Cheshire Crypto Legacy Planning Attorney

Cheshire is a beautiful and affluent suburban community in New Haven County, and many residents hold substantial assets. Cryptocurrency has grown increasingly popular over the past several years, and many Americans own some form of crypto. If you do, it’s important to consider how you can pass a cryptocurrency portfolio to your family in your estate plan. A Cheshire crypto legacy planning lawyer can help you with this.
Experienced Legal Counsel for Crypto Legacy Planning in Cheshire, CT
The team at Burns Thomas, LLC helps clients make difficult estate planning decisions in Cheshire and the surrounding New Haven County communities. We understand that estate planning can be challenging for some people, but these are crucial considerations everyone should make for the benefit of their family. We develop an individualized estate plan for every client to help them feel more confident about the future.
Cryptocurrency market revenue has grown tremendously in recent years, and with great volatility. It’s expected to approach $98 billion in 2026, and the total number of global users is steadily approaching one billion. CNBC reports that about 14% to 17% of US adults have owned cryptocurrency, but many are leaving money on the table by failing to account for cryptocurrency in estate plans.
Only about 24% of Americans have estate plans as of 2024, and modern investments like cryptocurrency are incredibly complex. Some people draft estate plans but do not regularly update them as their circumstances change. When you hire a crypto legacy planning lawyer, they can help you make informed decisions when it comes to drafting a new estate plan or updating an existing one to account for your cryptocurrency holdings.
How Your Cheshire Crypto Legacy Planning Lawyer Can Help
A skilled estate planning attorney is a tremendous asset for anyone who owns complex assets. You have multiple options for configuring your estate plan, and taking time to work with an experienced Cheshire crypto legacy planning attorney can pay off tremendously for your family after your death.
When a person dies without an estate plan, their estate becomes intestate, and the estate’s contents are divided during probate. Outstanding debts are paid to creditors while the remainder of the estate’s contents are distributed to the decedent’s family according to Connecticut’s intestate succession laws. However, due to the complex nature of cryptocurrency accounts, it can be very difficult to assess and distribute these assets without a solid legacy plan in place.
One option for handling estate planning is creating a living trust. When you place assets into a trust, they become the property of the trust and are under the control of the trustee you designate. After your death, the trustee can then distribute the contents of the trust to your beneficiaries according to your will. You can also configure other aspects of your estate plan with an attorney’s help, such as a Medical Care Directive to explain the end-of-life treatment you want to receive.
Ultimately, cryptocurrency is just one of several complex issues you may need to address with your estate plan. You also need to regularly update the estate plan as your circumstances change to ensure your family can avoid probate or at least minimize the time they spend in probate proceedings after your death. Reach out to Burns Thomas, LLC to learn how we can assist you with your crypto legacy planning in Cheshire.
Whether the best option for you is a comprehensive will, the establishment of trusts or other estate planning solutions, we will find a solution that fits your needs.
FAQs
Yes, crypto goes through probate just like real estate or other property. If you intend to leave your crypto to specific beneficiaries, it’s vital to create an estate plan that clearly defines how you want these assets to be distributed. You must also provide clear instructions for how they can access your crypto. If you neglect to leave them private keys and other necessary access to your wallets, it could render your crypto entirely inaccessible to anyone.
Yes, crypto can be subject to estate taxes just like other types of property. Your Cheshire crypto legacy planning lawyer can explain how estate taxes apply to your crypto and the other contents of your estate, and they can also provide guidance for minimizing estate taxes if possible. For example, creating a living trust is one of the most common ways estate planning can help minimize taxes in estate administration.
In estate planning, the “5 by 5” rule exists to limit how much a trust beneficiary can withdraw from a trust each year, typically intended to ensure they do not deplete the trust right away. Under this rule, a beneficiary of the trust can withdraw the greater of 5% of the trust’s total fair market value or $5,000 each year. The trust creator has many options for customizing how trust beneficiaries can access the trust’s contents.
You should hire a crypto legacy planning lawyer because cryptocurrency could be one of the most complex aspects of your estate, and you need an attorney who has proven experience developing comprehensive and legally enforceable estate plans to help you with this. A skilled attorney can explain all of your options for your crypto legacy and assist you with developing your estate plan.
The cost to hire a crypto legacy planning lawyer or any other estate planning lawyer will usually depend on how much time the lawyer spends handling your case. Most estate planning attorneys in Connecticut charge by the hour and track the time they spend working on these cases. Make sure you understand a prospective attorney’s billing policy at the outset of your case.
The team at Burns Thomas, LLC develops individualized estate plans for our clients in Cheshire and surrounding New Haven County communities, and we have successfully helped many clients who have complex estates. We can answer your questions about your crypto legacy plan so you can have peace of mind. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with an experienced Cheshire crypto legacy planning lawyer you can trust.
Contact our firm today to learn more about how our
New Haven County estate planning lawyers can help you.