EASY BITCOIN INHERITANCE PLANNING: Simple Inheritance How-To with Casa
Summary
TLDRIn this episode of the show, Natalie hosts Nick Newman, CEO and co-founder of Casa, to discuss the importance of setting up a Bitcoin inheritance plan. They walk through the simple and fast process of setting up Casa inheritance, emphasizing the need for secure access to Bitcoin after one's passing. The conversation covers the difference between a recipient and a beneficiary, the importance of planning for legal and tax implications, and the ease of revoking or changing access. The demonstration includes a step-by-step guide on how to invite a recipient, share a mobile key, and initiate a claim, highlighting the security measures in place.
Takeaways
- 💡 Importance of Bitcoin Inheritance: Many people don't consider inheritance plans for Bitcoin, but it's crucial to ensure family members can access it after your death.
- 🔑 Simple Setup: Casa's inheritance solution is designed to be easy, especially for non-technical family members, while maintaining robust security.
- 📱 Mobile-Based Multi-Signature Vaults: Casa uses a multisig system where the recipient can access the Bitcoin using only their phone, making it user-friendly.
- 🔐 Three-Key Vault Security: Casa's basic security setup requires 2 out of 3 keys to access Bitcoin, ensuring no single point of failure.
- 👥 Recipient vs. Beneficiary: In Casa’s system, recipients aren't traditional financial beneficiaries but trusted individuals who hold keys to help access the Bitcoin if the owner dies.
- 📧 Easy Recipient Setup: Users can invite a recipient by email, and once accepted, a secure link is created between their accounts.
- 🕒 Six-Month Claim Period: If a recipient tries to claim Bitcoin, the owner has six months to reject the claim. Casa notifies the owner monthly during this time.
- ⚖️ Legal and Tax Considerations: Casa handles the technical side of inheritance, but users should consult estate lawyers for tax and legal planning.
- ❌ Revoking Access: Owners can revoke a recipient's access at any time, which immediately disables their ability to claim the Bitcoin.
- 📜 Estate Planning Flexibility: Casa’s system allows users to set up different trusted recipients, such as executors or trustees, depending on their estate planning needs.
Q & A
Why is setting up an inheritance plan important for Bitcoin holders?
-Setting up an inheritance plan is crucial for Bitcoin holders because it ensures that their Bitcoin is accessible by their family or designated recipients in the event of their death, maintaining the security of their assets both during their lifetime and after.
What is the difference between a recipient and a beneficiary in the context of Casa's inheritance plan?
-In Casa's inheritance plan, a recipient is someone who is authorized to receive shared keys to access the Bitcoin in case of the account owner's death, whereas a beneficiary in traditional financial accounts is someone who is given direct access to the assets upon the account owner's death. With Casa, the focus is on ensuring the recipient has the necessary keys to access the self-custodied Bitcoin.
How does Casa ensure that the process of accessing Bitcoin after the account owner's death is secure?
-Casa uses a multi-signature (multisig) setup where the account owner and the recipient(s) hold parts of the key needed to access the Bitcoin. This decentralizes the security and prevents a single point of failure. Additionally, Casa employs a waiting period and verification processes to ensure the rightful recipient accesses the Bitcoin after the owner's death.
What is the significance of the six-month waiting period after a claim is initiated in Casa's inheritance plan?
-The six-month waiting period in Casa's inheritance plan allows the account owner to verify and cancel any unintended claims, ensuring that the Bitcoin is not accessed prematurely or fraudulently. It provides a buffer time to confirm the legitimacy of the claim and protect the owner's assets.
What is the role of enhanced verification in Casa's inheritance plan for US residents?
-Enhanced verification is an optional feature for Casa Private Client members in the US. It involves additional personal identifying information and documentation to verify the account owner's death more quickly, reducing the waiting period for the recipient to access the Bitcoin after the owner's death.
How does the process of sharing the mobile key work in Casa's inheritance setup?
-In Casa's inheritance setup, the account owner shares the mobile key with the recipient by generating a QR code. The recipient scans this QR code with their phone, which securely shares an encrypted version of the mobile key, enabling them to access the Bitcoin after the owner's death, provided they also have access to Casa's key.
Can the account owner revoke access to the Vault if they change their mind about the recipient?
-Yes, the account owner can revoke access to the Vault at any time by using the 'revoke Vault access' option in the app. This instantly removes the recipient's ability to make claims or use any keys associated with the Vault.
What should Bitcoin holders consider regarding legal and tax implications when setting up an inheritance plan?
-Bitcoin holders should consult with estate lawyers and financial planners to understand the legal and tax implications of their inheritance plan, including estate taxes and transfer taxes. This ensures that the Bitcoin is not only accessible but also legally compliant within their jurisdiction.
How does Casa's inheritance plan cater to non-technical recipients?
-Casa's inheritance plan is designed to be user-friendly for non-technical recipients by simplifying the process to feel like using a normal banking app. The focus is on making the recovery of Bitcoin as easy as possible for the family, while still maintaining a robust level of security.
What is the minimum number of keys required for a three-key Vault setup in Casa's inheritance plan?
-In a three-key Vault setup, the recipient needs two out of the three keys to access the Bitcoin. One key is held by the recipient (via the mobile key shared by the account owner), and the other is provided by Casa after the account owner's death.
Outlines
🔐 Introduction to Casa Inheritance Setup
In this segment, Natalie introduces the topic of setting up a Casa inheritance plan for Bitcoin with Nick Newman, CEO and co-founder of Casa. The importance of having an inheritance plan for Bitcoin is discussed, emphasizing the need to ensure that family members can access one's Bitcoin after death. Nick explains that Casa's inheritance plan is designed with non-technical family members in mind, aiming to make the process as user-friendly as possible, akin to using a banking app. The discussion highlights the significance of planning for Bitcoin security both during life and after death.
🔑 Step-by-Step Guide to Setting Up Casa Inheritance
Natalie demonstrates the process of setting up a Casa inheritance plan with the help of Sam Callahan, who plays the role of a recipient. The process begins with inviting a recipient via email and selecting the type of vault. It's explained that Casa does not hold the Bitcoin but rather one or more keys needed to access it. The segment details how to share a mobile key with the recipient through a QR code, which is then encrypted and stored on the recipient's phone. The video also touches on the optional enhanced verification process for US residents, which can speed up the process of accessing the keys after the account owner's death.
📱 Testing the Inheritance Claim Process
In this part, Natalie and Sam perform a test run to demonstrate how the inheritance claim process works. Natalie initiates a claim, which Sam attempts to access, triggering a six-month waiting period before the claim can be finalized. This period allows the account owner to cancel the claim if it was initiated in error. The video explains that Casa sends monthly notifications during this period to ensure the owner is aware of any pending claims. It also shows how to revoke access to the vault, instantly removing the recipient's ability to make claims or use keys.
🏦 Legal and Tax Implications of Bitcoin Inheritance
The final segment addresses the legal and tax implications of Bitcoin inheritance. Nick advises that while Casa helps with the technical aspect of ensuring Bitcoin accessibility after death, it's also crucial to consult with an estate lawyer to handle the legal and tax aspects. The discussion points out the importance of having a clear plan that complies with jurisdictional laws to avoid legal complications for the family. The video concludes with a reminder of the importance of inheritance planning and the availability of a promo for Casa services.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Casa
💡Inheritance Plan
💡Self-custody
💡Multisig
💡Recipient
💡Vault
💡Mobile Key
💡Enhanced Verification
💡Estate Planning
💡Revocation
Highlights
Introduction to setting up Casa inheritance with CEO and co-founder Nick Newman.
Emphasizing the importance of an inheritance plan for Bitcoin security.
Discussing the increasing requests from customers concerned about family access to Bitcoin posthumously.
Explaining the difference between a recipient and a beneficiary in the context of Bitcoin inheritance.
Describing the Casa product design aimed at non-technical family members for ease of use.
Highlighting the security measures like multi-signature (multisig) for inheritance planning.
Demonstrating the step-by-step process of inviting a recipient to an inheritance plan.
Clarifying the role of Casa in the inheritance process and the concept of self-custody.
Explaining the optional enhanced verification process for US residents.
Sam Callahan joins as a volunteer to demonstrate the recipient's perspective.
Illustrating how to share the mobile key with the recipient through a QR code.
Discussing the significance of the six-month waiting period for claiming Bitcoin after the account owner's passing.
Providing instructions on how to reject a claim and the importance of regular notifications.
Mentioning the ability to revoke access and the flexibility of the inheritance plan.
Addressing the legal and tax implications of inheriting Bitcoin and the advice to consult an estate lawyer.
Encouraging viewers to set up an inheritance plan for Bitcoin and consider legal aspects.
Closing remarks and a promo for Casa services.
Transcripts
[Music]
welcome back to the show for another
howto episode here with me is CEO and
co-founder of Casa Nick Newman and we're
going to be setting up Casa inheritance
you're going to be surprised how easy
and fast this is Nick thank you for
joining me thank you Natalie really
excited to be doing this again okay so
first of all why is it so important to
set up an inheritance plan when it comes
to your Bitcoin well a lot of people
don't think about this right because
they're they're just thinking about how
do I make sure that my Bitcoin is secure
while I'm alive but especially as we
start to uh as people you know have
families they have kids they get married
then they start thinking oh I need to
make sure that my family who maybe isn't
as much of a Bitcoin uh like hardcore
bitcoiner as I am I need to make sure
that they can access this stuff too and
so we had we started to have this
request more and more from our customers
where they were saying I'm worried about
my family being able to access my
Bitcoin if I pass away and so this is a
a really important part of self- custody
you have to think about both your
Bitcoin security while you're in life
and then also your Bitcoin security um
in death and in case something happens
to you which feels a little morbid but
it's a part of everybody's life and so
planning ahead you know bitcoiners we we
plan and planning ahead for for your own
death as part of that and making sure
that your family can access your Bitcoin
is really important so before we go go
through the step-by-step process is
there anything people should know about
what they're going to be setting up with
maybe a family member a loved one a
friend what what should they need to
what should they know before they
actually set up an inheritance plan the
thing to know I mean you said this at
the beginning it's easier than people
think when we were designing this
product we really designed it for the
family not for the account owner we
designed it for the people who will be
recovering this Bitcoin in a worst case
scenario
and a lot of times those people are less
technical they're not as comfortable
using a bunch of Hardware wallets or
seed phrases and so we designed this to
be really easy for them in a way where
it just feels like you're using a normal
banking app from their perspective where
you're just using your phone and that's
all you need from a from a two of three
multi-key Vault perspective our basic
security level all you need is your
phone in order to access these um this
Bitcoin and we've built a lot of
security precautions around that using
multisig to make sure that that doesn't
open up a security hole for people but
the whole point is how do we make this
as easy as possible for the family while
maintaining this robust level of
security and so that's the thing to know
it's just um I think people think oh
this might be hard and hopefully you'll
agree after we show you it's actually
very easy for both you and your family
to set up all right well let's get get
right into it so I'm going to open up my
casa app and for this since this is an
inheritance plan um we're going to get a
Little Help From A a volunteer a
familiar face my fiance Sam Callahan's
going to be joining us and he's going to
record his screen so that you can see
what's going on in that um in that space
so I'm in my app right now and on the
screen is the is the pay tab but I'm
assuming you hit inheritance which is
the third tab yeah go on over to the
inheritance tab okay so let's click get
started now it's about inviting the
recipient so you're going to put in
Sam's email here and just invite him to
be the recipient for your account and
it'll give you some options on which
Vault you can actually choose down below
and we're just going to do the three key
Vault okay so I am typing
in Sam's address here
and so the thing to know just as you're
going through that to give a little
context of what a recipient is a
recipient's a little bit different from
a beneficiary so in a traditional
Financial account setup you you think
I've got like your fre or 401K you think
okay I've got a beneficiary for this
account and if I pass away that
financial institution is going to rename
this account in my beneficiaries name
and give them access to these assets
with c you're self- custody in the
Bitcoin so we can't actually it's not a
beneficiary situation where we give your
um family member direct access to the
assets all we can do is help ensure that
they have access to the number of keys
they need to then access the assets so
it's just a little bit of a different
scenario than you might be used to but
we do use that word recipient as
something that feels familiar but you
can tell it's a little different than a
traditional beneficiary right and just a
reminder when you're setting up multisig
multi- signature collaborative custody
Casa does not have your Bitcoin
basically they have one key out of three
or out of five so that when you go to
unlock your Bitcoin there are several
Keys you're decentralizing um the the
security component so there's no single
point of failure and when it comes to
inheritance planning you need to be able
to have someone access that that key or
multiple keys that you have with Casa so
that um you know you they can unlock the
Bitcoin whether it's your kids your your
loved ones so um I just placed Sam's
email in here I'm going to go to review
details and there's an ackowledgement
that you're going to read basically
saying that I'm electing Sam as my
recipient and what's important to note
is they cannot see my Vault balance I
can revoke their access at any time I
can reject a mistake and claim if they
go in there trying to you know access
the key when they're not supposed to and
they must keep the shared Keys secure
caas not not able to help access lost
keys so I'm going to send the invite
over to Sam and he should be getting an
email so when Sam gets this email what
it's going to say is hey uh you've been
named as a recipient for this person's
account do you accept this and then when
you accept it we're creating a link
between your two accounts on the back
end that says Sam is now authorized to
receive shared keys from you to help
maintain those keys like doing health
checks on the those keys which are a
really important part of self- custody
is making sure that those keys remain
healthy over your lifetime and so this
this link is basically allowing him to
help share pieces of your self- custody
setup which is the important part for
ensuring that inheritance will work
because we're basically giving him
access to some keys while in in a very
secure encrypted way while you are alive
and then we match that with the Casa key
if you pass away so that he doesn't have
a a threshold of keys needed to spend
Bitcoin before that event happens but
afterwards he does right um so a screen
popped up by the way that asks whether I
want to enable enhanced verification
which is optional for us residents um
what is that and should I click yes so
today we won't do that but what that is
is it is for Kasa Private Client members
only who live in the US
and this is basically an extra level of
verification that we will do to ensure
that um you actually passed away and
that we should enable Sam to access the
keys in your Vault and so the way that
works is instead of having a six-month
timer which is typically how we handle
that uh Handover period after you pass
away we have a manual verification by
our team where we will take in some
documents from you ahead of time that
help identify you and Sam so it's not
quite kyc but it is pii personal
identifying
information and then uh after you pass
away we can use that to actually verify
death certificates so for some people
this provides an extra level of comfort
if they are less private privacy
sensitive about Casa having access to
this info got it all right it's time to
bring in our awesome volunteer Hi Sam
yeah thanks for having me on hi Nick hi
Natalie um excited to figure out this
Bitcoin inheritance thing it's been a
problem for so long and I think Kasa has
really fixed it okay so Sam did you
receive that email yes I did and I uh
accepted it okay so now on the manage
inheritance screen it basically um says
that I can finish setup by hitting on
the shared Vault and then it asks if I
want to share the mobile key so do I tap
that and then all of a sudden a QR code
pop pops up yep so this is the main part
of setup here so you're going to share
the mobile key Sam's going to scan this
on your phone and when he scans that
it's going to share an encrypted version
of that mobile key to his
phone success and I got success in
confetti awesome confetti means you win
and you're all good and so for the three
key set up that's actually that's it
that's all you got to do because now the
person has this encrypted mobile key
saved on their phone and then they will
have access to the casa key after you
pass away and that gives them the two
out of three keys that are needed in
order to access the Bitcoin that's in
this Vault so it's a really simple
process takes a couple of minutes okay
so I went back to the inheritance H Tab
and now I see manage inheritance my
setup you see Sam with his email address
under my recipient with the BTC Vault 3
key and it says healthy and if I tap on
it you see that they have access to the
mobile key but let's just do a test run
okay let's say you know Sam's not in a
great mood we're in a big fight um he
wants to try to take my Bitcoin so why
don't you try to access that key
Sam all
right mobile
key okay so start Vault claim
clim okay so now my little healthy tab
went to Pink and it says claim initiated
so it says that basically Sam is trying
to claim my key and trying to use it so
I'm going to reject the
claim and if you didn't reject that
claim what would happen is on Sam's end
it shows hey this Vault will unlock on
this date which is 6 months from now and
at that six Monon time then it would
unlock he'd be able to see the Bitcoin
in the vault and he'd be able to use
those two keys to move the assets out
but during that time Natalie we're
sending you notifications every month
saying hey a vault claim has been
initiated if you if you didn't uh if
this isn't supposed to happen please go
into the app and cancel it and then you
go in and tap the button to to cancel it
and so it's a um it gives you that that
six-month weight period a few people
have asked why why six months in our
opinion it gives you a great amount of
of time to like really ensure that hey
this this person isn't just on a trip
overseas for a month or something like
that where they could be tricked from
this perspective so um yeah so it's it's
very easy to reject that and then if you
and Sam remained in a fight you can even
revoke his access to the Vault and take
him off of it completely right wait Sam
can you um request that access again I'm
just going to film that area that says
the six months because that screen I
like went off of it really quickly so
I'm going to try it one more time yeah
so on the reject claim page it says a
six-month verification period has begun
if you do not reject this claim your
recipient will gain access on February
21st
2025 um Nick so is there anything that
people should know in terms of any
implications like for example taxes if I
were to pass away and someone from my
family accessed my Bitcoin um are they
going to have to pay capital gains taxes
or is that something you advise them to
talk to their attorneys or financial
planners about yeah so the one important
thing to note thank you for asking this
question is that Casa is really not
handling the legal side of this whole
thing so there's two pieces you got to
be thinking about you got to be thinking
about how do I make sure that the
Bitcoin is actually accessible so it's
not completely lost if I pass away you
also need to think about how do I make
sure that this stays within the legal
system for my jurisdiction and is
properly accounted for so that my family
isn't in trouble isn't going through
months or years of court cases around
this and so doing that planning work
ahead of time can ensure that your
family has the right road map to be able
to use this Bitcoin to to benefit
themselves um and you can do things I
think that depending on your
jurisdiction that can um affect the tax
like the the estate tax uh transfer tax
in one way or another and so we really
recommend talking to an estate lawyer
figuring out how you're going to handle
that side of it as part of this overall
process and it doesn't mean that you
have to have the estate
lawyer uh side of things all figured out
before you go set up inheritance because
in some ways you just want to make sure
first and foremost that if something
unexpected happens that Bitcoin is still
accessible so get that set up and then
layer in the the legal side of it to
make sure that everything is by the
books and is done properly um I think
that's the best way to set up your
family for Success there no that's great
advice and and every state really
differs when when it comes to the the
laws with Estates and probate and all of
that so make sure to do your homework um
all right well while we still have Sam
uh let's just show you what it looks
like to revoke access so let's say I
decide that I'm going to have another
trusted recipient I can just go right
into the recipient um Tab and hit where
it says mobile key shared I can go to
the bottom and it says revoke Vault
access and I can choose revoke access um
so what happens on your screen Sam uh it
just says all is quiet
now so the thing went away no more key
yeah yeah so that revokes your ability
to make Vault claims it revokes your
ability to use any keys that are part of
Natalie's Vault all of that that and it
it happens you know instantly like that
and so um there's many reasons actually
that people might want to do this that
might not involve a any sort of falling
out or anything like that with your
family like maybe as part of your estate
planning process you realize oh I want
to have a trustee who's helping with
this or my my lawyer or executive
there's there's a bunch of different
reasons why you might do this and so
it's very easy to do and to take
somebody out put them back in later
however you need to do it um and I think
the other thing along these lines that's
worth mentioning that we get questions
about is people will say well I I want
to make sure that this is left for my
kids but they're not old enough to hold
keys and to be able to manage this kind
of thing and so in that scenario that's
where you can use somebody like an
executive or like a trustee or even a
trusted friend or family member to help
um access these keys for the benefit of
your your recip uh your beneficiaries in
your will and so that's also why we've
kind of not designated this as a a
financial beneficiary this is a
recipient who could be an executive or
it could be the actual beneficiary of
the assets got it yeah it's so important
especially if you have kids and you know
if you have a favorite that might change
over the
decades all right Sam thank you so much
for helping on your end was it pretty
simple it was very simple and like Nick
said it just immediately disappeared
when Natalie rejected me uh so uh worked
amazingly it was
Flawless all right well thanks so much
Sam um and Nick thank you so much for
walking us through it it it honestly
took maybe a couple of minutes I I know
I asked a lot of questions to stretch
this out just to get information but
this is so so important um for those of
you who might have been following me I A
friend of mine passed away last year he
was a bitcoiner thankfully he had a plan
in place so his parents could access um
the Bitcoin that he owned but it is
really important because something can
happen that is so tragic and unexpected
so make sure to do your planning Nick
thank you for joining me anything else
you want people to know before we sign
off um no I thank you Natalie thank you
Sam this has been great and I'm really
excited for more people to see how this
works because a lot of times people have
trouble kind of conceptualizing how it
works until they just see it and then
things click for them so I'm very
excited for people to see this yeah and
you saw it on the screen um head to link
ca. Natalie uh we have a promo for you
that's um operating right now I'm a
customer so full disclosure I've
partnered with CA but I'm also a
customer really excited that this is the
the solution that exists for people to
be able to multi- Sig in a safe way in a
private way and to be able to do um Casa
inheritance so thanks so much and uh
write your comments below and make sure
you sign up for Casa thank you so much
for checking out this episode of coin
stories this show is for entertainment
and educational purposes only nothing
should constitute Institute as official
investment advice and you should always
do your own research my inbox is open if
you want to share feedback or guest
suggestions just reach out at Nataly
talking bitcoin.com make sure you're
subscribed to the show and check out my
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substack
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