Part of the CustodyStress archive of observed Bitcoin custody incidents
CS-00582
Owner death — software wallet 2018
BlockedCase description
An estate attorney described a February 2018 case where the deceased had left a hardware wallet in a desk drawer with a sticky note reading 'the password is in the red book.' The estate found three red books on the property. None contained anything resembling a wallet password. The attorney concluded the note had been written years before the red book was discarded.
Custody context
| Stress condition | Owner death |
| Custody system | Mobile or software wallet |
| Outcome | Blocked |
| Documentation | Unknown |
| Year observed | 2018 |
| Country | Unknown |
Structural dependencies observed
What this illustrates
No backup path existed. One point of failure was all it took. Access was not recoverable.
Outcome interpretation
Access was not possible under the reported conditions.
Source
Publicly Reported
Evidence type
Forum post
Related cases involving owner death
This archive documents observed custody survivability failures. It does not attempt to document all Bitcoin losses or security incidents.
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Framework references
Where Bitcoin Custody Intersects Legal and Fiduciary Authority
Where custody creates gaps in estate planning, fiduciary duty, and professional responsibility.
Professional Scope Boundary Matrix
What each professional or product covers, what they do not, and where gaps form between them.
The Independent Assessment Layer in Bitcoin Custody
How independent diagnostic layers emerge when multiple parties depend on shared infrastructure.
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