Your Tangem wallet holds crypto that matters. Your family doesn’t know where your seed phrase (or backup cards) live. If something happens to you tomorrow, your Bitcoin is legally yours but practically unreachable locked behind information no one else has.
Crypto Estate Plan NZ
Most crypto estate planning content walks you through NZ succession law and estate structures. Valuable, but not what you need at 11pm on a Tuesday when you’re trying to actually solve this problem. This guide covers crypto estate planning in New Zealand how to pass down Bitcoin legally as a practical action checklist. What to do today, this week, this month, and every year to make sure your family can actually access your crypto if you’re not around.
Note: this is educational content, not legal advice. An NZ estate lawyer with crypto experience needs to draft your actual will. This article covers the practical work you do before and after that conversation.
The 30-second answer three actions that solve most of the problem
If you take only three actions from this guide, take these:
- Document your crypto holdings somewhere your family can find (not just in your head)
- Choose your seed phrase or card custody method and set it up before you need it
- Update your will to reference crypto assets specifically through an NZ estate lawyer
Missing any of the three, and your crypto is at real risk of being permanently inaccessible after your death.
The action checklist organised by urgency
The full crypto estate plan for NZ Tangem users breaks into four time horizons. Work through them in order:
| Time Horizon | Actions | Time Required |
|---|---|---|
| Today (30 min) | Inventory holdings, choose custody method | 30 minutes |
| This week (2 hrs) | Set up custody, prepare instructions | 2 hours |
| This month (varies) | Meet with NZ estate lawyer, update will | 1-2 lawyer meetings |
| Every year (30 min) | Review inventory, verify custody, update instructions | 30 minutes annually |
Complete all four horizons, and you have a working crypto estate plan. Skip any, and you have a partial plan with real gaps.
Today (30 minutes) inventory and choose your custody method
Sit down for 30 minutes and complete two tasks: document what crypto you actually own, and choose how you’ll handle seed phrase or card custody. These two decisions unlock everything else. Don’t skip to the fancier work without doing this foundation.
Task 1: Write down every crypto holding you have
Grab paper and pen (not a computer file you’ll see why below). Write down:
- Every wallet you use: Tangem cards, hardware wallets, software wallets, exchange accounts
- Every asset in each: Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins, altcoins, NFTs
- Approximate value in NZD: updated at time of writing (not historical purchase price)
- How each is secured: Tangem card PIN, seed phrase location, exchange 2FA method
Most crypto owners genuinely can’t complete this from memory. Doing it forces you to realise how much your family wou;ld struggle to reconstruct.
Task 2: Choose your custody method
Four options, each with real trade-offs:
- Full disclosure to spouse: tell them everything now. Simplest; risks family dynamics changes
- Sealed instructions in home safe: write down PINs/seed/locations, seal in envelope. Middle ground
- Bank safe deposit box + will reference: most secure, slowest to access after death (weeks of probate)
- Professional estate service: third party holds under release conditions. Highest cost, most reliable
Pick one and commit. Deferred decisions become permanent inaction.
This week (2 hours) set up custody and prepare instructions
You’ve done the inventory and picked a custody method. Now execute. This week’s work turns your decisions into physical reality the seed phrase or card is actually where you said it would be, and the instructions are actually written down.
Set up your chosen custody method
Depending on what you chose today:
- Full disclosure: sit down with your spouse or executor, walk them through your Tangem cards, PINs, and how to import each card into their own device. Test the process with a small amount of crypto so they’ve actually done it once
- Sealed instructions: write out PINs, card locations, and step-by-step access instructions. Seal in envelope. Store in home safe or fireproof box. Tell your spouse or executor where the envelope is and when to open it
- Bank safe deposit: rent a box, deposit sealed instructions and any spare Tangem cards. Confirm your executor has legal authority to access it after death (usually requires being named on the box or in your will)
- Professional service: research and sign up with an NZ-compatible crypto estate service. Complete their onboarding paperwork. Test their retrieval process
Write technical instructions your executor can actually follow
Most crypto estate plans fail on this step. Your executor may have legal authority to distribute your crypto but no technical knowledge to actually move it. Write instructions detailed enough that a non-crypto person can follow them exactly:
- Where each card or wallet is physically located
- What PIN or password unlocks each
- Step-by-step: how to import a Tangem card into a phone app
- Which BLUETTI ecosystem knowledge doesn’t apply here this is your inheritance instruction, not your daily crypto workflow
- Contact information for a technical family member or specialist who can help if the executor gets stuck
- A test transaction describe how to send a tiny amount ($5 worth) to verify everything works before larger transfers
Include screenshots if you’re able. Test the instructions with someone non-technical if they can follow them without you present, they’ll work.
This month (varies) meet with an NZ estate lawyer
Book a consultation with an NZ estate lawyer with crypto experience not just any general estate lawyer. Your crypto holdings need to be explicitly referenced in your will, with clear beneficiary designations and specific direction to your executor about how to access them. Standard wills don’t handle crypto correctly.
What to bring to the lawyer meeting
Take the following documents with you:
- The inventory you wrote in Week 1: helps the lawyer understand scope
- Your custody method decision: confirms how assets will be accessed
- Beneficiary intentions: who gets what, in what proportions
- Existing will (if you have one): for amendment or full rewrite
- Questions about NZ succession law: testamentary trusts, Family Protection Act implications, minor beneficiaries
Budget for two meetings and $800-$2,500 NZD depending on complexity.
What the lawyer should produce
- Updated will with specific crypto asset references (not just “digital assets” actual named holdings)
- Executor guidance in writing about crypto-specific responsibilities
- Testamentary trust structure if beneficiaries include minors or complex situations
- Storage of will somewhere your family can locate after death (typically the law firm)
If your lawyer isn’t familiar with crypto and struggles with basic terminology, find a different lawyer. Crypto-specific competence matters here.
Finding an NZ estate lawyer with crypto experience
NZ has a small but growing number of estate lawyers who genuinely understand crypto. The Tangem NZ community can point toward specialists familiar with self-custody hardware wallets. Alternatively, search “crypto estate lawyer NZ” and prioritise firms that have written publicly about crypto succession they’ll be current on the practical issues.
Every year (30 minutes) annual review and update
A crypto estate plan set up once and forgotten is a plan that will fail. Book a 30-minute annual review same date each year and update every element. Life changes; crypto holdings change; the plan needs to change with them.
Annual review checklist
- Update the inventory: new wallets, sold-off holdings, changed valuations
- Verify custody is still intact: check sealed envelope hasn’t degraded, bank box is still active, professional service is still operating
- Test instructions still work: try following your own instructions from scratch; identify gaps
- Update beneficiary designations if life circumstances changed (marriage, divorce, new children)
- Confirm your lawyer is still practicing: small law firms close; verify your will is still accessible
- Update pricing figures in your inventory: helps executor understand approximate value
Set a recurring calendar reminder. Missing a year isn’t fatal but three or four years of unmaintained plan starts to accumulate real gaps.
The three most common ways NZ crypto estates fail
Even with the best intentions, crypto inheritance plans fail in predictable patterns. Understanding them helps you avoid them:
Failure 1: Complete secrecy
You never told anyone about the crypto. Your family finds bank transfers to exchanges in your records but has no idea what wallet the crypto ended up in. Recovery is essentially impossible.
Prevention: your inventory (from Week 1) exists somewhere your family can find after your death even if they can’t access the actual crypto yet, they know what to look for and who to consult.
Failure 2: Perfect security, zero recoverability
You’ve set up a 3-of-5 Shamir Secret Sharing across trusted people, in bank vaults on different continents, with layers of encryption. It’s genuinely unhackable. It’s also unrecoverable after your death because you never told anyone the exact retrieval procedure.
Prevention: your custody method (from Today’s step) is documented and tested. Security serves recoverability, not the other way around.
Failure 3: Legal authority without technical capability
Your will properly names your executor. Your executor has full legal authority to distribute your crypto. Your executor also has no idea how to import a Tangem card into a mobile app. Legally correct, practically stuck.
Prevention: your technical instructions (from This Week’s step) are detailed enough that a non-crypto person can follow them without you.
What Tangem specifically gives you for inheritance planning
Tangem’s card-based wallets simplify crypto inheritance compared to traditional seed-phrase wallets. Your Tangem card IS the wallet no 24-word phrase to memorise, transcribe, or lose. Inheritance becomes a physical asset transfer problem, which is genuinely easier for non-technical family members to handle.
The 3-card Tangem set is specifically designed for this scenario:
- Card 1 — your daily-use card
- Card 2 — spare card, stored securely (home safe or bank deposit box)
- Card 3 — designated inheritance card, sealed and stored with clear instructions for your beneficiary
After your death, your beneficiary receives Card 3, knows the PIN from your sealed instructions, and has full access. No seed phrase transcription errors. No partial recovery scenarios. No “what if we lose one word” concerns.
For NZ crypto owners planning inheritance seriously, the 3-card Tangem set is genuinely the right hardware choice the inheritance strategy is baked into the product design.
FAQs
How much does a proper crypto estate plan cost in NZ?
Legal fees typically $800-$2,500 NZD for a will update or new will covering crypto. Add costs for professional custody services (varies) or bank safe deposit box (~$150-$300 NZD/year). Self-managed custody (home safe, sealed envelope) costs essentially nothing beyond the safe itself.
Can I just tell my spouse my seed phrase and be done with it?
For simple situations with strong family trust, yes — full disclosure is legitimately the simplest solution. For complex situations (blended families, adult children, business partners, high net worth), sealed instructions accessible only after death is safer. Match the solution to your situation.
What if I don’t have anyone I trust with my crypto information?
Professional crypto estate services exist specifically for this scenario. Higher cost, but they provide the trusted-third-party function your family situation doesn’t. Alternatively, a sealed envelope with your lawyer accomplishes similar function at lower cost.
Do I need a special “crypto will” or can I just add crypto to my regular will?
A regular will properly amended to reference your crypto assets specifically works fine. You don’t need a separate “crypto will.” What you need is a will drafted by a lawyer who understands crypto well enough to reference it correctly not just “my digital assets” but actual named holdings and specific access instructions.
What happens to my crypto if I die tomorrow without doing any of this?
Legally, your crypto passes under NZ intestacy rules to your spouse and children in defined proportions. Practically, your crypto is inaccessible because no one has your seed phrase, card PINs, or custody information. The legal ownership exists on paper; the actual wealth is functionally destroyed. This is why the practical steps matter more than most people realise.
Should I include my crypto valuations in my will?
No. Reference crypto holdings by wallet type and general asset category (“Bitcoin held in Tangem hardware wallet”) but not by specific values values change constantly and dating your will’s asset values creates confusion. Keep valuations in your separate inventory document, updated annually.
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Can I put crypto into a family trust for my children?
Yes, through a testamentary trust created by your will. Requires specialist NZ legal advice. Works well for large holdings intended for gradual distribution or for beneficiaries who are minors. Not necessary for typical family inheritance situations.
