What Happens To An Investor's NFTs After They Die?

What Happens To An Investor’s NFTs After They Die?

Updated: 06 July 2023

Disclosure

Don’t invest unless prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment, you shouldn’t expect to be protected if something goes wrong.

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Death is the most unfortunate event and irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. Regardless of all measures we undertake, from security safety to health checks to good dieting, we will face death at any given time in our life.

Generational NFT Wealth

Since most investors that joined the nascent crypto industry around 2018 are now married and probably with one to two kids, it’s essential to think about what can happen to your digital wealth like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and non-fungible tokens after one dies.

It’s worth noting that the majority of non-fungible token investors have taken several precautions to safeguard their cold wallets, including making their wives learn how to unlock their fortunes in the event that there are no more. Moreover, many investors have also set life insurance.

In that context, another challenging question arises about what would happen to their digital wealth in the event both investor and his wife meet an unfortunate death fate at the same time. Also, what if an investor doesn’t fully trust their spouse to know their NFT holdings? How can we guarantee the safe transfer of our NFT wealth to our children or family?

What Happen To Your NFTs When You Die?

In a recent interview, Jaime Herren, a renowned wealth services lawyer, said that it’s vital that NFT holders ensure a smooth transition of their NFTs is passed on to their loved ones after death. Herren explained that:

“If you have a valuable asset, it is always worth taking steps to ensure it ends up where you want after your death, whether that is to your heirs or to a charity. Substantial crypto assets require planners and fiduciaries with technical knowledge.”

Before summarizing, Herren explained that if the NFT owner dies while a comprehensive plan is in place, the executor or trustee will be the one to ensure that their NFTs will be transferred to the beneficiaries. However, this also requires NFT collectors to give these executors and trustees instructions to access your wallets.

Unfortunately, in the coming years, lots of bags of Bitcoins and NFTs will be considered “burned” due to owners failing to pass them on to their kids. Data from blockchain analytics firm Glassnode shows that about 2.7 million Bitcoin, worth around $76 billion, have not been touched in a decade.