Frequently Asked Questions
Digital Will
What is a Digital Will?
A Digital Will outlines how your digital assets should be managed if you are no longer able to do so. While traditional wills typically cover physical assets like property or custody of children, a Digital Will addresses how to address your digital property, online accounts and any other sentimental requests.
In Inheritor, your Digital Will is the sum total of all Inheritances you have assigned to Beneficiaries. Your Digital Will lives as a smart contract on the blockchain.
What is a smart contract?
A smart contract is a computer program or transaction protocol that automatically executes, controls, or documents events and actions according to the terms of a contract or agreement. In Inheritor, your Digital Will is embedded in a smart contract between you and the beneficiaries placed on one of the supported Networks. Smart contracts are ideal to execute Digital Wills, as they are immutable, distributed, and censorship-resistant, among other properties.
What are Digital Assets?
Digital assets are online or electronic items of value that often don’t fit into traditional estate plans. Physical assets are typically well-documented and governed by clear laws, but digital assets are more dynamic, often lacking clear ownership or jurisdiction. They can also be difficult to access due to evolving security measures.
Examples of monetary digital assets:
Cryptocurrency wallets
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
Online financial accounts
Income-generating YouTube channels
Social media profiles with large followings
Intellectual property files (music, writings, videos, artwork)
Examples of non-monetary digital assets:
Email accounts
Personal photos and videos
Personal artwork, study materials, work projects
Social media accounts
In Inheritor, any digital file can be a Digital Asset. The Digital Asset can be a letter to the beneficiary, a video or audio message, business or legal documents, etc. It can also be a file containing access codes to bank accounts, social media accounts, crypto wallets (private keys, NFTs), etc. In short, anything that you consider important or valuable, is in digital format, and want to pass on to your loved ones. In the Digital Age, access often means 'ownership', making the passing on of Digital Assets a very effective addition to Legacy Planning.
How do I create a Digital Will?
A comprehensive Digital Will should include:
An Inventory of your digital assets.
Access Instructions: Usernames, passwords, two-factor authentication (2FA) details, backup keys, and security questions.
Management Instructions: Specify what should be deleted, kept, or passed on.
To keep this information current, consider using a secure password manager.
Example Digital Will:
Dear Loved One, If you're reading this, something has happened. But you know me—I planned ahead! Valuables:
Crypto: Don't throw away what looks like a USB stick in my drawer. It is called a Ledger and it has my crypto on it. Access codes are in my password manager.
Stocks: Check the "Finances" folder on my laptop. Use the password manager to log in. Get help managing these—maybe your brother?
Social Media: Please delete my Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook accounts. I don’t want to become a digital ghost. Fully erase my Google email and Messenger chats to protect the kids from family drama.
Personal Items:
Backup my old PC before you toss it (I know you're tempted!).
Photos and videos are in the "My Photos and Videos" folder and backed up on the black hard drives in my desk drawer.
Legal documents are in the attic folder—testament, wedding papers, kids’ documents, insurance files.
Access Details:
Laptop: myusername78 | Password: FeetG5#Green
Phone Passcode: 8989
Government Login: myname@hotmail.com | 2FA: 9009
Password Manager: KrugarPark8008 (backup keys in my study drawer)
I love you forever, Example Person
About Inheritor
How does Inheritor work?
Inheritor secures any file on the blockchain and ensures only the one single person you give access to it, can access it. But only when the time comes. How?
Connect with Your Beneficiary: Share a unique access key via QR code or messaging.
Check-in or pass on: Inheritor regularly checks in with you. If you don’t respond within a custom grace period, your assets are transferred to your beneficiary.
Why choose for Inheritor?
Why choose Inheritor over a notary, safe deposit box, or vault?
A digital will or 'death box' is typically stored in the following ways:
With a Notary or Lawyer: Secure and professional, but best for stable physical assets. Notary's provide traditional wills that are not designed for for dynamic digital assets that require updates and can be too stringent. In some regions, under-resourced systems further limit access, causing further delays in inheritance planning.
Safe Deposit Boxes: Common for storing important documents, yet accessing them after death can be legally complicated, and they are inappropriate for digital information.
Home Safes: Fireproof and waterproof safes offer protection but can be cumbersome, expensive, and carry risks of being lost, stolen, or damaged.
Trusted Family Members or Executors: Sharing copies with family or executors can work for traditional wills but do you want to put that burden on them?
Why these don’t work for Digital Wills:
Digital assets—such as crypto wallets, online accounts, or intellectual property—are dynamic, require frequent updates, and involve sensitive access credentials. Traditional storage methods are too static and vulnerable for managing these digital components effectively.
Why Inheritor is better for Digital Wills:
Inheritor is designed for the digital world, providing a seamless, secure, and future-proof solution for managing and transferring digital assets.
Dynamic and Flexible: Easily update your digital will as your assets change.
No Legal Hurdles: Immediate, secure access for your beneficiaries without legal complications.
Tamper-Proof: Encrypted and stored on the blockchain, your will cannot be altered, lost, or destroyed.
Independent and Private: Full privacy and no reliance on intermediaries like lawyers, banks, or cloud services.
Always Accessible: Secure, decentralized storage ensures your digital will is accessible even if Inheritor ceases to exist.
How does Inheritor keep my data secure?
Privacy by Design: Inheritor never stores or sees your data. The app operates independently on your device, without connecting to external servers or cloud services.
Blockchain Security: Your Digital Will is recorded on the blockchain, ensuring it’s tamper-proof and verifiable. No third party, including Inheritor, can access or alter your data.
What about the 'Legacy Contact' feature from tech companies?
Legacy contact features and account removal options can help manage accounts, but they have limitations:
Certain digital assets like crypto wallets or files on devices are not covered.
Beneficiaries may not know where assets are stored, risking loss of the assets.
Full access isn’t always granted (e.g., Apple blocks access to Keychain data for legacy contacts).
Each platform has different, often complex procedures.
A Digital Will provides a unified, secure way to pass on digital assets seamlessly.
Can Inheritor be hacked?
Blockchain technology ensures that your Digital Will cannot be altered, deleted, or hacked. A self-executing smart contract guarantees your assets are transferred securely and only when intended.
What happens if Inheritor goes out of business?
Your Digital Will remains secure. Inheritor uses decentralized storage across thousands of global nodes, ensuring your will is accessible to your beneficiaries even if Inheritor ceases to exist.
How is my Digital Will future-proof?
Inheritor uses Ethereum and Arweave blockchains for secure, permanent storage. Your will is preserved in a decentralized network, ensuring long-term accessibility regardless of Inheritor’s status.
Using Inheritor
What if I forget to check in?
Inheritor uses a Check-in timer to ensure your Digital Will is only executed when you no longer check-in. There are multiple ways you can minimise the risk of not checking in timely:
You’ll receive increasing reminders as your check-in deadline approaches.
You can customize your check-in frequency—daily, weekly, monthly.
A grace period prevents premature activation of your Digital Will.
What if I lose my phone?
Backups: Restoring your phone backup will recover your data.
Cloud Storage: Securely save your details on iCloud (optional).
Physical Backup: Print and safely store your access details.
What if my beneficiary isn’t tech-savvy?
Beneficiaries only need to download the app.
No passwords or logins are required to access your will.
If both of you lose access, you can use iCloud backups or a printed document as a fallback.
Last updated
