Start your Bitcoin will properly
A free, Bitcoin-aware starting point you take to your lawyer—because most people have nothing in place. It captures who should benefit and hands counsel a structured first step; it does not cover how Bitcoin is accessed or transferred once authority exists.
This defines your intent. Your lawyer turns it into a valid will.
Plain English in your browser, no email gate. The same stance we use with serious estates: clear legal intent first, executable recovery layered separately—never seeds or keys in probate-facing filings.
No data leaves your device · Not a substitute for counsel · Operational execution is a separate step
Educational only—not legal advice, not a finished will. Designed for your lawyer to review, adapt, and formalise before anything is signed or filed.
Starting from blank is the hard part
Most Bitcoin holders do not have anything documented for inheritance—not because estate planning is hopelessly complicated, but because staring at an empty page is hard.
This Bitcoin Will Starter solves that first step: a structured draft your lawyer can shape into a proper instrument for your jurisdiction, without you putting bearer-asset secrets into public filings.
- Bitcoin is bearer property: whoever controls the keys controls the coins.
- Probate-facing documents are the wrong place for seeds, keys, or recovery choreography.
- Legal authority and a private operational process both matter—this tool begins with the legal side.
How this fits into a complete plan
- Start your will. Use this tool to define intent and give your lawyer a Bitcoin-aware structured draft.
- Work with a lawyer. They adapt and formalise it for local law and execution requirements.
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Make it executable. Layer in collaborative custody and an Estate Plan Protocol so authorised people can actually act.
A will alone does not move Bitcoin. It needs a process behind it.
Two different things
The will. Defines who should receive your Bitcoin (and the rest of your estate) and who may administer it.
The process. Determines how it is accessed and transferred safely when the time comes—not on the face of the probated will.
Both matter. They should not live in the same document.
Why access instructions are not in the will
Probate materials can become public or widely copied. Bitcoin is bearer property. Publishing recovery detail in a will or attachment creates avoidable theft and impersonation risk.
The will grants authority. A separate process enables execution. That separation is intentional.
What your lawyer will do
- Rewrite clauses for local law, execution requirements, and tax.
- Align the will with your trust, corporate, or cross-border structure.
- Validate how digital assets are described and administered in your jurisdiction.
- Advise on what may be filed versus what must stay in private operational materials.
This document is meant to save time and improve clarity, not replace legal work.
Where the will stops
This document ends at legal intent. Execution—how your Bitcoin is accessed and moved safely—lives outside the will, in private, structured steps.
That is what the Estate Plan Protocol is designed for: operational continuity for self custody holders who need governance, authority paths, and rehearsal—not a substitute for your lawyer’s will or probate work. We deliver it in client engagements alongside collaborative custody design.
Build your structured draft
For your lawyer to review, adapt, and formalise—not local legal finality on its own.
- Choose the jurisdiction closest to your legal residence.
- Complete people, beneficiaries, and executor fields; the preview updates as you type.
- Copy the full generated text from the preview (or use the copy button below).
- Take the output to qualified counsel to adapt and formalise into a binding will or codicil for where you live.
- Never put seeds, keys, or recovery steps in documents likely to be filed in probate.
No jurisdiction uses this document as-is. Your lawyer will rewrite key sections—including digital asset clauses—for local law, tax, and execution requirements. The selector only shapes a first-pass structure (for example, a generic “most states” digital asset theme in the U.S., not fifty separate editions).
- Not legal advice
- Not a finished will
- Designed for your lawyer to review, adapt, and formalise
- Digital assets (here): Bitcoin and similar, what share goes to whom.
- Primary / contingent: first choice beneficiary; backup if the first cannot inherit.
- Residuary: “everything else” not given in specific gifts, who gets the remainder.
- Executor: person who carries out your will; alternate if they cannot serve.
- Children: enter how many, then optionally one line per child (name, birthday), or leave the detail box blank / “none” if that fits you.
Why jurisdiction matters
Domicile drives governing law, tax, and what fiduciaries may do with digital assets. No jurisdiction uses this text as-is; your lawyer rewrites digital asset clauses and execution wording for local requirements.
Jurisdiction guidance
Legal refinement needed: High
This document is designed to brief your lawyer, not replace them.
Other jurisdiction
This option is the most generic: have a lawyer admitted where you live review every clause before you rely on it. Book a call · Estate planning & inheritance
Count only. Your lawyer may ask for more detail later.
If you have children, a simple line each (name and birthday) saves your lawyer a round of questions. No children or prefer not to list? Leave blank or write “none.”
What share of digital assets (or “all”) this draft should refer to in the digital asset gift article.
Who receives the digital assets gift if they are alive when you pass (name as your lawyer prefers).
Backup if the primary beneficiary cannot take the gift (predeceases you or cannot inherit).
Who receives what is left after specific gifts: the residuary estate.
Backup if the primary residuary beneficiary cannot take the remainder.
The person who carries out your will (probate / estate administration). Often a trusted family member or professional.
Helps identify the executor in the document, not a mailing address requirement.
Steps in if the primary executor cannot serve or declines.
Guardianship & signature date (optional)
Who you would trust to raise your children if you could not. Your lawyer will confirm wording and backups.
First choice if your primary guardian cannot serve.
Live starter preview
Ready for the operational layer?
This starter ends at legal intent. If you self-custody Bitcoin, your family still needs governance, authority paths, and rehearsal so executors can act without publishing seeds or keys. That is what we deliver through the Estate Plan Protocol and collaborative security engagements—not inside this free tool.
What your attorney needs
Discussion points, a starter trust clause, and limits for your lawyer to adapt; nothing here is filing advice.
Discussion checklist
Print or hand this list with your draft. Confirm no secret material will be added to probated filings.
- Governing law, residency, and whether a revocable trust or codicil helps.
- Digital asset definitions under local law and any fiduciary access framework (U.S.: generic most states draft; state nuance may apply).
- Explicit agreement not to put seeds, keys, or recovery steps in the probated will.
- How executors prove authority to exchanges, custodians, and multisig cosigners without publishing secrets.
- Tax and reporting, separate from this starter (informational only here).
Starter clause: revocable trust assignment of interest
Language your counsel may adapt for a revocable trust instrument.
I assign to the Trustee of the [Trust name] revocable trust dated [date], any right, title, and interest I may have in digital assets, cryptocurrencies, or virtual currencies, including Bitcoin, to be administered according to the trust instrument. This assignment is intended to coordinate beneficial ownership with the trust while not placing private keys, seed phrases, or recovery instructions in any public filing.
Beyond any will
A will expresses intent for probate. It does not replace documented operational continuity for self custody Bitcoin, multisig governance, or heir rehearsal. Clients who work with The Bitcoin Adviser may receive a personalised Estate Plan Protocol, a confidential operational workbook, alongside collaborative security design. That is not part of this free page.
What this free page does, and does not
Does
- Gives a credible Bitcoin-aware structured draft you can take to counsel as a first step.
- Keeps processing in your browser, no account, no email gate.
- Uses jurisdiction-shaped structure so the conversation with your lawyer starts at the right altitude.
Does not
- Replace local legal advice or guarantee enforceability anywhere.
- Provide an operational inheritance system for multisig or self custody (that is what the Estate Plan Protocol and engagements address).
- Store your answers, refresh and they are gone unless you save them yourself.
How this compares
| Option | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Generic DIY will kits | Paper forms, limited digital asset nuance, often single jurisdiction. | Very simple estates; rarely optimised for self custody Bitcoin. |
| Paid single-country kits | Packaged templates for one region; variable digital asset coverage. | Users who will still need local counsel to validate. |
| This free page | Structured Bitcoin Will Starter with jurisdiction options; runs in your browser; no email gate. | Self custody holders who need a serious starting point for counsel. |
| The Bitcoin Adviser (client engagement) | Estate Plan Protocol, collaborative multisig, documented continuity, adviser-led governance. | Meaningful balances, families, and complex custody stacks. |
Questions
Why is this free?
So self custody holders can brief qualified counsel with a serious starting structure. Estate Plan Protocol, collaborative multisig design, and ongoing governance are paid engagements, not reproduced here.
Is this legal advice? Will my lawyer accept it?
No. This is educational, not advice. There is no universal approval across jurisdictions. The output is a Bitcoin Will Starter for counsel, not a finished will; your lawyer must adapt and formalise it locally.
Why must seeds and keys stay out of the will?
Probate filings can become public or widely copied. Legal instruments describe property and beneficiaries; operational detail belongs in separate, secured processes.
What is the Estate Plan Protocol, and how is it different from this will?
Your will expresses legal intent for probate. The Estate Plan Protocol is operational continuity for self custody, governance and rehearsal so executors know how authority works without publishing secrets. It does not replace probate documents. Existing clients should follow materials from their adviser.
Why are multisig or hardware-wallet instructions not included in the will?
Operational signing steps belong in private, counsel-supervised materials. Probated or filed wills can become public or widely copied; publishing paths, thresholds, or device workflows increases impersonation and theft risk. The will should grant authority; separate documentation explains how fiduciaries exercise it safely.
What extra care applies in forced-heirship or notarial jurisdictions?
Some civil-law systems impose mandatory shares for certain heirs or require notarial deeds. This English-style starter cannot capture those rules. Expect wholesale replacement by a notary or lawyer licensed where you live before any execution or filing.
Need operational continuity, not just a will?
A will cannot replace multisig governance, heir rehearsal, or documented authority paths. Book a call to see whether Estate Plan Protocol and collaborative security fit your situation.