Inheriting a crypto wallet: steps for heirs and executors
More and more often, relatives clearing out a home find something that points to crypto: a hardware wallet, a laptop with Electrum or Bitcoin Core, a printout with a long string of characters, a note with twelve or twenty-four English words. You don't know what it is worth, whether it is worth anything, or whom to trust. This is a sober sequence of steps.
1. Throw nothing away, reset nothing, try nothing
The most important step, and the only one that is urgent. Don't discard devices, even if they seem broken. Don't reset a phone or hardware wallet "to see if it still works" — a reset erases the keys for good. Don't enter a PIN on a Ledger or Trezor: after three wrong attempts the device wipes itself. Keep notes exactly as you found them, crossed-out words included.
2. Take inventory
Make a list: which devices, which programs on them, which papers and files. Photos are fine; don't type anything into an email or chat. Check the deceased's email for confirmations from exchanges (Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, Bitvavo) — that is a separate route: an exchange account is not a wallet, and those balances are claimed directly from the exchange with a certificate of inheritance.
3. Check whether there is anything
With a public address (from a program, an email or a transaction confirmation) you can see on a blockchain explorer whether there is a balance, without having access to anything. This often already answers whether further steps are worth it. A Ledger with an empty address is not a case; a wallet.dat with a ten-year-old balance is.
4. Involve the notary or executor early
Crypto is part of the estate and has to be declared. More important for you: a recovery with me never starts without verification of the inheritance position. That is not a formality; it is what allows me to do the work at all. A certificate of inheritance, a will or an appointment as executor makes that verification straightforward. Notaries and executors are welcome to contact me directly; I work at their office if preferred.
5. Establish what is missing
In an estate it is usually the password or PIN that is missing, not the wallet itself. That is recoverable in many cases: based on the deceased's password habits, old password managers, notes and the device itself. A seed phrase with a few words missing or illegible can often be reconstructed. A seed phrase that doesn't exist at all, and a device that has been reset, cannot — and I'd rather say so immediately than after weeks.
What happens next
After an intake I assess, based on your inventory, whether a recovery is promising. If so, an agreement with the heirs or the executor follows, then verification, and only then the work. The crypto is never transferred to me: I restore access, you or the notary handle the transfer. Payment is a percentage of the recovered value and is only due after a successful recovery.
Not sure whether something is crypto-related? Include a photo of the device or printout with your question — without words or keys — and you'll hear quickly whether it is worth pursuing.