The notes your family needs to use your hardware wallet

The three things that have to travel together

A hardware wallet is a small device that stores the keys to your crypto. On its own it is a locked box. Your family needs the device itself, the PIN that opens it, and the recovery words that rebuild it if the device is lost or broken. Any one of those alone is not enough. Write the notes so that all three are described in one place, even if they are stored separately.

Start with the device. Say what it looks like, what brand it is, and where it is kept. If it sits in a drawer with other electronics, describe the drawer. If it is in a safe, say which safe and where the safe is. Someone who has never seen it should be able to pick it out of a box of cables.

What to write about the PIN

Write the PIN down. A PIN kept only in your head dies with you, and a family that cannot open the device may end up treating it as a paperweight. Put the PIN in your envelope notes, not taped to the device. If you have changed the PIN, write the current one and cross out the old one so nobody tries the wrong code.

Say what happens after several wrong tries. Most devices lock or wipe themselves after a set number of failed attempts, so tell your family not to guess. A line like "do not try random PINs, the device may erase itself" saves them from a costly mistake. Check your device maker's current help page for the exact behavior of your model.

The recovery words

The recovery words are usually a list of twelve or twenty four ordinary words, written in order. They rebuild the wallet on a new device if the old one fails. They are also the most dangerous thing you own if they fall into the wrong hands, because anyone holding them can move the crypto without the device or the PIN.

Write the words exactly as they appear, in order, numbered. Check the spelling twice. One wrong word makes the whole list useless. Store the written list somewhere separate from the device, so a single burglary or a single fire does not take both.

• The device and its location
• The PIN, and a warning not to guess
• The recovery words, numbered and checked
• The brand and model of the device
• Any passphrase you added on top of the PIN, and where it is written
• A short note on what the wallet holds, in plain terms

Where the notes live

Split the secret across two places. Keep the recovery words in one sealed spot, such as a home safe or a sealed envelope with a trusted person, and keep the device and PIN notes in another. That way no single accident or theft gives away everything.

If you use a safe, write the combination in your envelope too, and read the guide on home safe combinations. A safe nobody can open is just a heavy box. For crypto specifically, the crypto handoff plan walks through the whole handover in order.

Keep it sealed until it is needed

The point of the envelope is that the notes stay private while you are alive and well. Seal the crypto notes in their own envelope, write "Crypto" on the outside, and put it in the Crypto section of your main envelope. Tell one or two people that the envelope exists and who holds it. Do not tell them what is inside.

Choose who receives it. That might be the person you name to handle your affairs, or a family member who is comfortable with technology. Write their name in the envelope and tell them, in general terms, that a sealed crypto note will reach them when the time comes. The guide on legacy contacts helps you decide who that should be.

Instructions your family can follow

Add a short set of steps written for someone who has never used a hardware wallet. Keep it plain and in order. Something like this works:

1. Find the device at the location described.
2. Open the sealed crypto envelope and read the PIN note.
3. Enter the PIN on the device. If it does not open, stop and do not guess.
4. If the device is lost or broken, use the recovery words on a new device of the same brand.
5. Check the wallet's balance on the maker's official app before moving anything.
6. Move the crypto to an account you control, or follow the wishes written in the letter.

Add a line about what you want done with the crypto. Sell it, hold it, split it between named people. Your family will be making decisions under stress, and a sentence from you settles most of it.

Keeping it current

Review the crypto notes once a year, and any time you buy a new device, change the PIN, or move your crypto to a new wallet. Old recovery words for an empty wallet cause confusion. Cross them out and replace them, dated. Keep the newest version sealed and destroy the older one.

If you have other digital accounts to hand over, the checklist covers the rest. And if you are starting from nothing, how it works explains the envelope in a few minutes.

The notes do not have to be perfect. They have to be findable, readable and sealed. Write them today, check the words, and tell one person where the envelope lives.