In short
A letter of instruction is a plain letter to your executor and heirs that explains what you own, where it is and how to get to it. It isn’t a legal document, so it can be as practical as you like. It should point to your secrets, not contain them.
What it is, and what it isn’t
A letter of instruction sits next to your will. The will decides who inherits. The letter explains the practical side: which accounts exist, where the devices are, what to do first and who to call.
It isn’t legally binding. Fidelity puts it plainly: “Although this letter is not legally binding, it can make administering an estate much easier” (source). Which is useful: you can change it whenever you like, without a lawyer, and it doesn’t become public the way a will can.
Who you’re writing for
Picture the person most likely to open it. Probably not someone who reads about crypto for fun. Probably someone tired, sad and dealing with twenty other things. Write for them:
- Short sentences. One step per line.
- No jargon without a one-line explanation. “The seed phrase (24 words on the steel plate in the safe)” beats “the seed”.
- Say what not to do. That’s often more useful than what to do.
- Name a person who can help, ideally someone who understands crypto and whom you trust. Say whether they know about the plan.
What goes in it
- A date, and a line saying this letter replaces any earlier one.
- A summary: roughly what you hold, and where. Refer to your inventory for details.
- The order of work: what to do first (secure the devices and papers, tell nobody online), what can wait.
- Per account or wallet: what it is, which company or software, where the device is kept, where its secrets are kept, and the steps to recover it.
- Where the secrets are: the safe, the envelope with the lawyer, the metal plate in the loft. Describe the place, not the words.
- Warnings: nobody legitimate will ever ask for the seed words. Don’t type them into websites. Ignore anyone offering to “recover” crypto for a fee.
- Who can help: a named person, and when to involve them.
- Your signature. Not for legal reasons, but so your heirs know it’s really from you and which version is the latest.
What stays out
- The seed words, PINs and passphrases themselves, unless the letter is stored somewhere just as secure as those secrets (a safe that only opens for your executor, for example). The letter is meant to be found. Your secrets aren’t.
- Instructions that depend on one website or app without an alternative. Companies change names and close.
- Anything you’d want to change often. Balances move. Refer to the inventory, and date it.
Where to keep it
Somewhere your executor will look, and that you’ve told them about. Common choices:
- With your will, at your lawyer or notary.
- In a sealed envelope at home, in a place your executor knows.
- With the person you’ve named as helper.
Keep a second copy separate from the first. A house fire shouldn’t take out both the letter and the only copy of the secrets.
Test it on someone
Give the letter (without secrets) to someone roughly as technical as your heirs and ask them to talk you through what they’d do. Where they hesitate, the letter is unclear. Ten minutes of this is worth more than any amount of polishing.
Get the template
The free letter of instruction template gives you a structure to fill in by hand, together with an inventory and a recovery sheet per wallet. Next: what to put in your will.