E283 5 Stages of Probating Bitcoin

<p>Probating bitcoin is more complicated than usual probate. We’ve discussed the <a href= "https://anthonyspark.com/3-stages-of-the-new-york-probate-process/"> 3 stages of probate</a> generally. Here, we’ll describe some specifics of the process for when the decedent owned bitcoin.</p> <h2>How to find out if deceased had bitcoin</h2> <p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-42769" src= "https://anthonyspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/How-to-find-out-if-deceased-had-bitcoin-300x169.jpg" alt="How to find out if deceased had bitcoin" width="300" height= "169" /></p> <p>First, did the decedent even own bitcoin? We previously discussed <a href= "https://anthonyspark.com/e253-3-steps-when-a-bitcoin-owner-dies/">three steps to take to find out if the decedent owned bitcoin</a>.</p> <p>To recap:</p> <ol> <li>Check for hardware wallets, which are little devices that look like a USB drive, calculator, or small smartphone.</li> <li>Check the decedent’s phone and computers for software or soft wallets. If you have no idea what those apps are named, just do a Google search for the most popular software wallets. New programs and apps come out all the time.</li> <li>Look for instances of 12 or 24 words. You could find these on a piece of paper, etched into metal plates, or anything else you come across that may be a seed phrase to the decedent’s wallet.</li> </ol> <h2>Get letters testamentary for bitcoin</h2> <p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-42770" src= "https://anthonyspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Get-letters-testamentary-for-bitcoin-300x169.jpg" alt="Get letters testamentary for bitcoin" width="300" height= "169" /></p> <p>Once you determine that the decedent owned bitcoin, you need to get letters testamentary.</p> <h3>Is this practically necessary?</h3> <p>Do you really need letters testamentary for someone who had self-custody (held in a private wallet and not on an exchange). Probably not, unless bitcoin is held in exchange. If the decedent held the bitcoin privately, there is no gatekeeper