The 7-Step Crypto Inheritance Plan for European Expats

In brief: You can put a complete crypto inheritance plan in place this week. It is not 200 pages of legal research — it is seven concrete moves. This is the short version. Each step links to a deep-dive article where you need one. Read top to bottom, do them in order.

This guide assumes you already hold crypto and live as an expat in Europe — typically Spain, Portugal or France. If you want the legal background first, start with Cross-Border Inheritance in Europe and Digital Assets Inheritance in Europe. Otherwise, start the seven steps now.

Step 1 — Inventory every wallet and exchange account

Open a blank document. List every place crypto is held: hardware wallets, software wallets, exchange accounts (Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, regulated PSANs), DeFi positions, NFTs. For each: type, provider, country of operator, approximate value range.

Do not include seed phrases, passwords or private keys in this document. The inventory is not sensitive; the access information is.

If the bulk of your holdings sits on centralized exchanges, read Your Coinbase or Binance Account After Death before continuing — exchange-held crypto has its own inheritance mechanics.

Step 2 — Decide custodial vs non-custodial per asset

For each line of the inventory, ask: is this the right custody model for my heirs, not just for me?

A crypto-literate spouse and a non-crypto-literate child need different things. A regulated CASP with a clean deceased-customer process is friendlier to a non-technical heir. A hardware wallet sovereign-secured is friendlier to a technical heir and to a long-term hold.

Most balanced plans end up mixed: long-term core in self-custody, working balances and assets being actively traded on regulated CASPs.

Step 3 — Choose your applicable succession law

EU Regulation 650/2012 ("Brussels IV") lets you elect, in your will, that the law of your nationality governs your entire succession instead of the default law of habitual residence. This matters for forced-heirship calculation on your crypto.

Two caveats worth knowing before you assume Brussels IV solves everything:

France (since 2021): French-resident children retain a droit de prélèvement compensatoire on French-located assets, even if you elect foreign law. See Crypto Inheritance Tax in France.
Spain: the autonomous-community level affects tax even when civil law is foreign. See Crypto Inheritance Tax in Spain.
Portugal: direct-line heirs are exempt from inheritance tax regardless of law election. See Crypto Inheritance and Tax in Portugal.

Step 4 — Update your will with a notary

Visit a notario, notaire, or notário. Add (or update) a clause that references the existence of crypto holdings, in approximate magnitude, and that elects your applicable succession law if relevant.

The notary needs to know that crypto exists. The notary does not need your seed phrase, your hardware wallet PIN, or your exchange password. The legal instrument and the access instrument live in different places, on purpose.

Step 5 — Record where your access information is kept

Write down where each access element is kept — never the secrets themselves — and make sure one trusted person knows where that record is.

Step 6 — Designate a trustee and configure verification

Pick one person — a spouse, a sibling, a long-time friend — to act as trustee. The trustee's role is to confirm your death and make sure the named heirs receive the access information. This is not the same as being an heir; it is an operational role.

Most failures of digital legacy plans are not technical — they are the trustee not knowing they are a trustee.

Step 7 — Tell one trusted person, out loud, that the plan exists

The single highest-impact sentence you can say this month: "I have written down where everything is. If something happens to me, here is where to find it. The trustee is [name]. Contact them."

A perfect plan that no one knows about is not a plan. A merely-good plan that one trusted person knows about works. Say the sentence. Today.

Country deep dives

The seven steps are universal. The country-specific rules — forced heirship percentages, inheritance tax allowances, declaration deadlines — are not. Read the spoke for your country of residence:

Crypto Inheritance Tax in Spain for Expats — legítima, autonomous community variance, Modelo 721, AEAT.
Crypto Inheritance Tax in Portugal for Expats — legítima, direct-line tax exemption, Autoridade Tributária.
Crypto Inheritance Tax in France for Expats — réserve héréditaire, droits de succession, PACS, droit de prélèvement compensatoire.

If you split your time across two of these, read both. Forced-heirship rules interact in ways that are not intuitive.

Common questions before you start

How long does the full plan take? A focused weekend for steps 1-3 and 5-7. Step 4 (the notary visit) typically takes two to four weeks to schedule and complete. The full plan ships in under a month.

Do I need a lawyer in addition to the notary? For most expat families, no. The notary handles the will and the succession act. A cross-border lawyer is worth involving if your assets span three or more jurisdictions, if you have a business in your estate, or if your family structure is non-standard (blended families, unmarried partners with shared children).

What if I have no crypto-literate heirs at all? Lean custodial. Centralized exchanges with clean deceased-customer processes are operationally easier for a non-technical heir than a hardware wallet they have never touched. Pair with a trustee who can guide them through the release.

What if my crypto position is small — under €20,000? The same seven steps apply. The notary visit may feel disproportionate for a small position, but the access plan (steps 1, 5, 7) is non-negotiable regardless of position size. Unrecoverable crypto is unrecoverable at any value.

Methodology

This guide was compiled in May 2026 by the Sucesio Team as the action-oriented companion to our country-specific deep dives.

This article is not legal or tax advice. For your specific situation, consult a notary in your country of residence.

Published by The Sucesio Team — May 2026. Last reviewed: May 2026.

FAQ

How long does it actually take for heirs to access a deceased relative's crypto on an exchange? Six to eighteen months in most European jurisdictions, depending on whether the exchange is EU-based, whether the will has been formally notarised and whether all heirs reach agreement. Family conflicts can double the timeline. Self-custody recovery, by contrast, depends entirely on whether the seed phrase or Shamir shares are physically accessible.

Should I share my seed phrase with my spouse during my lifetime? No. The seed phrase should be stored physically — preferably on metal — in a location your spouse knows about, with clear instructions on how to retrieve and use it after your death. Sharing it openly during your lifetime creates avoidable security risks without solving the inheritance problem. The right level of access is post mortem, not ante mortem.

Is a multi-sig setup worth it for expat families under €500,000 in crypto? For most families under that threshold, a Shamir Backup (SLIP-0039) on a Trezor Safe 3 or Safe 5 is simpler operationally and sufficient legally. Multi-signature setups add coordination complexity that only pays off above €500,000, in family-office contexts, or when multiple jurisdictions are involved on the signer side.

Can crypto be included in a European Certificate of Succession? Yes. The Certificate, governed by EU Regulation 650/2012, formalises cross-border inheritance and can explicitly list crypto assets as part of the estate. However, the Certificate documents the legal succession — it does not transmit operational access. Heirs still need the seed phrase, the Shamir shares or the exchange credentials separately, organised in advance.