See what you get

Values are filled in automatically from today's prices. The free planner does this part too.

Inheritance Tax estimate

Sam typed a rough value for everything else they own. The crypto figure comes straight from the list above.

In the real plan you type your own figures and the estimate updates as you go. It uses HMRC's allowances for 2026/27 and covers spouses, children inheriting the home, charity gifts, a late partner's unused allowances and pensions, which count towards the estate from 6 April 2027.

Family recovery guide

Step-by-step instructions for Sam's executor, one holding at a time, written for someone who has never used crypto.

1. Ledger hardware wallet

   Ledger Nano X

   0.5 BTC

   Address

   bc1qar0srrr7xfkvy5l643lydnw9re59gtzzwf5mdq

   Device or app

   Home safe, top shelf

   Recovery phrase

   Sealed envelope with Brown & Co Solicitors

   1. Find the recovery phrase (12 or 24 words) using the location written in this plan. You don't need the original Ledger device or its PIN if you have the phrase.
   2. Buy a new Ledger directly from ledger.com (never second-hand), install Ledger Live from ledger.com, and choose "Restore from recovery phrase" during setup. Type the words only on the Ledger device itself.
   3. Once restored, Ledger Live shows the balances. Move them to an account you control as executor, such as an exchange account in the estate's name, to sell or pass on.

Valuing crypto for HMRC

What Sam's executor needs to do to report the crypto for Inheritance Tax, based on HMRC's own guidance, with a table to fill in.

1. HMRC treats crypto like any other asset in the estate. It needs each holding's value in pounds on the date of death, not the value when you sell it.
2. There's no official exchange rate for crypto. Use a sensible source and use the same one for every holding: the exchange's own statement for exchange accounts, or a price site's historical data (such as CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap) for wallets.
3. Keep a record of how you got each figure: a screenshot or download showing the date, the price and where it came from. HMRC asks for the method to be kept.
4. Include the total when you report the estate's value to HMRC. If a full Inheritance Tax account (form IHT400) is needed, crypto goes in with the other assets.
5. If you can't get into a wallet, still report it. HMRC asks you to explain why it's inaccessible and what you believe it's worth, in the additional information box of the IHT400.
6. If the estate later sells crypto for more than its date-of-death value, there may be Capital Gains Tax on the increase. A solicitor or accountant can advise.

"Value today" uses prices when this plan was printed, to show roughly what each holding is worth. Your executor writes in the value on the date of death, with the source of each price.

Logins and two-factor codes

How Sam's family reaches the email, phone and exchange account that show what Sam owns. It records which email and two-factor method each login uses and where the backup codes are, never the passwords.

• Never write passwords, PINs or recovery phrases on this sheet. Record which email and method each login uses, and where the backup codes are kept.
• Most exchanges show backup codes when you turn on two-factor sign-in. Print them or write them down and keep them with your recovery phrase backups, not in this plan.
• Set up a legacy or emergency contact where you can: Apple Legacy Contact, Google Inactive Account Manager, and the emergency access feature in Bitwarden or LastPass. 1Password has an Emergency Kit you can print and store instead.
• If you use an authenticator app, check whether it backs up to your Apple, Google or Microsoft account. If it doesn't, losing the phone means losing the codes.
• Ask your family not to cancel your phone contract or close your email account until every crypto account has been dealt with. Codes and exchange emails still go there.
• Your executor should claim exchange accounts through each exchange's bereavement process (section 3) rather than signing in as you. This sheet helps them find the accounts and prove what's there.

Letter of wishes

Who gets which crypto, worked out from the names Sam typed against each holding, and how Sam would like it handled. The will becomes public after probate, but a letter of wishes stays private. It isn't legally binding, but executors normally follow it.

Letter to your executor

Filled in from Sam's plan, ready to print, sign and keep with the will.

Wording for your will

Example wording to discuss with a solicitor. It gives executors clear authority over crypto without putting any secrets in the will, which becomes public after probate.

I authorise my executors to access, manage, transfer and sell my digital assets, including cryptoassets held in wallets or on exchanges, and to obtain any information needed to do so. Details of my cryptoassets and where to find the information needed to access them are kept in a separate plan, which does not form part of this will.

If you can't manage your crypto: power of attorney

For you, now. A will only helps after you die. This covers an illness or accident that leaves you unable to manage your money.

• In England and Wales, a Lasting Power of Attorney for property and financial affairs lets people you choose manage your money, including crypto, if you can't. In Scotland it's a continuing power of attorney, and in Northern Ireland an enduring power of attorney.
• It has to be made and registered while you can still make decisions. Without one, your family may have to apply to the Court of Protection, which is slow and costly.
• Your will and this plan only take effect after you die. This section covers the time before, if that's ever needed.
• Your attorneys can use this plan to find your crypto: the list of holdings, where the recovery phrases are kept, and the logins sheet.
• For exchange accounts, your attorneys contact the exchange with the registered power of attorney. For wallets you control yourself, they need the recovery phrase or the device, so tell them where this plan is kept.
• Attorneys must act in your best interests and keep your money separate from theirs. They shouldn't move your crypto into their own wallets or accounts.

Wording for your power of attorney

You or your solicitor can put this in the "preferences" part of the form.

My attorneys may access, manage, hold and sell my cryptoassets, including exchange accounts and self-custody wallets. I have recorded where to find them, and where the recovery phrases and devices are kept, in my WalletLegacy plan. My attorneys should follow that plan and should never share a recovery phrase with anyone.

More information: GOV.UK, Lasting Power of Attorney

Protecting your family from scams

For your family. Scammers look for people who have just lost someone with crypto. Read this before talking to anyone who offers to help.

Capital Gains Tax for the people who inherit

For your family. Good news: they won't pay tax on the rise in value while you owned the crypto.

• There's no Capital Gains Tax when someone dies. Any rise in value up to the date of death is wiped out for tax purposes.
• For the people who inherit, the value on the date of death becomes their starting cost. When they sell later, they only pay Capital Gains Tax on any rise after that date, and only above their yearly tax-free allowance.
• If the executor sells crypto before handing it on, any rise between the date of death and the sale can be taxed as part of the estate. It's often simpler to pass the crypto on and let each person decide when to sell.
• Keep the date-of-death valuation from the "Valuing crypto for HMRC" section. It's the figure the new owners will need when they sell, possibly many years from now.
• Anyone who inherits crypto should keep their own records of when they received it, how much, and what it was worth on the date of death.

Storing your recovery phrases safely

For Sam, now. The family can only use the plan if the recovery phrases it points to still exist and can be found.

• Write each recovery phrase on paper or stamp it on a metal backup plate. Never store it as a photo, in email, in cloud notes or in a notes app on your phone.
• Keep it somewhere safe from fire, flood and burglars, such as a home safe, a bank safety deposit box, or a sealed envelope held by your solicitor with your will.
• Never put a recovery phrase in your will. Wills become public after probate.
• If you added an extra passphrase (sometimes called a 25th word) to a hardware wallet, store it separately but record where it is. Without it, the wallet can't be recovered.
• Tell your executor where the phrase is kept, not what it says. This plan does that for you.
• Once a year, check the backup is still there and readable. Never type the phrase into a website or app to "test" it.

Your security check-up

For Sam, now. How safe the crypto is today, and what to fix first. The Security Check-up is included with the plan, with its own printable pack too.

Worked out from Sam's 19 answers. See a full example security report and pack.