As an estate planning attorney, I’m not at all surprised by the angst-filled story of Stefan Thomas.
In case you haven’t encountered it, here is a summary: Recently, after his 7,000 bitcoins had grown to more than $220 million in value, Stefan wanted to access the digital wallet where they were stored. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find the password to unlock them and the paper where he’d written it down was gone.
My clients frequently regale me with stories that to them, are nearly as frustrating as this one. There are tales of misplaced safety deposit box keys, life insurance policy information, healthcare proxy forms and yes — passwords.