How to make NFTs inheritable?

NFTs are the latest big development in crypto land. Being able to make NFTs inheritable is essential to protect your legacy.

NFT means “non-fungible token” and it is a proof of ownership of an underlying digital asset.

This digital asset can be anything, from graphic art to an audio clip, to video.

However, most commonly, NFTs are graphic artworks.

The token which represents ownership of an asset lives on the blockchain. While the actual data of the underlying asset actually is on a centralized server.

But even when the data is on a centralized server, this does not discourage people from using, acquiring, creating and trading NFTs.

In fact, NFTs are currently the fastest growing asset in crypto, good for yearly trading volumes of hundreds of billions.

Can you make NFTs inheritable?

With such a valuable asset, it is essential to make NFTs inheritable.

Many people do not know how to do this, as it is an entirely new class of asset.

But yes: you can make NFTs inheritable and there are a few different ways to do it.

The most common way is to have the NFT owner designate a beneficiary in their will.

Another way is to create a trust fund where you hold the NFTs in trust for the beneficiaries.

There is a third way, which is truly decentralized… but, more on that later.

Leaving NFTs in a will

The first method has the advantage of simplicity.

Leaving your NFTs in a will can be done by legal experts worldwide and usually only costs several hundred dollars. Same goes for leaving Bitcoin in a will.

Many legal representatives offer combined services of creating a will and safekeeping customers’ sensitive data that is to be released when the customer passes away.

No special expertise or knowledge is required on the customer’s part to have a will created for them.

However, it does have some disadvantages.

First, the will must be executed after the death of the NFT owner and this requires the action of the legal representative. They must receive legal, written proof that the deceased has indeed passed away.

Second, if the will is contested, it can be very expensive and time-consuming to resolve the dispute.

In some cases, it may even be necessary for the beneficiaries to go to court. This can lead to all kinds of delays in carrying out a will.

Third, if the owner of the will is still using their wallet which holds their NFTs, then the legal representative bears no responsibility over any financial damages suffered by the beneficiaries in case of theft, damage, or loss.

Holding the NFTs in a trust fund

The second method – creating a trust fund – has the advantage of bearing legal responsibility of the third party who handles the trust (the trustee).

The NFTs are held in trust by the trustee, which means that they should only be transferred to the beneficiaries upon the death of the NFT owner.

This protects the NFTs from being sold or stolen before the owner’s death, and the trustee can be held accountable for financial damages in case of theft, damage, or loss.

However, this method also has major disadvantages:

• It can be expensive to set up a trust fund
• The NFT owner must have complete trust in the third party holding their NFTs in trust for them. If this third party is not trustworthy, they could sell or otherwise dispose of the NFTs
• The owner who owns the NFTs can not freely use them anymore when he sends them to the trustee. The wallet containing the non fungible tokens must be solely in control of the trustee – otherwise there would be no legal responsibility

Lacking the ability to use and enjoy these NFTs anymore, makes a trust fund a less than optimal way to make NFTs inheritable.

A decentralized way to inherit NFTs

It could make one wonder if there is a better solution. Could there be a cheaper, decentralized, and safe way to make NFTs inheritable, that allows the owner to keep using their NFTs and assets as they see fit?

Yes, there is.

The best way to make NFTs inheritable is with Safe Haven’s Inheriti®.

Make NFTs inheritable with Inheriti®

This decentralized inheritance solution allows NFT owners to keep using their NFTs in their decentralized wallets, and safely store and encrypt the access data to their wallets which hold their NFTs.

This plan requires some steps to ensure optimal safety and decentralization. The NFT owner must:

• specify the person responsible for triggering the plan and organizing the beneficiaries (the “Merge Authority”)
• specify beneficiaries and heirs for their digital assets
• buy a SafeKey for each beneficiary and the Merge Authority (the SafeKey is Safe Haven’s signature 2-Factor Authentication device capable of holding encrypted data)
• prepare the other steps listed on the Inheriti website
• and finally, initiate the plan

Inheriti® encrypts the data and splits it into shares. Each beneficiary of the NFT inheritance plan should receive a share of encrypted data stored on a SafeKey device, or in the case of Inheriti Mobile, the shares are stored on each beneficiary’s mobile device.

Truly decentralized

The NFT owner who initiated the plan can keep using his/her NFTs as they see fit, buy NFTs and store them on the decentralized wallet, mint new NFTs or trade them – whatever they want.

After all, they are still in control of their wallet.

In this scenario, the part of their wallet that is inheritable, is actually the private key or seed phrase which gives access to the wallet.

If the owner of the plan passes away, the Merge Authority will be in charge of organizing the beneficiaries. All beneficiaries will need to come together to enter their SafeKeys into the Merge Authority’s PC, who then starts an activation method called the “Dead Man Switch”.

In the case of Inheriti’s mobile edition, the beneficiaries can also release their shares remotely – no need to come together.

Protect your NFTs

The Dead Man Switch will send emails, text messages, or push notifications to the owner of the plan for a certain period of time.

If the owner of the plan does not respond to these, it will be assumed that he/she has passed away, and the Dead Man Switch will be validated. The encrypted share that are stored on the blockchain will be released and become available for decryption by the Merge Authority and beneficiaries.

The final step in making NFTs inheritable is that all beneficiaries will need to come together one last time to enter their SafeKeys into the Merge Authority’s PC, or if they are using Inheriti® Mobile, they can release their shares remotely too.

The shares will be decrypted and the private access data that is made inheritable by the owner of the plan will be shown to the spectating parties (the Merge Authority and the beneficiaries).

A legacy of NFTs

The beneficiaries can then access the decentralized wallet or exchange account where they can manage the NFTs.

This way, you can make NFTs inheritable in a fully and truly decentralized manner!

The owner can keep using their wallet while they are alive and can rely on the safety of Safe Haven’s decentralized inheritance solution, Inheriti®.

This way, you can make sure your beautiful NFT art will go to the people you love the most. You can leave them a legacy of beautiful art after you pass away.

Your loved ones are worth it.

Secure your NFTs for life

Inheriti® securely stores your NFTs during your life and even after you pass away.

You can set up a plan to store your private data and appoint your beneficiaries at any time. You will always remain in full control of your assets.

The Inheriti® solution is the perfect way to ensure that your loved ones get access to your NFTs once you pass away. All according to your wishes.

The inheritance problem in crypto has never been easier to solve! Set up your NFT inheritance plan today.

Click here to learn more about our patented solution: Inheriti® »