Who can help with inherited crypto?

Most steps in a crypto estate can be completed with the guidance on this site alone. Some steps, however, are genuinely better handled with a professional, and that is normal. This page is the map: who can help, in what order, and what to prepare before you make contact. If you are still at the very beginning, start with first steps after a death and complete that sequence before calling anyone.

Who can help, in order

1. The platform itself, for exchange-held crypto. If the crypto was on an exchange, the official procedure is direct: documents in, account transferred. See exchange accounts after a death. No intermediary is needed for this step.
2. A notary or lawyer, for legal authority. The certificate of inheritance, probate or equivalent that confirms who may act is prepared by a local notary or estate lawyer. This is the step where professional help is usually expected.
3. A tax adviser, for reporting. Valuation, reporting and tax rules differ by country. An adviser who knows local inheritance and tax law turns the estate’s figures into a filed obligation. See valuation and tax of inherited crypto.
4. A specialist, for a technical step that is blocked. When access to self-custodied crypto is genuinely blocked and the estate has followed the correct order, a wallet-access specialist may be the right next step. The same standards apply as for any professional: legal authority first, scope and costs in writing, and secrets never shared. See wallet recovery: what is realistically possible.

The help you need may come from any of these, a notary, a tax adviser, a specialist, or simply a colleague or professional who understands crypto estates. What matters is the right professional for the step, at the right moment.

When to involve a professional

Involve a professional when a step is outside what documents and official procedures can do: legal authority, local reporting, or technical access. Before that, preserve everything and keep the order: first steps after a death, then the estate inventory. Contacting anyone before the estate is preserved and identified usually makes the process slower and more expensive.

What to prepare before you make contact

Prepare:

• The estate documents you already have: death certificate, will or certificate of inheritance, letters of administration if issued.
• A secret-free summary of what you found: which exchange, which device, which wallet type, never the secrets themselves.
• A note of what has already been done, in order.
• One question per professional: what exactly do they need from you, and what will they deliver?

Keep private: recovery words, private keys, wallet files, passwords, PINs, authentication codes, and screenshots of any of these. A professional engagement never requires them.

What to expect from a professional

A professional engagement is transparent from the start:

• Legal authority is confirmed first. Professional work begins with the documents that establish who may act, not with your secrets.
• Scope and costs are agreed in writing. You know what will be done, what it costs, and what is not included.
• Secrets are never requested. No legitimate professional needs your recovery words, keys or passwords.
• Results are not promised before the situation is examined. Serious professionals describe honestly what they can and cannot do.

Engagement standards for specialists are covered in wallet recovery: what is realistically possible, and the professional side of crypto estates in the professional’s guide.

What this website can and cannot do

This website is an independent educational resource: it explains the process, sources every claim, and never acts on your behalf. Questions about the material itself are welcome via contact. For questions about your estate, the professionals above are chosen, verified and instructed by you.

If you would like a referral or a list of verified professionals (notaries, tax advisers or specialists) contact us and we will point you in the right direction.