Will My Kids Inherit My Bitcoin?
Children Inheriting Bitcoin and Access Capability
This memo is published by CustodyStress, an independent Bitcoin custody stress test that produces reference documents for individuals, families, and professionals.
What the Question Assumes
A holder with children asks whether bitcoin will pass to them after death. The question arises under calm conditions. No emergency exists. The holder wonders: will my kids inherit my bitcoin?
This analysis addresses what this question means. It also describes what determines whether children actually receive bitcoin, not just legal claim to it.
What the Question Assumes
The question "will my kids inherit my bitcoin" often assumes that inheritance happens automatically. Children inherit from parents. This is how it works with houses and bank accounts. The holder assumes bitcoin works the same way.
The question also assumes that being a legal heir creates actual receipt. The holder thinks: my children are my heirs, so they will get my bitcoin.
These assumptions confuse different things. Legal inheritance and technical access are not the same.
Legal Heirs and Technical Recipients
A legal heir has a legal right to receive assets. Courts recognize this right. Estate law defines who inherits when someone dies. Children are often legal heirs.
A technical recipient is someone who can actually access assets. For bitcoin, this means someone who has keys, knows where things are stored, and can use the custody system.
The question "will my children inherit my bitcoin" asks about legal rights. But actual receipt requires technical access.
What Inheritance Requires
Inheriting bitcoin requires several things. The heir needs to know bitcoin exists. The heir needs to know where keys are stored. The heir needs to know how to use them. The heir needs the ability to act on this knowledge.
These requirements exist regardless of legal rights. A child may be a legal heir and still lack the ability to receive bitcoin. Legal entitlement does not create technical capability.
Whether do my kids get my bitcoin depends on more than legal status.
The Holder Asks the Question
The system in a scenario involves a holder who asks: will my kids inherit my bitcoin? The holder knows where keys are stored. The holder knows which devices matter. The holder knows passwords and PINs.
The children may not know these things. The children may not know bitcoin exists. The children may not know what a seed phrase is. The children may not know where to look.
The holder has access. Whether the children can inherit depends on whether access can reach them.
Age and Capability
Children vary in age. A child may be five years old. A child may be fifteen. A child may be an adult. Age affects capability.
A young child cannot manage bitcoin. A young child cannot understand seed phrases. A young child cannot execute recovery procedures. A young child may be a legal heir but cannot be a technical recipient.
Bitcoin inheritance for children depends partly on whether the child has the capability to act.
Guardians and Intermediaries
When children are young, adults manage assets for them. A guardian may be appointed. A trust may be created. An adult acts on the child's behalf.
For bitcoin, this creates a layer. The child is the legal beneficiary. The guardian or trustee needs technical access. The guardian needs to understand bitcoin custody.
The question "will my kids inherit my bitcoin" may depend on whether an intermediary can bridge the gap between legal rights and technical access.
Knowledge and Inheritance
Inheriting bitcoin requires knowledge. Someone needs to know bitcoin exists. Someone needs to know where keys are stored. Someone needs to know how to use them.
If the holder's children do not know these things, they cannot inherit. If a guardian does not know these things, they cannot help. Knowledge must exist somewhere for inheritance to occur.
The answer to whether do my kids get my bitcoin depends on whether knowledge survives the holder's death.
Timing and Inheritance
Inheritance happens at a specific moment. The holder dies. The children become entitled to inherit. But the children may not be ready at that moment.
A child who is ten when the holder dies may not be capable of managing bitcoin for years. During those years, someone else must have access. During those years, bitcoin must be preserved.
Bitcoin inheritance for children involves timing questions that other assets do not always raise.
Recovery in a Scenario
The system in a scenario involves a holder who dies. The children are legal heirs. The estate process begins.
The children do not know where bitcoin is stored. The executor does not know either. Documents do not explain. The holder's memory is gone.
The children have legal right to inherit. The children cannot actually receive what they cannot find. Recovery in this scenario fails not because of legal problems but because of access problems.
Intent Versus Coordination
A holder may intend for children to inherit bitcoin. This intent is real. The holder cares about the children. The holder wants them to receive the bitcoin.
Intent is not the same as coordination. Coordination means that access paths exist. Coordination means that someone can actually reach the bitcoin and transfer it to the children.
The question "will my children inherit my bitcoin" asks about intent. But the answer depends on coordination.
What Determines the Answer
The answer to "will my kids inherit my bitcoin" depends on specific things. Do the children or their guardians know bitcoin exists? Do they know where keys are stored? Do they know how to use them? Is there a path from the holder's custody system to the children?
If the answer to these questions is yes, then inheritance may occur. If the answer to these questions is no, then inheritance may fail.
The answer depends on custody design and coordination, not on parenthood alone.
A Coordination Problem
Children's inheritance of bitcoin is a coordination problem. It requires connecting legal rights to technical access. It requires bridging the gap between what the holder knows and what the children or their guardians can reach.
The holder controls whether this coordination exists. The holder decides what to share. The holder decides what to document. The holder decides who has access to what.
The question "will my kids inherit my bitcoin" asks about a property the holder creates, not a property that parenthood creates.
Conclusion
The question "will my kids inherit my bitcoin" often assumes that inheritance happens automatically because children are legal heirs. This assumption confuses legal rights with technical access.
Inheriting bitcoin requires knowledge, capability, and access paths. Children may lack these things. Young children cannot manage bitcoin directly. Guardians or trustees may need to bridge the gap.
The answer to whether do my kids get my bitcoin depends on coordination, not just intent. It reflects whether access paths exist for children, not whether the holder wanted them to inherit. Children's inheritance is a coordination problem revealed under stress.
System Context
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