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How to Become a Trivia Host

Trivia nights are becoming must-have entertainment at bars across the country, where a good host can make $50 to $250 a night depending on if they work for a company or themselves. The friendly competition is also a regular feature at many restaurants, craft brweries, private parties and churches. Google “trivia nights Atlanta” and more […]

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

How Not Using Your Credit Card Could Still Hurt You

If you aren’t using your credit card, the whole out-of-sight-out-of-mind thing could keep you from spending money but still wind up landing you in financial trouble — think lower credit score due to inactivity and potential fraud. To protect yourself, watch out for these potential consequences of an unused credit card. 3 Ways an Unused […]

This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.

Capital On Tap Business Credit Card $750 Sign Up Bonus + 1.5% Cashback On All Purchases

Update 5/21/22: Bonus has been increased to $750, only available via TPG link. Spend is also $7,500 in three months instead of $15,000. Cash back has been reduced to 1.5%. Original 11/19/21: Capital On Tap has a business credit card that offers the following: 2% cash back on all purchases Sign up bonus of $199 […]

Got Cryptocurrency or NFTs? They Need to Be in Your Estate Plan

Cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are becoming a bigger part of the investment world as more and more people buy these assets. It is important to take these digital assets into account in your estate plan so they will pass to your loved ones at death, just like more traditional assets.  Crypto and NFTs, however, can present challenges to securing, transferring, protecting and gifting family wealth.  New strategies are evolving to address this growing demand for family planning and tax planning with these types of assets.

  • SEE MORE Now You Can Own Bitcoin in 401(k)s. Should You?

There are currently many different cryptocurrencies and NFTs.  Right now, the top cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, Tether and Solana, and they make up a large part of the trillion-dollar market value.  An NFT is a unique, collectible, tradable digital asset on the blockchain, sort of like digital art, a photo or a video game avatar, that can only be purchased on an NFT marketplace through a bidding process.  For example, you can purchase virtual land and real estate in the form of NFTs.  In November 2021, someone paid $450,000 to be Snoop Dogg’s neighbor in the metaverse.  Sales of NFTs jumped to more than $17 billion in 2021, demonstrating a growing desire for these collectibles. 

Track Your Cryptocurrency and NFTs

Cryptocurrency is accessed through a private key, which is a series of alphanumeric characters known only to the owner and stored in a digital wallet or in cold storage. Whoever has the private key can buy, sell and use the digital currency.  Your family or fiduciary must know that the cryptocurrency exists, where to find the assets, and what to do with them.  One option is to share the seed phrase and private keys with your fiduciary.  Another option for safe tracking is to place your crypto-assets and NFTs in custody, like a software application or hardware wallet.  Companies offering digital-asset custodian services include Coinbase, BlockFi, Casa, Unchained Capital, Anchorage and Genesis.  A third more old-fashioned option is to make a schedule of your digital assets for your fiduciary and list the login protocols for each account on whatever cryptocurrency exchange you use. 

  • SEE MORE 5 Dumb Crypto Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

Similarly, NFTs can only be accessed with a password or personal key.   Like crypto, your passcode or personal key must be shared with your fiduciary in order for it to be passed down.  A digital legacy (an organized, updated list of your digital assets and the relevant related information and passwords a fiduciary will need to access them) can be a good place to keep this information. 

Ultimately, you need to be sure that the details of the ownership of the NFT and cryptocurrency, including the private keys and passwords to access the digital wallets, are accessible to the fiduciary – otherwise, the cryptocurrency and NFTs could be lost forever. 

Cryptocurrency, NFTs and your Estate Plan

It is currently difficult to open cryptocurrency accounts and NFTs in the name of a revocable or irrevocable trust.  However, wallets do exist that allow you to open an account in the name of a trust, or you can try to name a trust as a beneficiary of your account.  This option is only available if the company handling your account allows it.  As of the time of this article, our clients have generally been unsuccessful in naming beneficiaries for crypto accounts.  It is likely that the ability to name a beneficiary will evolve rapidly and could soon be available.

 If there is no trust account and no named beneficiary, then your crypto accounts will pass as part of your probate estate under your will.  You should make sure that your will, trust and durable power of attorney include digital asset powers for the fiduciary handling your estate.  It is also important to know if your state has adopted either the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (UFADAA) or the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA).  Of the 50 states, 46 have adopted one of these two laws.  UFADAA and RUFADAA make it easier for your loved ones to manage your digital assets both during incapacity and after death.

Conclusion

The estate planning and tax issues surrounding NFTs and cryptocurrency are complex and continue to evolve.  In upcoming articles, we will address the tax issues concerning these assets, as well as some planning techniques.  

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