What happens to my Bitcoin if something happens to me?

CustodyStress models how your Bitcoin custody system behaves under stress scenarios including death, incapacity, device loss, coercion, and forced relocation. It produces structured reference documents that can be interpreted by spouses, executors, or professionals without the original author.

Does CustodyStress connect to my wallet or require my private keys?

No. CustodyStress uses a structured, scenario-based questionnaire. No accounts are connected, no private keys are shared, and no sensitive data is collected. All inputs are processed locally in your browser. The site loads fonts from Google Fonts and offers optional translation via Google Translate, both subject to Google's privacy policy.

What does CustodyStress produce?

A completed assessment produces a survivability profile, inheritor opening document, custody system overview, coordination notes, estate-custody alignment summary, coordination worksheet, role participation by scenario, and input snapshot — each with integrity verification.

Who is CustodyStress for?

For anyone who holds Bitcoin — in an app, exchange or brokerage account, hardware wallet, multisig setup, or managed by a service — and wants to know what happens to it if something happens to them. Also used by estate planners, lawyers, and fiduciary advisors working with clients who hold Bitcoin.

CustodyStress

Bitcoin Custody Stress Test

What happens to your Bitcoin if something happens to you?

Produces a Bitcoin Custody Survivability Profile — a report describing how your custody setup behaves under stress. Includes a set of print-ready reference documents for heirs or professionals to use without your involvement.

A 30-minute questionnaire that models how your Bitcoin custody setup behaves when assumptions fail.

Everything required may exist, but access still depends on context, coordination, and dependencies that may fail together under stress.

No keys shared. No accounts connected. No balances disclosed.

View example profile documents →

$149 · 12-month access · Unlimited assessments

Diagnostic only. Non-advisory. Vendor-agnostic.

What the assessment produces

An personalized evaluation of how your Bitcoin custody system behaves across seven stress scenarios, producing reference documents for family, executors, and attorneys.

Core artifact in the reference package

Bitcoin Custody Survivability Profile

Date: 2026-01-12·Reference: SAMPLE-CS-7K4R v1.0

Modeled Survivability State

Custody Constrained

Access remains possible but depends on timing, coordination, or external conditions.

Modeled outcome only. Describes system behavior under stated assumptions. Not a guarantee.

Assessment Assumptions

The Person Responsible is unavailable
No new information can be added to the system
Stress and confusion are present among recovery participants
Cooperation from all parties is not guaranteed

What Happens Under Common Scenarios

Legend

• Survives: Access and control remain viable under stated assumptions.

• Constrained: Access remains possible but depends on conditions, timing, or coordination.

• Blocked: Access and control do not remain viable under stated assumptions.

Scenario	Modeled Outcome
Death / Absence What happens if the original owner is no longer available to assist or provide information.	Survives
Device Loss What happens if all primary devices and any information stored at home or work are lost or destroyed.	Survives
Physical Coercion What happens if the owner is forced to act under immediate threat and attackers can access the premises. Recovery path constrained by vendor dependency — coercion blocked at vendor gate, but access itself depends on vendor continuity	Constrained
Cognitive Failure What happens if the owner cannot recall details, passwords, or instructions. Partial cognitive resilience — system survives owner memory loss but requires technical expertise not available in fallback	Constrained
Legal Seizure What happens if authorities can search all physical locations and seize any keys or phrases found on the premises.	Survives
Forced Relocation What happens if the owner must relocate internationally on short notice without access to banks, offices, or storage locations. Custody depends on vendor that may be unreachable during emergency evacuation timeframe	Constrained

Earliest degradation: Physical Coercion. What happens if the owner is forced to act under immediate threat and attackers can access the premises.

Key Stress Factors

Liquidity

Partial access under stress

This examines how reliably access can be executed or verified during disruption.

Dependency

Conditional external dependency

This examines how much access depends on specific people, services, or organizations remaining available.

Durability

Moderately time-sensitive

This examines how much time the system can tolerate before access becomes harder or limited.

Observations That Influenced This Assessment

One recovery path relies on a collaborative custody service holding one of the required signing keys. If that service becomes unavailable, unresponsive, or discontinues operations, that particular recovery path would be blocked. Alternative recovery paths exist using only owner-held keys, which limited the overall impact.

The person who legally inherits the Bitcoin is different from the person who can technically perform the recovery. These two people would need to coordinate: one has the legal authority to act, the other has the technical knowledge and access. If they cannot communicate or cooperate, recovery may be delayed or blocked.

System Dependency Surface

Structural dependencies inferred from modeled inputs. Each entry represents a component the system relies on across at least one recovery path.

Credential Dependencyexclusive gate

A password manager holds credentials required to initiate recovery. If access to that account is lost, recovery paths that depend on it cannot proceed — regardless of whether physical materials are available.

External Service Dependencyexclusive gate

A third-party service holds or controls access to materials required for recovery. If that service is unavailable, unresponsive, or has changed its processes, recovery through that path cannot proceed without the service's participation.

Recovery Participant Dependency

Recovery requires the participation of more than one person. At least one recovery path cannot be completed by a single actor — coordination between participants is a structural requirement, not a contingency.

Physical Document Dependency

One or more recovery paths depend on locating a physical document — such as written instructions or a backup record — before recovery can proceed. If that document is missing, inaccessible, or damaged, the path that depends on it is blocked.

Observed pattern:Credential access (password manager) spans multiple recovery paths, creating a single failure point across setups that appear physically independent.

Cross-Domain OverlapPassword Manager Primary appears in both the identity credential layer and vendor service layer. A failure of this component affects both layers simultaneously — paths that rely on separate layers share a common point of failure.

Recovery Coordination Surface

Participants Required

Executor

Must participate to exercise legal authority over the estate and initiate recovery on behalf of heirs.

Co-signer

At least one additional signing participant is required to reach the signature threshold. Recovery cannot complete without their involvement.

Inheritance Service Representative

A third-party service participates in at least one recovery path. Reaching that service and completing its process is part of the modeled recovery.

Coordination Gates

Password Manager

Access to this account is required before certain recovery paths can be initiated. Loss of access to the password manager blocks those paths entirely.

Third-Party Service Access

At least one recovery path cannot complete without the third-party service responding and cooperating. No independent path bypasses this service entirely.

SAMPLE-CS-7K4R | 2026-01-12 | v1.0

a3b7c9d4e8f2a1b5c3d7e9f0a2b4c6d8e0f1a3b5c7d9e1f2a4b6c8d0e2f4a6b8

Sample Bitcoin Custody Survivability Profile (mock data).

1 of 8 print-ready reference documents included with each assessment.

Eight print-ready reference documents

Each assessment produces a package of eight print-ready reference documents designed to be read cold — by someone who has never seen the setup and may not understand Bitcoin.

Reference documents produced

Survivability Profile

How your custody system behaves under stress.

Role Participation by Scenario

Which roles must act and where recovery can be blocked, per scenario.

Custody System Overview

Wallets, devices, credentials, backup paths, and dependencies.

Estate–Custody Alignment Summary

Where legal authority and custody access align or diverge.

Inheritor Opening Document

Plain-language starting point for a first-time reader.

Custody–Estate Coordination Reference

Discussion aid for roles, authority, and access.

Custody Coordination Notes

Companion page for handwritten notes.

CustodyStress Input Snapshot

Appendix — a partial record of scored inputs, not a complete question log.

Click any document to view a sample populated with mock data.

Download all sample artifacts as a single PDF.

One Page Assessment Summary (PDF)

Each document includes a reference ID, assessment date, and methodology version. The Survivability Profile and Input Snapshot include a deterministic integrity digest.

Purpose of the Assessment

CustodyStress provides an independent diagnostic layer for Bitcoin custody systems.

Learn why a neutral assessment layer exists →

What the assessment distinguishes

Who has legal authority and who can move the Bitcoin
How the system works in normal conditions and how it behaves under stress
Partial access and complete access
What is written down and what can actually be done
Independent recovery and coordination-dependent recovery

Scope and Boundaries

Applicable situations

A survivability assessment of Bitcoin self-custody systems under stress
A model of redundancy, backup paths, and operational continuity
A test of sequencing, documentation access, and human coordination
A model of immediate, delayed, partial, or third-party–assisted custody access
A point-in-time assessment conducted under explicit stress assumptions

Out of scope

Financial, technical, legal, or estate-planning advice
Setup guidance, instructions, or recommendations
Wallet, coordinator, or inheritance-product comparisons
A formal security audit or certification
A guarantee of safety, recoverability, or correctness
A reassurance or confidence-scoring product

Recorded fields include:

what apps, devices, or services are involved in holding the Bitcoin
who is allowed to act and who must agree
what the system depends on (people, services, or things)
what delays can affect access
conditions that prevent access to the Bitcoin
assumptions that require someone else to cooperate

Assessment process and reference records

Describe what exists — People, devices, credentials, documentation, and dependencies.

Apply defined scenarios — Loss, unavailability, coercion, and operational disruption.

Review outcomes — A survivability profile describing how the custody system behaves and print-ready reference documents.

The record may be run again if wallets, recovery paths, or the people involved in custody change.

Bitcoin Custody Incident Archive

The CustodyStress archive documents real-world custody incidents used to study how access fails under stress. Cases are drawn from public reports and submissions and describe structural failure conditions, custody system types, and outcomes.

Browse the archive →View archive statistics →

Privacy and data

All assessment data is processed locally
No responses are retained for training or analytics
No accounts required
No assessment data shared with third parties

Details

The assessment does not request: Seed phrases, private keys, wallet addresses, wallet types, device locations, passwords, PINs, recovery codes, or personal identifying information.

Sample Reference Artifacts

Click any artifact to view a sample populated with mock assessment data.