Bitcoin Instructions for Family Emergency

Family Emergency Instructions Before Planning Completes

This memo is published by CustodyStress, an independent Bitcoin custody stress test that produces reference documents for individuals, families, and professionals.

Emergency Versus Planned Scenarios

Emergencies do not wait for preparation to complete. The question of bitcoin instructions for family emergency differs from planned inheritance because emergencies happen without warning. If something happens today—accident, sudden illness, unexpected death—what can family members actually do? The answer often reveals that nothing has been prepared for this scenario.

Planned inheritance assumes time for documentation, communication, and coordination. Emergencies compress or eliminate that time. What exists right now, at this moment, determines whether family can access bitcoin in crisis. Intentions to prepare later provide no help when emergency arrives first.

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Emergency Versus Planned Scenarios

Planned inheritance unfolds gradually. The holder creates documentation, shares information with family, coordinates with professionals, and refines arrangements over time. Heirs know the plan exists, may have received training, and can proceed deliberately when the time comes.

Emergencies arrive without notice. A car accident. A sudden heart attack. An unexpected stroke. One moment everything is normal; the next, the holder is incapacitated or dead. No additional preparation is possible. Whatever exists at that moment is all that exists.

The gap between these scenarios can be enormous. A holder who intends to prepare documentation but has not yet done so has nothing usable in an emergency. Plans that exist only in the holder's mind die or become inaccessible with the holder. Good intentions do not create emergency capability.

Emergency needs may differ from long-term inheritance needs. Immediate access may be necessary—to pay bills, to make decisions, to prevent problems. Long-term inheritance can unfold over months. Emergency scenarios demand whatever can be done now, with whatever exists now.

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What Family Faces in Emergency

Family members confronting sudden crisis may not know where to begin with bitcoin. The holder managed everything; family may have minimal awareness of what exists, let alone how to access it.

Discovery challenges compound emergency stress. Does bitcoin exist? How much? Where is it stored? What is needed to access it? These questions arise during grief, shock, and crisis management. Family may not even know the right questions to ask.

Time pressure adds urgency. Medical decisions demand attention. Funeral arrangements need handling. Financial obligations continue regardless of crisis. Bitcoin sits among these competing demands, requiring attention that family may not have capacity to provide.

Technical unfamiliarity amplifies difficulty. Family members who never engaged with bitcoin during normal times face a steep learning curve during crisis. Understanding cryptocurrency from scratch while managing emergency response exceeds most people's capacity.

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Current-State Assessment

The emergency question asks: if something happened right now, what could family do? Answering honestly reveals the current state of emergency preparedness—or its absence.

Does anyone besides the holder know bitcoin exists? If family does not even know there is bitcoin, they cannot begin to access it. The asset remains undiscovered, potentially permanently.

Does anyone know where custody materials are stored? Knowing bitcoin exists differs from knowing where the seed phrase is. Location knowledge may reside only in the holder's mind. Without it, knowing bitcoin exists provides no access.

Does anyone have the capability to execute recovery? Having materials differs from being able to use them. A family member who has never touched a hardware wallet faces a learning curve even with complete materials in hand. Capability gaps exist independently of material availability.

Does any documentation exist? Written instructions, location notes, account information—does any of this exist in accessible form? Verbal knowledge dies with incapacity. Only documented knowledge survives emergency.

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Minimal Emergency Information

Emergency preparedness may begin with minimal information that at least enables family to start. Complete documentation may not exist, but some information is better than none.

Existence confirmation tells family there is bitcoin to find. A simple note—"I own bitcoin"—changes the situation from "we have no idea" to "we know something exists." This starting point prevents the asset from being completely overlooked.

Approximate value indication helps family prioritize. If bitcoin represents significant value, it deserves significant attention. If it represents trivial amounts, family may reasonably deprioritize it. Some sense of magnitude guides resource allocation during crisis.

Pointer to more information directs next steps. Even if complete instructions do not exist, a note saying "bitcoin information is in the safe" or "ask John—he knows about this" provides direction. A pointer beats no information even when complete documentation does not exist.

Contact information for help identifies who might assist. An accountant, an attorney, a knowledgeable friend—someone who might help family navigate unfamiliar territory. Emergency instructions that include help contacts provide options beyond family's own capability.

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Accessibility Under Emergency Conditions

Information that exists but cannot be found provides no emergency value. Where instructions are stored affects whether they help during crisis.

Known locations matter more than secure locations during emergency. A document in a home office drawer can be found by family. A document in an unknown safe deposit box cannot. Emergency accessibility may trade off against security—but inaccessible information helps no one.

Multiple people knowing the location provides redundancy. If only one family member knows where documentation is, and that family member is also incapacitated, knowledge of location is lost. Wider knowledge of documentation location improves emergency resilience.

Physical accessibility during crisis varies. A document at the holder's home office is accessible when family has access to the home. A document in a different city is less accessible during emergency. Where family can actually go during crisis affects what they can retrieve.

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Emergency Actions Versus Full Recovery

Emergency situations may not require full bitcoin recovery. Different actions may be appropriate depending on the specific emergency and its duration.

Securing assets may be the first priority. If the holder is incapacitated but expected to recover, moving bitcoin may not be necessary. Ensuring custody materials are secure during the holder's incapacity may suffice. Full recovery can wait for the holder's return.

Accessing for immediate needs may require partial action. Bills need paying. If bitcoin represents the only liquid asset, converting some to pay immediate obligations may be necessary. This requires more than security—it requires actual access and transaction capability.

Full recovery applies when the holder will not return. Death or permanent incapacity triggers inheritance. Family must eventually take full control. But this full recovery can proceed at a measured pace once immediate emergency passes.

Matching action to situation prevents unnecessary risk. Moving bitcoin that does not need to move creates transaction risk, potential errors, and security exposure. Emergency instructions that help family assess what action is actually needed serve better than instructions that assume full recovery is always necessary.

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The "Today" Test

Honest assessment asks what would happen if emergency struck today. Not next week after documentation is complete. Not next month after family has been briefed. Today, as things stand right now.

Most holders fail this test. Documentation does not exist. Family does not know. Materials are not accessible. The honest answer is: if something happened today, family could not access the bitcoin. This assessment may be uncomfortable but is necessary for understanding actual preparedness.

Failing the test identifies work to be done. The gap between current state and prepared state represents the holder's remaining tasks. Recognizing the gap is the first step toward closing it.

Partial preparation beats no preparation. Perfect documentation may take time to create. But some documentation today—even incomplete—provides more than no documentation while waiting for perfection. The today test values what exists now, not what might exist eventually.

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Urgency and Procrastination

Emergencies create urgency that planning lacks. The task of preparing emergency documentation competes with daily life, which always presents more immediate demands. Tomorrow always seems like a better time than today.

Procrastination gambles against probability. Every day without emergency documentation is a day the holder bets that emergency will not occur. The bet usually wins—until it does not. When it loses, all the deferred preparation becomes impossible to complete.

Small actions accumulate into preparation. Full documentation may seem overwhelming. A note confirming bitcoin exists takes minutes. Writing down where the seed phrase is stored takes minutes more. Small steps taken today provide more value than comprehensive plans deferred indefinitely.

Urgency framing may motivate action. Understanding that emergency could occur today—and what family would face if it did—may prompt action that abstract planning discussions do not. The emotional weight of imagining family in crisis can overcome the inertia that theoretical planning cannot.

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Conclusion

Bitcoin instructions for family emergency address what happens if crisis strikes today, not after planned preparation completes. Emergency scenarios differ from planned inheritance because they arrive without warning, compress available time, and test whatever exists at the moment of crisis.

Family facing sudden emergency may not know bitcoin exists, where materials are stored, or how to use them. Discovery, time pressure, and technical unfamiliarity compound crisis stress. Current-state assessment asks honestly what family could actually do if something happened right now.

Minimal emergency information—existence confirmation, value indication, pointers to more information, help contacts—provides starting points even when complete documentation does not exist. Accessibility during crisis, matching actions to situations, and the "today" test all inform what emergency preparedness actually requires versus what comprehensive planning eventually provides.

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System Context

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Bitcoin Access Instructions from a Hospital

Bitcoin Emergency Kit Design Tensions

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