To pass on your seed phrase without putting it at risk, engrave it in full on a physical backup, protect it with a passphrase and make that passphrase reach your family by a different route, and only when the time comes. That way, whoever finds just one of the two pieces cannot reach your funds. The challenge cuts both ways: your heirs must be able to use it when you are gone, and nobody else must be able to use it while you are here. This guide compares the ways to do it and what can fail with each one.
This guide is general information: for the legal side of your estate, talk to a local notary or lawyer.
What is the problem with leaving your seed phrase to your heirs?
Whoever holds your seed phrase holds your crypto. That is why every crypto inheritance plan runs into two opposite risks:
- It arrives too early or to the wrong person: a curious relative, a visitor, a burglar, a removals worker. If the seed phrase is complete and in plain sight, any of them can empty the wallet without anyone noticing.
- It never arrives: if it is so well hidden that nobody knows it exists, or a piece is missing, your heirs will own the funds with no way to reach them.
No method removes both risks at once. What changes between them is which risk they reduce and how much simplicity you give up. If you are not yet sure what a seed phrase is and why it matters so much, start with what is a seed phrase.
What are the options, and what is the risk of each?
| Method | Protects against | Main risk | Difficulty for the family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed phrase on paper or metal, at home | Loss through forgetting | Whoever finds it has instant access | Low |
| Sealed envelope with a notary or in a safe-deposit box | Burglary at home | The full secret sits in one place; paperwork and delays to open it | Medium |
| Seed phrase split into shares (Shamir, SLIP-39) | Theft or loss of one share | Lose too many shares and there is no recovery | Medium |
| Multisig (e.g. 2-of-3) | Theft of one key; a single point of failure | The wallet configuration must also be kept | High |
| Manufacturer recovery service | Losing the seed phrase | Encrypted pieces held by third parties; a paid subscription | Medium |
| Seed phrase in metal + passphrase by another route | Theft of one piece | Lose the passphrase and you lose the funds | Medium |
Seed phrase on paper or metal, at home
The simplest and most common option. Metal solves durability, because paper tears, gets wet or burns. What it does not solve is access: whoever finds it can use it, including your own heirs before the time comes. It only makes sense combined with something else, such as a passphrase kept elsewhere.
Sealed envelope with a notary or in a safe-deposit box
It takes the seed phrase out of the house and into the hands of a trusted third party. In exchange, the full secret sits in one place, and your heirs will have to prove they are heirs before it is opened, which can take weeks or months. If you choose this route, never keep the seed phrase and the passphrase together, and ask your notary how and to whom it will be released.
Seed phrase split into shares (Shamir and SLIP-39)
The SLIP-39 standard splits the secret into several shares and sets how many are needed to rebuild it: with a 2-of-3 scheme, any two shares restore the wallet and a single share reveals nothing. According to Trezor, its wallets can create between 1 and 16 shares of 20 or 33 words each, and it is the default backup on its Safe range. Its appeal for inheritance is that you can spread the shares across different places or people. The risk: lose more shares than the scheme tolerates and the wallet is unrecoverable, and your family must know the shares exist and how to combine them. We do not recommend it: splitting the seed phrase multiplies the pieces that can be lost and makes recovery much harder for a family that is not technical.
Multisig
A multisig wallet requires several signatures, from different keys, to move funds. With a 2-of-3 setup, losing a key or having one stolen is not serious. It is the most robust method for large holdings, but also the most technical: besides the keys, you must keep the wallet configuration (which keys make it up and how), and your heirs will need help to use it.
Manufacturer recovery services
Some manufacturers offer to recover your seed phrase if you lose it. Ledger Recover, for example, encrypts the key into three fragments held by three different companies, requires identity verification with an official document and runs on a subscription. It solves loss, but it is designed for the holder: for inheritance, your heirs will depend on that service's terms, and part of the secret sits outside your control.
Seed phrase in metal and passphrase by another route
A passphrase turns one seed phrase into two wallets: without it, a decoy wallet with little inside; with it, the wallet holding the capital. If each piece travels by a different route, nobody who finds a single piece reaches your funds. This is the method we recommend, explained below.
What method do we recommend?
We call it sovereignty: keeping the analogue and the digital apart.
- The seed phrase, engraved on a Yoseyomo. A piece of metal, never connected, that lasts far longer than paper. Whoever finds it only reaches the decoy wallet.
- The passphrase and where the Yoseyomo is, in an Inheritans message. You describe the place without giving the exact address, using a reference only your family will understand ("at Aunt Paquita's, on the pantry shelf"). Inheritans encrypts the message on your device and delivers it only to the person you choose, and only when the time comes: after checking your death with the documents your trusted contacts provide or, if you stop logging in for the period you choose, after trying to reach you first.
While you are alive, nobody holds full access on their own, and when the time comes your family receives the piece it is missing. In how to inherit cryptocurrency we tell the real case of a customer whose passphrase saved his funds.
How do you choose for your situation?
- If your family is not technical: favour simplicity. A perfect method nobody knows how to use fails just like having none. Metal plus a passphrase sent by another route is easy to explain and to follow.
- If your holdings are significant: combine. For example, the seed phrase in metal at home, the passphrase in a message that is only delivered when the time comes and, if you like, a copy of the seed phrase in a safe-deposit box.
- If your holdings are large: the same method works. Multisig only makes sense with technical help guaranteed for your heirs and the configuration well documented.
What should you leave in writing so it works?
No method works if your family does not know it exists. Without writing down any secret, make clear:
- That you hold crypto, and in which wallets or exchanges.
- Which method you used (passphrase, Shamir, multisig) and how many pieces there are.
- Where each piece is, or how it will be received.
- Which wallet type to restore with and, if relevant, the multisig configuration.
- Who will help with the technical side: a trusted person or the Inheritans recipient recovery and assistance service (Plus and Lattice plans), which supports whoever receives your message.
And review it once a year: check that the pieces are still where you said and that they restore the right wallet. Never type the seed phrase into a connected computer while doing so.
Want to get it ready? Engrave your seed phrase on a Yoseyomo and leave the passphrase in an Inheritans message that only reaches your family when the time comes.
Related questions
Can I put my seed phrase in my will? It is not a good idea: several people read it and copies are issued. Just state that you hold crypto assets and where the instructions are.
Is it safe to keep the seed phrase in a bank safe-deposit box? It protects against burglary, but it concentrates the secret in one place and makes your heirs go through paperwork. If you use one, keep the seed phrase there and never the passphrase with it.
Which is better for inheritance, Shamir or multisig? Neither is what we recommend for most families: both add pieces and steps. A complete seed phrase in metal, protected by a passphrase that arrives by another route, is easier to inherit and to use.
Can I keep an encrypted digital copy of my seed phrase? We do not recommend it. The seed phrase always belongs on a physical backup. What can go digital, well protected, is the passphrase, kept apart from it.
How often should I review the plan? Once a year, and whenever you change wallet, exchange or heirs.
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