How to name beneficiaries and fund a trust at Unchained
Beneficiaries are managed online. Trust paperwork is taken online
There are two ways to keep your Unchained accounts out of probate: adding beneficiary designations and retitling eligible accounts into a revocable living trust. Which approach works best depends on the account type and your overall estate plan.
Unchained has 5 accounts with different estate transfer rules. Here is how beneficiary designations, trust ownership, and probate apply to each one.
Beneficiary form at Unchained
TOD Agreement (for crypto accounts) and Certificate of Ownership (for crypto accounts).
- Open the personal vault, scroll to the Vault tools section, and click Add next to Vault beneficiaries
- Enter the primary beneficiary and, optionally, a contingent beneficiary, then press Submit and sign
- Electronically sign the Certificate of Ownership by typing your legal name at the bottom of the document, then click Sign document
- A copy of the beneficiary certificate can be downloaded from the Vault tools section
- Open the IRA account and select IRA beneficiaries in the top navigation bar
- In the General Beneficiary Information section, edit your marital status and whether the owner is the sole beneficiary, then click Continue
- Enter the primary and any contingent beneficiaries and click Submit beneficiary profile
- Copy the seed phrase for one of a vault's keys onto the Unchained inheritance seed phrase card
- Seal it with Executor/Trustee Letter B in the envelope and tamper-evident bag
- Deliver the bag and Executor/Trustee Letter A to the executor or trustee in person
Required Documents
- Primary beneficiary, and optionally a contingent beneficiary (for a personal vault)
- Beneficiary's full name, phone number and email address (for a personal vault). Unchained says keeping these lets it give access to the right person more quickly
- Marital status, and whether the owner is the sole beneficiary (for an IRA)
- Primary and any contingent beneficiaries (for an IRA)
- A percentage for each beneficiary, totaling 100% (for an IRA, if the owner is unmarried)
- Open the personal vault, scroll to the Vault tools section, and click Add next to Vault beneficiaries
- Enter the primary beneficiary and, optionally, a contingent beneficiary, then press Submit and sign
- Electronically sign the Certificate of Ownership by typing your legal name at the bottom of the document, then click Sign document
- A copy of the beneficiary certificate can be downloaded from the Vault tools section
- Open the IRA account and select IRA beneficiaries in the top navigation bar
- In the General Beneficiary Information section, edit your marital status and whether the owner is the sole beneficiary, then click Continue
- Enter the primary and any contingent beneficiaries and click Submit beneficiary profile
- Copy the seed phrase for one of a vault's keys onto the Unchained inheritance seed phrase card
- Seal it with Executor/Trustee Letter B in the envelope and tamper-evident bag
- Deliver the bag and Executor/Trustee Letter A to the executor or trustee in person
Required Documents
- Primary beneficiary, and optionally a contingent beneficiary (for a personal vault)
- Beneficiary's full name, phone number and email address (for a personal vault). Unchained says keeping these lets it give access to the right person more quickly
- Marital status, and whether the owner is the sole beneficiary (for an IRA)
- Primary and any contingent beneficiaries (for an IRA)
- A percentage for each beneficiary, totaling 100% (for an IRA, if the owner is unmarried)
- Sign up at my.unchained.com and verify the code sent to your email
- For the account intention, select Secure bitcoin in a trust
- Select an onboarding option (Self-Setup, Concierge Onboarding, or Unchained Signature) and whether you need hardware wallets; all Unchained vaults require two hardware wallets
- Add a payment method, check out, and complete the basic profile
- Confirm that you are a trustee of an existing trust; if the grantor is different than the trustee, the trustee applies
- Enter the trust name, trust type (revocable or irrevocable), initial execution date, and mailing address
- Enter each grantor's name, ability to revoke the trust, and EIN
- Add the trustees and their personal information
- Review and certify the Trust Certification document
Required Documents
- Trust name, trust type, initial execution date and mailing address. The trust type is revocable or irrevocable
- Grantor name, ability to revoke the trust, and the trust EIN. If no EIN exists, the SSN or Tax ID number of the grantor or other applicable party
- Full legal name, date of birth, SSN and home address (for each trustee)
- Identification document (for each trustee)
- Trust Certification document. Reviewed and certified during onboarding. The original trust agreement is not uploaded
What Unchained says about beneficiaries and trusts
Each section is Unchained's own statement, with the document it comes from numbered under Sources.
Which accounts take a beneficiary2
- Crypto account
Only U.S.-based accounts can add personal vault beneficiaries. Accounts in U.S. territories are not eligible to designate personal transfer-on-death beneficiaries.1
A beneficiary still needs knowledge of or access to one of the owner's keys to receive the bitcoin.2
- IRA
Every Unchained IRA must name a beneficiary at application.3
Who can be named3
How many beneficiaries, and how shares are split
- Crypto account
Transfer-on-death beneficiaries are set per vault: each personal vault may have one primary beneficiary and one contingent beneficiary.1
What a designation takes to be effective
- Crypto account
Designating a transfer-on-death beneficiary requires completing Unchained's TOD Agreement and electronically signing the Certificate of Ownership.1
Beneficiary forms Unchained issues2
What Unchained's agreement says about beneficiaries3
- A designation and a will
Unchained states that a transfer-on-death beneficiary designation on a personal vault overrides other estate planning tools such as a will.2
- What the owner keeps while living
The beneficiary has no rights to the account during the owner's lifetime.2
- Changing or revoking a designation
Its Terms of Service say transfer-on-death beneficiaries can be added, changed or removed at any time through the site.5
State requirements Unchained statesLouisiana
- Louisiana
Accounts in Louisiana are not eligible to designate personal transfer-on-death beneficiaries.1
Which accounts a trust can hold1
What Unchained says about trust accounts1
- Who signs for the trust
Its Terms of Service let Unchained give administrator privileges over a trust account to any currently acting trustee who provides reasonable documentation of trusteeship.5
The Terms of Service deem "a certification of trust meeting the requirements of Texas Property Code § 114.086(a)" to be "per se reasonable documentation of trusteeship".5
Accounts handled elsewhere2
Sources
Data sourced from Unchained primary sources (23 pages reviewed). How we research.
Download these Unchained instructions
Download instructions for the whole estateA printable PDF with the steps, required documents, and contact details — verified against Unchained primary sources. Bring it to the branch or keep it beside the phone.
Unchained estate support
Client Services
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Mailing address
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Estate requests go through general customer service.
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