If someone you know has cryptocurrency that you might inherit, let me just say ahoy matey! I hope your pirate spirit is alive and your treasure-hunting skills sharp, because that's what it might take to get those assets. And if you're the one holding crypto, know that if you do nothing, it's very possible those funds will die with you.
\n\nIn the US, cryptocurrency is considered a digital asset rather than money in terms of probate and estate law. With money and physical assets, you can sign a beneficiary form and create an estate plan or write a last will and testament naming who should get what when you die. With digital assets, however, the law says we should not assume that a deceased person wanted their private materials—everything from emails to photos—given to another person unless they explicitly said so. This puts cryptocurrency, as a digital asset, in an awkward position.
\n\nThe options for arranging a transfer of cryptocurrency upon one's death or incapacitation breaks down by one big division: whether the crypto is held by a custodian or in a noncustodial crypto wallet.
\n\nA custodian or custodial wallet means a third party, such as a bank or a…
Original source: https://www.wired.com/