ArticleAs digital assets become a larger part of personal wealth, many Americans are unwittingly leaving cryptocurrency vulnerable or even inaccessible to future heirs. In a recent article on CNBC, Farrell Fritz partner Azriel Baer underscores the growing risks, noting that without proper planning, inherited crypto can easily be lost to probate delays, missing private keys, or fiduciaries unfamiliar with the asset class.
From the article:
“Leaving property or mutual funds behind in a will is pretty cut and dried, but with more and more assets placed in cryptocurrency, a large share of inherited assets are in danger of forfeiture,” said Azriel Baer, partner in the estate planning and administration group at law firm Farrell Fritz.
Baer worked on an estate where tens of millions of dollars in crypto were lost to the heirs because they didn’t know the decedent’s private keys, which function as digital passwords to grant access to cryptocurrency funds and prove ownership of blockchain assets.
Someone should know how to access the assets, whether through written instructions in a safe box, a safe at home, or directions kept with a lawyer or with one of the various crypto inheritance services that help ensure crypto assets are passed on to your family members, Baer said. Don’t put these private keys or other sensitive information in a will, because wills become public through the probate process, he added.
Read the full article here: Why your crypto wealth may never make it to the next generation
