The Growing Problem of Digital Estates
Digital assets have become a significant part of personal wealth: cryptocurrency holdings, digital brokerage accounts, domain names, intellectual property in digital form, and valuable online business assets. Yet most Israelis have no plan for passing these assets to heirs — and the law has not fully caught up with the technology.
What Can Be Included in a Will
Israeli law allows a testator to bequeath any asset they own, including digital assets. However, a will must be practicable — meaning heirs must be able to access what they receive. For digital assets this requires: (1) a complete inventory of accounts and holdings, (2) access credentials (passwords, seed phrases for crypto), and (3) instructions on how to transfer or liquidate each asset.
Practical Planning Steps
- Create a sealed inventory of all digital assets and access credentials, stored separately from the will itself (for security).
- Instruct your executor or a trusted person on where to find the inventory.
- For cryptocurrency, ensure seed phrases or hardware wallet access is available — without these, crypto assets are permanently lost.
- Review the terms of service of major platforms — some accounts are non-transferable under their terms.
Can I leave cryptocurrency to my heirs in an Israeli will?
Yes — cryptocurrency and other digital assets can be bequeathed in an Israeli will like any other asset. The critical challenge is ensuring your heirs can actually access the assets after your death. Seed phrases, hardware wallet pins, and exchange account credentials must be securely stored and made available to the executor. Without access keys, cryptocurrency is effectively lost forever — the will cannot unlock a blockchain wallet.
