Bitcoin Inheritance Without Credentials
Inheritance Without Passwords or Seed Phrases
This memo is published by CustodyStress, an independent Bitcoin custody stress test that produces reference documents for individuals, families, and professionals.
Why Bitcoin Does Not Have a "Forgot Password" Option
Bitcoin may be known to exist through family statements, estate documents, discovered devices, or prior records. The existence of the Bitcoin may be clear.
In some cases, custody credentials are missing. Passwords, seed phrases, or other control artifacts may not be available to heirs or executors.
This memo describes how Bitcoin custody behaves when credentials are missing and why evidence of existence does not produce technical access.
Why Bitcoin Does Not Have a "Forgot Password" Option
Most financial accounts have recovery paths. If you forget your bank password, you call the bank. They verify your identity and reset your access. The bank holds your money and decides who can reach it. Your password is a convenience layer on top of their control.
Bitcoin works differently. There is no bank. There is no company holding the funds. There is no customer service number. Bitcoin exists on a global network, and the only thing that controls it is a cryptographic secret—usually a seed phrase or private key.
A seed phrase is a set of 12 or 24 words generated when a wallet is created. Whoever has those words can move the Bitcoin. Whoever does not have them cannot. The Bitcoin network does not know or care who you are, whether you have a death certificate, or whether a court says you own the funds.
This is not a flaw in the system. It is the system. Bitcoin was designed so that no one can take your funds without your keys. That same design means no one can give you access to funds when the keys are missing—not even if those funds belong to you.
The Scenario: Confirmed Holdings, No Access Path
Consider a common situation. Your mother passes away. While going through her papers, you find a statement from a cryptocurrency exchange showing a Bitcoin balance. Or you find a small device—a hardware wallet—that she mentioned once but never explained.
You now know she owned Bitcoin. But the exchange account has a password you do not have. The hardware wallet has a PIN you do not know. And the seed phrase that could restore access to either one is nowhere to be found.
You search the house. You check her safe deposit box. You look through her computer files and her email. Nothing. The Bitcoin is visible on a screen or referenced in a document, but no trail leads to the credentials.
This gap—confirmed existence without usable credentials—is where inheritance stalls.
When Exchanges Are Part of the Custody Path
If the Bitcoin is on an exchange like Coinbase or Kraken, you might assume the exchange can help. After all, they hold the account. They have customer service.
Exchanges operate under internal policies and legal constraints. Access outcomes depend on documentation, timing, jurisdiction, and the exchange's ability to verify claims outside the Bitcoin protocol.
But they will also require account authentication. The account has a password. It may have two-factor authentication tied to a phone number or an app. If you cannot pass through those security layers, the exchange cannot simply hand over the funds. They have no way to verify that you are authorized except through the credentials the account holder set up.
Some exchanges have specific inheritance procedures. These vary. Some are slow. Some require legal processes that take months. Some may ultimately grant access; others may not. The outcome depends on the exchange's policies, the jurisdiction, and the documentation available. None of it is instant, and none of it is guaranteed.
When Self-Custody Is Part of the Custody Path
If the Bitcoin is not on an exchange—if it is held in a personal wallet, whether on a phone, a computer, or a hardware device—the situation is different. There is no company to contact.
A hardware wallet is a device used as part of some custody systems. Access can depend on local credentials and other custody artifacts that may not be available during inheritance.
When the device wipes, the Bitcoin is not destroyed. The Bitcoin still exists on the network. But the keys that control it are now gone from that device. The only way to recover access is with the seed phrase—the 12 or 24 words that were generated when the wallet was first set up.
If your mother wrote down that seed phrase and stored it somewhere, you can restore the wallet on a new device. If she did not write it down, or if she wrote it down but you cannot find it, the Bitcoin is unreachable.
There is no backdoor. There is no master password. The manufacturer of the hardware wallet cannot help you. They never had access to the keys in the first place.
Why Legal Authority Does Not Produce Access
Legal heirs and executors may have court-recognized authority over an estate. This authority does not change what the Bitcoin network requires for access.
A death certificate proves someone died. It does not produce a seed phrase. A will states who inherits the assets. It does not contain the password. A court order grants authority. It does not generate cryptographic keys.
This is the gap between legal ownership and operational control. The law can say you own the Bitcoin. But the Bitcoin network only responds to the correct credentials. If those credentials are missing, the law cannot compel access into existence.
An executor who successfully navigates probate, obtains legal authority, and documents every step perfectly is still unable to move the Bitcoin without the keys. Legal success and technical access are separate outcomes. One does not produce the other.
Partial Information Is Usually Not Enough
In some cases, partial information is discovered. This may include incomplete word lists, passwords that do not work, or hints about where credentials might be stored.
Partial information is rarely enough. A seed phrase is typically 12 or 24 words in a specific order. If you have 11 of 12 words, you do not have 91% of the answer. You have a puzzle that is computationally impractical to solve. The missing word could be any of 2,048 possibilities, and you would need to try them all in every position.
Similarly, a password that almost works does not help. If you know your father's password was a variation of his dog's name and a year, you may have a starting point. But if the account locks after five wrong attempts, guessing becomes risky. If the wallet wipes after ten wrong PINs, guessing becomes dangerous.
The precision required for cryptographic access is absolute. Close is not close enough.
What This Looks Like Over Time
After discovery, activity often occurs as records are reviewed and responsibilities are clarified. Over time, attention may shift to other estate matters if access does not resolve.
If the credentials are not found during this period, activity tends to slow. The estate has other assets to administer. The urgency fades. The hardware wallet goes back in a drawer. The exchange case sits in a queue.
Months pass. Sometimes years. The Bitcoin remains where it is. The network does not know or care that someone is trying to reach it. The funds do not expire, but neither do they become more accessible with time.
Eventually, the estate may close with the Bitcoin unresolved. It is listed as an asset, but no one can move it. It sits in a legal and technical limbo—owned on paper, unreachable in practice.
Assessment
When Bitcoin is inherited without credentials, the gap between knowing it exists and being able to access it is not a paperwork problem. It is a property of how Bitcoin custody works.
The network requires exact cryptographic secrets. Legal authority, family relationships, and documented intent do not substitute for those secrets. When credentials are missing, access stalls—not because the process failed, but because the process depends on information that is not available.
This analysis covers that condition. It does not describe a solution.
System Context
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