1. Inherit vs. gift now — step-up basis
Inheriting steps the heir's cost basis up to fair market value at death (US rule) — gifting now hands them your original, lower basis instead.
2. Cost of probate delay
While an estate is in probate, crypto that only the deceased could access is effectively frozen — this prices that opportunity cost.
3. Inheritance-service cost comparison
Real 2026 pricing, checked before publishing — not guessed. All figures USD, per year unless marked one-time.
| Option | Cost | Avoids probate? | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Standard (3-key multisig + inheritance) | $250/yr | Yes — 6-month verified handoff to a named recipient | Recurring fee; recipient still needs to know the process |
| Casa Premium (5-key vault, concierge) | $2,100/yr | Yes — same protocol, faster options at higher tiers | High recurring cost unless holdings are large |
| Unchained vault (multisig + inheritance protocol) | $250/yr | Yes — inheritance protocol bundled into the vault fee | KYC required; recurring fee |
| Trust & Will revocable living trust | ~$499–599 one-time + $49/yr membership | Yes — for anything correctly titled into the trust | Legal document only — you must still self-custody and title the crypto correctly |
| DIY multisig (e.g. Sparrow/Electrum + your own hardware wallets) | ~$0 software + ~$100–450 one-time hardware | Only if paired with a will/trust naming a beneficiary | Highest technical/operational risk — heirs may not be able to reconstruct the quorum |
| Custodial exchange beneficiary (e.g. Coinbase, Kraken) | Free | No — most still require death certificate + letters testamentary/probate docs | Counterparty/centralization risk; "free" is not "fast" |
Pricing checked August 2026 from each provider's own pricing pages; providers change plans and prices without notice — verify current terms directly before relying on any figure here.
The three separate questions this tool answers
"Crypto inheritance" is really three unrelated problems people lump together. First, a tax question: does the heir owe less tax if they inherit the coins versus if you gift them today? Second, an access question: once you're gone, can anyone actually get to the coins, and how long does that take? Third, a cost question: is it worth paying an ongoing fee for a service that answers the access question for you, versus doing it yourself or leaving it to a probate court by default? This calculator prices all three separately because the right answer to each one is independent of the other two — a family with a small position and a lot of technical skill has a very different optimum than a family with a large position and none.
On the tax side, the step-up-in-basis rule (US) is the single biggest lever most people never think about. An heir who inherits crypto that has appreciated massively over the deceased's lifetime can often sell it with little or no capital gains tax, because their cost basis resets to the value on the date of death. Gift the same coins while you're alive instead, and the recipient is stuck with your original basis — every dollar of appreciation that happened before the gift becomes their taxable gain whenever they sell. The bigger the unrealized gain and the higher the capital gains rate, the more this matters, which is exactly why it is the standout narrative for the 2011–2014 buyer cohort now moving into their sixties and seventies with coins bought for cents on the dollar.
On the access side, probate is not free even when it is free. A custodial exchange account with no beneficiary designation, or a self-custodied wallet with no inheritance plan, both typically require the estate to go through probate before an heir can touch the funds — a process that in the US commonly runs anywhere from a few months to well over a year depending on the state and whether the will is contested. During that window the crypto is fully alive on-chain and fully frozen in practice. The probate-delay calculator above prices that as an opportunity cost, not a fee, because it is money the estate would otherwise have earned or avoided losing to volatility while waiting for a court.
On the cost side, a dedicated inheritance service is not automatically worth it. For a five-figure position, $250 a year for a multisig vault with a built-in inheritance protocol can easily cost more over a decade than the position is worth protecting relative to a well-drafted trust naming a beneficiary. For a seven-figure position, the same $250 a year is a rounding error against the downside of heirs who can't reconstruct a DIY multisig quorum, or an exchange account that gets frozen mid-probate. There is no single right answer — only a comparison worth running with your own numbers, which is what the table above is for.
Read this before you rely on any number above
This tool is educational and illustrative, not legal or tax advice. Step-up-basis rules apply in the US and do not exist in the same form — or at all — in many other countries; probate timelines vary enormously by state and by country; and inheritance-service pricing changes without notice. It cannot know your full estate, your jurisdiction, or your family's circumstances. Talk to a qualified estate attorney and tax professional before making any decision based on these figures.