Bitcoin Recovery Plan Examination
Reviewing a Written Recovery Plan for Gaps
This memo is published by CustodyStress, an independent Bitcoin custody stress test that produces reference documents for individuals, families, and professionals.
What a Recovery Plan Document Contains
A written document exists that describes how to recover Bitcoin. The document might be titled "Recovery Plan" or "Instructions for My Family" or "Bitcoin Access Procedures." It contains words, maybe diagrams, maybe numbered sections. Someone created it with the intent that another person could follow it if needed.
The document has been stored somewhere—a safe, a filing cabinet, an encrypted drive. It has not been used. No one has attempted to recover Bitcoin by following its instructions. The plan exists as text, not as a tested process.
This memo examines what it means to check bitcoin recovery plan documentation, what such a review can confirm, and what remains unknown even after review.
What a Recovery Plan Document Contains
Recovery plan documents vary widely. Some are a single page with a seed phrase and a wallet name. Some are multi-page documents with detailed instructions, screenshots, and contingency sections.
A typical recovery plan might include some combination of the following: the location of backup materials, the names of wallet applications, PINs or passwords, seed phrases or references to where they are stored, device descriptions, account information for exchanges, and contact details for other people involved in custody.
The document represents what the author believed someone else would need to recover the Bitcoin. It captures the author's understanding at the time of writing.
What a Bitcoin Recovery Plan Review Can Confirm
A bitcoin recovery plan review examines the document itself. The review can confirm certain things about the documentation.
The review can confirm whether the document exists and is readable. Paper documents may be legible or faded. Digital documents may be accessible or corrupted. The physical state of the documentation is observable.
The review can confirm whether the document appears internally consistent. If the document says the seed phrase is in location A, and location A is named elsewhere in the document, those references align. If the document names a specific wallet application, the application name is identifiable.
The review can confirm whether the document contains the categories of information typically involved in Bitcoin recovery. A document that mentions a seed phrase, a wallet application, and a passphrase contains more information than a document that mentions only a wallet application.
The review can confirm whether the document's language is understandable to the reviewer. A document written in technical jargon may be clear to one reader and opaque to another. The match between document complexity and reader familiarity is observable during review.
What a Bitcoin Recovery Plan Review Cannot Confirm
A review of documentation cannot confirm that the documented materials work. A seed phrase written in a document may be incorrect—copied wrong, missing a word, or belonging to a different wallet. The document review does not verify the seed phrase against the actual Bitcoin.
A review cannot confirm that the tools described still exist. The document may name a wallet application that has been discontinued. The document may reference a hardware wallet model that is no longer manufactured. The review observes what the document says, not whether the external world matches.
A review cannot confirm that the person who will execute the plan can successfully do so. Reading a document is different from following its instructions under pressure. The document may assume knowledge the reader does not have. The document may skip steps the author considered obvious.
A review cannot confirm that circumstances at recovery time will match the assumptions in the document. The document may assume access to a specific computer. That computer may be gone. The document may assume a certain person is available to help. That person may be unavailable.
The Gap Between Clarity and Executability
A recovery plan can be clearly written and still fail when executed. Clarity refers to how the document reads. Executability refers to whether following the document produces the intended outcome.
Consider a document that states: "Download the Sparrow wallet application. Enter the 24-word seed phrase stored in the safe deposit box. The Bitcoin will appear."
The instructions are clear. A reader understands what to do. But executability depends on factors outside the document. Does the seed phrase in the safe deposit box match the wallet described? Is the seed phrase complete and correct? Does Sparrow wallet still exist as downloadable software? Does the reader know what a seed phrase looks like or how to enter it? Does the wallet also require a passphrase that the document does not mention?
A document review can assess clarity. A document review cannot assess executability without actually attempting execution.
The Executor Scenario
An executor receives a folder labeled "Bitcoin Recovery" from a deceased person's estate documents. Inside the folder is a four-page document with headings, bullet points, and what appears to be thorough instructions.
The executor reads the document. The document names a hardware wallet stored in a home safe. The document provides the safe combination. The document lists a 24-word seed phrase. The document names a wallet application and describes how to install it.
The executor visits the home. The safe opens with the combination provided. The hardware wallet is inside. So far, the document matches reality.
The executor returns home and downloads the wallet application named in the document. The application looks different from the screenshots in the document—the software has been updated since the document was written. The executor navigates the new interface and finds where to enter the seed phrase.
The executor types the 24 words. The application accepts them. A wallet appears. The balance shows zero.
The executor does not know what went wrong. The document did not mention that a passphrase was also used. The document did not explain that without the passphrase, the seed phrase generates a different wallet—an empty one. The document appeared complete. The document was not complete.
The bitcoin recovery plan review that the executor performed before traveling—reading the document, confirming it seemed thorough—did not reveal this gap. The gap only appeared during execution.
Assumptions Embedded in Plans
Recovery plans contain assumptions. Some assumptions are stated. Many are not.
A plan that says "restore the wallet using the seed phrase" assumes the reader knows what wallet restoration means. A plan that says "connect the hardware wallet to a computer" assumes a compatible computer is available. A plan that says "contact my brother for the second key" assumes the brother is alive, reachable, and willing to cooperate.
The person who writes a recovery plan operates from their own context. They know things they may not realize they know. They make assumptions that feel obvious to them. These assumptions enter the document invisibly.
When someone else reads the document—perhaps years later, perhaps under stress, perhaps with no Bitcoin experience—those invisible assumptions become gaps. The reader encounters instructions that assume knowledge they do not have.
A bitcoin recovery plan assessment can identify some stated assumptions. It cannot identify assumptions the author did not realize they were making.
Time and Documentation Drift
Recovery plans are written at a moment in time. The world continues to change after that moment.
A plan written in 2020 may reference software that no longer exists in 2025. A plan that names a specific exchange may become outdated if that exchange closes or changes its policies. A plan that assumes a certain device is available may fail if that device breaks or is lost.
The document does not update itself. The Bitcoin network evolves. Software gets deprecated. Companies shut down. Hardware fails. People move, forget, and die. Each of these changes can create distance between what the document describes and what actually exists.
A check of bitcoin recovery documentation captures the document's state at the moment of review. The review does not predict how the document's relevance will change over time. A plan that appears complete today may contain outdated references tomorrow.
The Difference Between Document Review and Recovery Testing
A bitcoin recovery plan check refers to examination of the document itself. To test a recovery plan means to execute the document's instructions and observe whether Bitcoin access results.
Document review is a reading exercise. The reviewer reads the plan, notes what it contains, and observes whether it appears internally consistent and readable.
Recovery testing is an execution exercise. The tester follows the plan's instructions, uses the materials described, interacts with software and hardware, and observes whether the Bitcoin becomes accessible.
These are different activities. A document can pass review and fail testing. A document that reads well may contain incorrect information, missing information, or assumptions that do not hold when the instructions are actually followed.
Document review is faster and less intrusive than recovery testing. Document review also reveals less. The trade-off between review and testing affects how much is known about a plan's executability.
The Spouse Scenario
A man creates a recovery plan for his wife. He writes detailed instructions. He stores the document in a fireproof safe along with a hardware wallet and a metal plate containing the seed phrase. He tells his wife where the safe is and gives her the combination.
Years pass. The man becomes ill and eventually dies. The wife opens the safe and finds the document, the hardware wallet, and the metal plate.
The wife reads the document. The instructions seem clear. The document tells her to download an application, connect the hardware wallet, enter a PIN, and verify the balance. The document provides the PIN.
The wife downloads the application. The application requires a software update before it will run. The update changes some interface elements. The wife connects the hardware wallet. The device asks for a PIN. She enters the PIN from the document. The device displays "PIN incorrect."
The wife tries again. Same result. She tries a third time. The device displays a warning that one more incorrect attempt will reset the device.
The wife stops. She consults the document again. The PIN in the document is six digits. She entered six digits. The document does not mention that the PIN might have been changed after the document was written.
The document was clear. The document was outdated. The review the wife performed—reading the instructions, locating the materials—did not reveal that the PIN had changed since the document was created.
What Review Surfaces
A bitcoin recovery plan review surfaces the following: whether a document exists, whether it is readable, whether it contains identifiable components (seed phrases, PINs, wallet names, locations), whether it references materials that can be located, and whether the language is understandable to the reviewer.
Review can also surface inconsistencies. A document that references "the hardware wallet in the desk" but also says "the hardware wallet is in the safe deposit box" contains a contradiction. A document that lists a 23-word seed phrase where 24 words are standard raises a question.
Review surfaces what is visible in the documentation. It does not surface what is missing, incorrect, or outdated—unless those problems create visible inconsistencies.
Outcome
A recovery plan is a document. The document contains instructions, references, and information that the author believed would enable recovery. The document represents the author's understanding at the time of writing.
A bitcoin recovery plan check involves examination of documentation readability, internal consistency, and the presence of identifiable components. This review can confirm what the document contains and whether it is understandable.
The review cannot confirm that the documented information is correct, that the referenced tools still exist, that the materials work as described, or that a reader can successfully execute the instructions under real conditions. These questions involve executability, not documentation.
Recovery plans can be clearly written and still fail when executed. The gap between documentation clarity and operational executability is not visible through document review alone. Plans carry assumptions—some stated, many unstated—that may not hold when circumstances change or when a different person attempts to follow them.
A reviewed plan is a documented plan. A documented plan is not the same as a tested plan.
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