Why Legal Authority Does Not Equal Bitcoin Control
Courts grant authority. Bitcoin requires keys. Confusing the two is how estates fail. In the traditional financial system, a court order is a master key—if a judge orders a bank to freeze an account or transfer funds, the bank complies. In the Bitcoin system, there is no bank. A court can order a Trustee to move Bitcoin, but if the Trustee cannot produce the technical keys, the court order is effectively a piece of paper. We help families and professionals bridge the gap between legal directives and cryptographic reality.
The Foundational Mismatch
- Courts can compel institutions; Bitcoin has no institutions.
- Legal empowerment without technical capability leads to fiduciary failure.
- Technical execution must be architected alongside legal authority.
Where Legal Structures Break
Executor With Probate Documents But No Keys
The will names an executor; probate grants authority. But the keys are in a hardware wallet or seed phrase only the decedent could use. Result: legal authority, zero technical control. The executor cannot sign a transaction—and no court order can create a key. Estate Planning & Inheritance addresses this gap with documented recovery.
Trustee Legally Empowered But Technically Blocked
The trust document gives the Trustee power to manage Bitcoin. The Trustee has no key, no device, no runbook. Result: fiduciary paralysis—legally authorised, technically incapable of signing. This creates lethal delay during market volatility or tax deadlines. For family offices and institutional contexts, see our Family Office solutions that address fiduciary paralysis at scale.
The "Compel" Conflict
A court may order a distribution that is technically impossible to execute because keys were lost or the custody architecture was poorly documented. This creates unnecessary litigation risk for the family.
Probate vs. Keys
Probate courts handle the transition of legal title. They do not handle the transition of cryptographic secrets. Without a technical protocol, the legal title is granted to an asset that has become unrecoverable.
Why ETFs "Work" Here and Self-Custody Fails Without Structure
With a Bitcoin ETF, inheritance runs through the broker: the executor or trustee deals with an institution that can transfer account ownership. With self-custody, there is no institution—only keys and procedures. Without an Estate Plan Protocol, self-custody fails at the moment of handover: the fiduciary has legal authority but no way to sign. Bitcoin ETF vs self-custody explains the contrast in more detail.
How the Estate Plan Protocol Bridges the Gap
For lawyers and trustees, Bitcoin represents a new category of professional risk. Addressing the legal side is only half the battle; ensuring the technical execution is possible is the other half.
A Technical Manual for Legal Directives
The Estate Plan Protocol (EPP) gives fiduciaries the runbook to turn legal authority into signed transactions: who has which key, who to contact, what to do step-by-step. We provide that "Technical Manual" so your executor or trustee can act without becoming a Bitcoin expert. Our U.S. Estate Planning approach includes an Estate Plan Protocol (EPP) that ensures the legal authority granted in your Will or Trust can be translated into signed transactions when the time comes.
Infrastructure for Execution
We don't replace the lawyer; we empower them. By providing collaborative custody, we ensure that a Trustee has a clear, documented path to exercise their legal authority without having to become a technical expert.
Governance Layers
Our multisig architecture provides a natural governance layer where the Trustee can act as a signer within a secure framework, supported by TBA's technical oversight.
Auditable Protocols
We provide the documentation and trail of prudence that fiduciaries require to demonstrate they have met their duty of care regarding digital bearer assets.
Align Your Legal & Technical Strategy
Don't assume your legal documents solve your Bitcoin risk. Evaluate how your fiduciaries would actually sign a transaction today.