Cryptocurrency has been a hot topic in finance for a few years now.
Whether it is Bitcoin, Ethereum, or one of the lesser known coins like Dogecoin, cryptocurrency has been invested in by numerous wealthy and non-wealthy people. But if the currency is digital, how do you pass it along to your future generations?
What Is Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency is a decentralized form of money. That is a very simplistic way of describing it, but it is something that is not always easy to understand. Cryptocurrency doesn't rely on banks to verify transactions. It’s a peer-to-peer system that can enable anyone anywhere to send and receive payments. Instead of being physical money carried around and exchanged in the real world, cryptocurrency payments exist purely as digital entries to an online database describing specific transactions. When you transfer cryptocurrency funds, the transactions are recorded in a public ledger. Cryptocurrency is stored in digital wallets.
Cryptocurrency received its name because it uses encryption to verify transactions. This means advanced coding is involved in storing and transmitting cryptocurrency data between wallets and public ledgers. The aim of encryption is to provide security and safety.
Cryptocurrency is often simply called ‘crypto’, and while it may seem new, the very first cryptocurrency was Bitcoin, which was founded in 2009. Since then, there have been many other cryptocurrencies created, with some performing well and others not so much. One of the major alternatives to Bitcoin has been Etherium.
Cryptocurrency & Estate Planning
Whenever the topic of money comes up, estate planning is sure to follow. Because estate planning is a transfer of assets and wealth, it would only make sense that someone who has crypto holdings would want to leave these to their descendants. Traditional estate planning documents do not necessarily have the mechanisms to transfer digital holdings to other parties.
For example, you may wish to leave access to your email account to a nephew or niece, but your will and other estate planning documents are not equipped to make this transfer smoothly. The other major problem with this process is updating and recording your updates. How many times have you changed your password to your main email account? Do you even know the password right now?
With so much of our lives in the digital world, solutions to the problems of estate planning around digital assets have not been easy to find. So you can understand why cryptocurrency may pose problems to traditional estate planning methods.
Can a Digital Will Help Me Disburse Crypto However I Choose?
A digital will is the only true way to ensure your loved ones receive the digital assets you want to leave to them. A digital will from DigitalWill.com provides you with an easy way to transfer assets to loved ones once you pass away.
Cryptocurrency accounts can easily be stored in your digital will, giving you peace of mind that your assets will be securely stored and passed along to the executors of your choosing. Once your death has been confirmed, the information is passed to your executors, who then will distribute your assets for you.
Now, your loved ones will have peace of mind, knowing that they have everything they need to carry out your final wishes per your instructions. One less concern off their plate in their time of grief.
