The executor's guide to digital assets in an estate

As an executor or estate administrator, you have a fiduciary duty to identify and marshal all estate assets. That duty doesn't come with a carve-out for digital assets. If cryptocurrency existed in the estate and you didn't find it — or didn't adequately look — beneficiaries can hold you personally liable for the loss.

This guide covers what you need to know to fulfill that duty properly, with or without an attorney guiding you through the process.

Do you need an attorney to investigate digital assets?

No. Your authority as executor to investigate estate assets exists independently of whether you have legal counsel. You can engage a professional digital asset investigator directly, without an attorney involved. The investigator works for you in your capacity as executor.

If your estate attorney doesn't handle the technical side of digital asset investigation — most don't — they may refer you to a specialist, but they can't do the work themselves. The investigation is a separate professional engagement.

Your fiduciary duty and what it requires

Your duty of care as executor requires you to make reasonable efforts to identify all estate assets. "Reasonable" is the operative word. The standard isn't perfection — it's documented diligence.

For digital assets, reasonable efforts generally means:

• Reviewing financial records for evidence of exchange activity or crypto-related transactions
• Examining the deceased's devices for wallet files and crypto-related software
• Reviewing email for exchange registrations or transaction confirmations
• Documenting what was found and what methodology was used to look

A written findings report from a professional investigator is the strongest evidence that this standard was met. If beneficiaries later claim you missed assets, a documented investigation is your defense. Without it, you're relying on your own judgment against a potentially hostile claim.

Signs that digital assets may exist

These indicators should trigger a professional investigation before you close the estate:

• The deceased worked in technology, engineering, or a related technical field
• Bank or credit card statements show transactions to cryptocurrency exchanges
• Old laptops, desktops, or external drives are present — especially from 2009–2016
• USB drives or hardware wallet devices (Ledger, Trezor) are among the belongings
• Tax returns mention cryptocurrency activity
• The deceased ever mentioned bitcoin, crypto, or "digital money"
• Online activity in cryptocurrency communities or forums
• Known assets appear inconsistent with documented income

Two or more of these indicators together create a strong basis for investigation. Even one clear signal — like a hardware wallet or a tax form showing crypto activity — is enough to warrant a professional look before closing.

Exchange accounts versus self-custodied wallets

How you recover digital assets depends entirely on how they were held.

Exchange accounts

Cryptocurrency held on an exchange (Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, etc.) is treated like a brokerage account. Contact the exchange's estate team with the death certificate and your Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration. The exchange will guide you through their process to transfer or liquidate the assets. This is generally straightforward.

Self-custodied wallets

Cryptocurrency held directly — in a software wallet on a computer or a hardware wallet device — requires either the password/PIN or the seed phrase to access. There is no institution to call. If credentials are not available, professional recovery work is required. A forensic investigator can attempt recovery from wallet files using targeted approaches built from personal information about the deceased.

The written findings report and why it matters

Every professional digital asset investigation should conclude with a written findings report. This document is not just for your records — it's the documentation of your due diligence as executor.

The report should cover:

• What devices were examined and their condition at intake
• What methodology was used — tools, process, hash verification
• What was found — or documented confirmation that nothing was found

Whether the investigation finds assets or comes up empty, the report serves its purpose. If assets are found, it documents them for the estate inventory. If nothing is found, it documents that a reasonable search was conducted.

Timing and the Google problem

One practical issue executors often overlook: email accounts get deleted. Google automatically deletes inactive accounts after two years. Microsoft's policies are similar. If the deceased had web-based wallets or exchange accounts, the email address used for those accounts may become inaccessible — taking password reset options with it.

This means the window for investigation is not unlimited. Beginning the digital asset investigation early in the estate administration process — before accounts start expiring — gives you the best chance of finding everything.

What you can do without professional help

Some steps are appropriate to take yourself before engaging a professional:

• Review bank and credit card statements for exchange transactions
• Search email (with appropriate authority) for terms like "bitcoin," "cryptocurrency," "wallet," "Coinbase," and similar
• Look for hardware wallet devices, seed phrase documents, or crypto-related notes among belongings
• Contact exchanges directly if you have evidence the deceased had an account

What you should not do without professional guidance: attempt to access wallet files on old hard drives, enter seed phrases into any device or website, or plug unknown USB drives into computers without write protection.