Telling an Attorney About Bitcoin
Disclosing Bitcoin Holdings to Legal Counsel
This memo is published by CustodyStress, an independent Bitcoin custody stress test that produces reference documents for individuals, families, and professionals.
What Telling an Attorney Involves
A bitcoin holder considers involving an attorney. The holder owns bitcoin and wants legal documents to reflect this. Estate planning or general legal coordination prompts the conversation. The holder decides to tell an attorney about bitcoin.
This conversation happens under calm conditions. No emergency exists. The holder has time to think about what to share and how to share it. The attorney has time to listen and ask questions. These are favorable conditions for clear communication.
The decision to tell an attorney about bitcoin often follows a realization. The holder notices that legal planning exists, but bitcoin custody has not been clearly communicated to anyone in a professional role. The gap becomes visible. The holder considers closing it.
What Telling an Attorney Involves
When a holder decides to tell my attorney about bitcoin, certain things happen. The attorney learns that bitcoin exists as an asset. The attorney may ask questions about value, location, or how it is held. The holder provides some level of detail.
Legal documents may begin to reference digital assets. A will may mention bitcoin. A trust may include language about cryptocurrency. The attorney drafts language based on what the holder shares.
The attorney receives information. The attorney does not receive keys, seed phrases, or technical access. The conversation transfers awareness, not control. The holder retains custody of the bitcoin itself.
Legal Awareness and Technical Custody
Attorney bitcoin disclosure creates legal awareness. The attorney now knows bitcoin exists. Legal documents can reference it. Estate plans can account for it. This is a coordination step.
Technical custody remains separate. The bitcoin sits in a wallet. The wallet requires keys or seed phrases to access. The attorney does not hold these. The attorney cannot move the bitcoin or recover it.
Legal awareness and technical custody are different things. One can exist without the other. A lawyer knows about bitcoin when told about it. Knowing about bitcoin does not create the ability to access it.
A Scenario Where Attorney Awareness Does Not Enable Recovery
A woman tells her estate attorney about her bitcoin. The attorney updates her will to include digital assets. The attorney notes that bitcoin exists and has value. The woman feels her planning is more complete.
The woman dies unexpectedly. The executor contacts the attorney. The attorney confirms that bitcoin was part of the estate. The attorney provides the updated will. The executor asks how to access the bitcoin.
The attorney does not know. The attorney was told bitcoin exists. The attorney was not told where the seed phrase is stored. The attorney was not given technical instructions. The executor has legal authority over the estate. The executor cannot locate or access the bitcoin. Attorney awareness did not create a recovery path.
A Scenario Where Technical Details Remain with the Holder
A man meets with his attorney to discuss estate planning. He mentions that he holds bitcoin. The attorney asks how much. The man gives an approximate value. The attorney asks where it is kept.
The man pauses. He is not sure how to explain. He says it is on a hardware wallet. The attorney writes this down but does not fully understand what it means. The man does not explain seed phrases, PINs, or recovery procedures. The conversation moves on.
The attorney now has partial information. The attorney knows bitcoin exists and is held on something called a hardware wallet. The attorney does not know how to access it or who else might. The technical details stayed with the man. They were not transferred during the conversation.
A Scenario Where Legal Documents Reference Bitcoin but Access Fails
A couple works with an attorney to create a trust. They tell the attorney about their bitcoin holdings. The attorney drafts trust language that includes digital assets. The trust names a successor trustee.
Years pass. One spouse dies. The other becomes incapacitated. The successor trustee steps in. The trustee has legal authority under the trust. The trustee reads that digital assets are included.
The trustee contacts the attorney. The attorney confirms the trust covers bitcoin. The trustee asks how to access it. The attorney does not know. The couple never provided access instructions. The trust document references bitcoin. The trust document does not explain how to recover it. Legal documentation exists. Access does not.
What the Attorney Receives
When a holder decides to tell attorney about bitcoin, the attorney receives information. This information may include the existence of bitcoin, an approximate value, and possibly the type of custody arrangement. The attorney receives what the holder chooses to share.
The attorney does not receive technical access. Seed phrases, private keys, PINs, and wallet passwords are not part of a typical legal conversation. These items enable control of bitcoin. They are not transferred during attorney disclosure.
The attorney receives enough information to draft legal documents. The attorney does not receive enough information to recover bitcoin. These are different kinds of information serving different purposes.
What Remains with the Holder
After telling an attorney about bitcoin, the holder still controls custody. The holder still holds the keys. The holder still knows the seed phrase location. The holder still understands the technical steps for access.
This knowledge remains with the holder unless separately transferred. Telling an attorney does not automatically inform a spouse, executor, or other helper. Each coordination step is separate. Attorney involvement is one step. It does not replace other steps.
The holder may assume that involving an attorney completes the planning. The planning has advanced. It has not completed. Legal coordination and technical coordination are different processes with different requirements.
Professional Coordination, Not Custody Transfer
Attorney involvement is a professional coordination step. The attorney becomes aware of an asset class. Legal documents can reflect this awareness. The holder's legal planning becomes more complete in one dimension.
This step does not transfer custody. The bitcoin does not move. Control does not change hands. The attorney is informed, not empowered. The holder remains the only person who can access the bitcoin unless other arrangements exist.
Professional coordination and custody transfer are different actions. One involves sharing information with a professional. The other involves transferring control of assets. Attorney disclosure accomplishes the first. It does not accomplish the second.
Outcome
Telling an attorney about bitcoin creates legal awareness. The attorney learns that bitcoin exists as an asset. Legal documents can reference it. Estate plans can account for it. This is professional coordination.
Legal awareness does not create technical access. The attorney receives information, not keys. The attorney can document intent but cannot control or recover bitcoin. Technical custody details remain with the holder unless separately communicated to others.
Attorney involvement is a coordination layer, not a solution. It advances legal planning without completing technical coordination. Recovery depends on whether access information exists somewhere beyond the holder. Attorney disclosure alone does not create that access path.
System Context
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Can Attorney Access Bitcoin Estate: Modeled Authority and Coordination Limits
Bitcoin Information for Estate Attorney
For anyone who holds Bitcoin — on an exchange, in a wallet, through a service, or in self-custody — and wants to know what happens to it if something happens to them.
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