family and the company that made the wallet. This is by design, not a customer-service problem that can be escalated. The practical protection is making sure a trusted person can find your recovery method, never that the secret itself is stored somewhere a stranger could reach it.
Is there a federal law about digital assets after death?
There is no single federal law that governs this. Instead, most states have adopted a version of the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, often shortened to RUFADAA, which can give an executor or agent authority over a person’s digital accounts. Because it is state law, the details vary from state to state. For how it applies to your situation, check your own state’s version or ask a qualified attorney.
How do I legally let my executor access my online accounts?
Under the RUFADAA framework that most states have adopted, a provider’s own legacy or inactive-account tool generally takes priority — for example, Apple’s Legacy Contact or Google’s Inactive Account Manager. After that come instructions in a will, trust, or power of attorney, and then the provider’s terms of service. A common approach is to set up those provider tools where they exist and to authorize digital-asset access in your will or power of attorney. Because this is state law and the details vary, confirm the wording with a qualified attorney.
Do I have to give Trust Relay my passwords or seed phrase?
No. Trust Relay is built to record where your accounts and assets live and how the recovery method can be found — not to hold the secret itself. You should never store a seed phrase, private keys, or passwords in any product, including this one. The goal is to leave a map your family can follow, while the secret stays in the secure place you have chosen for it.
Recording this now is the easy part
Almost everything above gets simpler if the people you love already know where to look — which exchange, which wallet, and where the recovery method can be found. That is the whole idea behind Trust Relay: a quiet, private map of where your assets live, kept ready, so your family isn’t left guessing at a door that may not open.