What Happens to My Steem if I Die?

If you were to die, do you have a plan in place to make sure your Steem goes where you want?

In an earlier post I touched on the frugal nature of my grandparents, shaped by their experience during the Great Depression. Another trait of their generation was a deep distrust of financial institutions like banks. They often hid their valuables, tucking a little cash between the pages of books, burying a can of silver and gold coins in the backyard. I often wonder how much value is lost at death because we simply don’t know that an asset existed or how to find it again.

While I’m new to Steemit and my estimated account value is $7.53, I am starting to wonder how to make sure Steem gets passed to loved-ones at death. I’m going to keep learning and researching this issue, but here are a few thoughts so far:

1. What is the difference between a lawyer and a catfish? One is a scum-sucking bottom feeder and the other is a catfish. Nobody likes lawyers, but I believe that traditional estate planning tools drafted by lawyers, such as Wills and Trusts, have an important role to play in dealing with our digital assets. Our Steemit accounts do not have a direct beneficiary that automatically takes ownership of the account at death, so we need a legal document, like a Will or Trust, to describe our wishes regarding who should benefit from all the Steem accumulated from our excellent posts and curation. A traditional Will or Trust can provide those instructions and name a Personal Representative or Trustee to oversee carrying out our instructions.

2. X Marks the Spot. With a unique asset such a Steem, just having a Will or Trust is not enough. Like a chest of gold coins buried in the backyard, our Steem is of no value unless we leave a map to retrieve it. Make sure you have a method to transition information such as your username, password, and keys to your Personal Representative or Trustee so that they can access your account.

3. Cryptowhat? Most of the general public has never heard of a cryptocurrency. You need to document your account and provide clear instructions to your Personal Representative because they have probably never dealt with an asset like Steem before. Leave them links to the many excellent guides here on Steemit so that they can get up to speed quickly.

I hope you found this helpful. I will keep researching this topic and passing along what I learn. Please know that this post is for general purposes only and that you should contact your attorney for specific legal advice.