It depends on what form it arrived in. On an exchange or with a custodian, the estate process moves the account to you; your decision is where it lives next. On a device with a seed phrase, do nothing in a hurry: a mistaken restore or a rushed transfer is how inherited coins are lost. Verify the balance without moving it, decide the custody model for your own situation with the fit engine, then move once, in full, to the destination you chose.
Fit engine rules 0.1 (1 Nov 2026), with this situation's inputs preset. Adjust the inputs to your own case. Proof of Custody is published by Onramp Bitcoin, which appears here where its custody model fits and is scored by the same methodology as every other platform.
Recovery: Identity and authority documents to the institutions; no device, seed or ceremony on the heir's side.
Recovery: Identity and authority documents to the custodian; the custodian's own succession procedure.
Recovery: Prove identity and, for an estate, present letters of administration to the company's support desk.
Recovery: The brokerage's beneficiary or estate process; no keys involved.
Recovery: Locate the devices and seed backups, run a signing ceremony with the provider's key; or, where the provider documents an assisted inheritance path, follow that path with the provider.
Recovery: Locate the quorum of devices and backups, reconstruct the wallet descriptor, sign. Entirely on the recoverer.
These are custody models that fit the situation described, by Proof of Custody's published rules, version 0.1 (1 Nov 2026). They are not a recommendation to buy, sell, move or hold anything, and not legal, tax or estate advice.
The buyer will not store a device, will not write down a seed phrase, and will not be responsible for anything physical.
Agent tool: find_source. Primary sources: poc-scores, poc-incidents. Refresh: quarterly. All routes.
Free, read-only, no key. Every answer carries its source URL, as-of date and the publisher disclosure.