Fulfilling an enheritance with blockchain technology.
Hello Steemians my parents were writing out their will this week and getting all the paperwork together to give to their insurance company and suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks. What If I could use blockchain technology to write out my will?! What if I just put it on the blockchain with a date on it and somehow came up with a fool proof way for my loved ones to receive my private key when I pass? I'm new to the crypto world and don't code if anybody could throw some ideas at me that would be killer. I'm really curious if blockchain technology could be used in this way or this is just a pipe dream. I really just need a way to release something without a third party or a bit of information directed to a certain person. How would one do that? Would they have to know beforehand? I have so many questions on this subject.
Since this is already on a blockchain. Don't bury me in this. ;-)
drop me an upvote while I'm alive also.
There are a couple of different aspects in "writing a will on a blockchain".
Your will: Normally this is some kind of paper you write, stating your will who should inherit what, right?
So this could be a smart-contract on Ethereum or other smart contract able chains.
One issue with smart contracts (at least at the moment) is, you actually cannot change them...as they are on the chain and that means distributed to 1,000s of nodes, a change is not possible.
So - if you make up your mind about a person in your will (or want to add someone) or any other aspect (donating your house, or car or whatever) - you need to have a solution to clearly cancel that first smart contract and add a new one...
So while it is possible, you would have to be careful with it.
Money: If you are "just" referring to whom to pass on your money - yes, then you probably just need to ensure, those you have chosen get your private keys - but how seems really complicated.
In contrast to our banks, no one would e.g. be able to check if your lawyer, whom you handed your keys, will give them to those you specified. He could just use them himself...
And as the private key is nothing you want to place on any network, I (for now) see no solution using a net driven service/solution....as it would be a great risk placing it somewhere on the net.
But I like the idea - not sure, how to do it, but yes - it is an "easy" contract (as it is "just" your will and not a 2nd party involved).
But thinking of it - how would a contract know for sure, you are dead?
There would have to be some chain based institution verifying that, no?
Thanks for the mind-game!
oh wow yeah that is kind of scary I guess it cant tell if you are dead.
Well - its something to solve ;-)
You could use a smart watch (if it looses your heart beat it contacts a person and that person confirms your death to the watch, that then triggers the smart contract)...
Or our governments could issue a key for each citizen and some kind of multi layer witness-confirmation scheme could be implemented that at the end triggers the smart contract.
I mean, its what is being done now, right? So who ever issues the death certificate today could also have a key to contact "last will smart contracts" and inform them about the death...
Just depends on how "Libertarian" and "Tech-loving" you are - but it could be solved ... using a mix of today's solutions and a chain ;-)
That's really interesting to me I have no kids right now but I do have a niece and a brother would be cool to leave them some stuff I find value in. I doubt my parents will outlive me otherwise I would let them receive my stuff.
Great idea. A day or so ago- Jeff Berwick- Anarchast- posted an interview with some Tech School run by Expats in Brazil- one of the things mentioned- was that 90% of Lawyers would disappear - replaced by a combination of Blockchain Tech & software.