Power of Attorney
SECURITYDEFINITION
A legal document authorizing someone to act on your behalf if you become incapacitated. For bitcoin, granting legal authority alone accomplishes nothing — the agent also needs actual technical access to the keys, or the document is powerless.
A durable power of attorney names an "agent" who can manage your affairs — bank accounts, property, bills — if illness or injury leaves you unable to. It's built for a world where every asset has an institution behind it that can verify the document and act on it. Bitcoin has no such institution. A court order or notarized POA form means nothing to the blockchain; the only thing that ever matters is who can produce a valid private key.
That gap makes bitcoin the one major asset class where a standard POA can fail completely. If your named agent has the legal right to act but no seed phrase, no hardware wallet, and no idea which exchange holds funds, the document is decorative. Bitcoin-aware estate planning treats the POA as half of a two-part system: the legal authority, plus a separate, secured technical path — a multisig key held in escrow, clear written instructions, or a relationship with a collaborative custody service — that actually lets the agent execute what the document permits.
The distinction that matters most: a power of attorney is for incapacity, while an inheritance plan is for death — the authority under a POA ends the moment you die, and an estate or will takes over. Serious bitcoin planning covers both moments separately, because the handoff mechanics (and the person you'd trust) aren't always the same for "can't act" versus "no longer here."
IN A SENTENCE
"A power of attorney gives someone legal authority — pair it with real key access, or it's a document with nothing to point at."
Key facts
Common questions
Is a power of attorney enough to protect my bitcoin?
No, not by itself. It grants legal authority, but bitcoin only responds to keys — your agent also needs a real, tested way to access your wallet, such as a multisig arrangement or clear written key-location instructions.
How is a power of attorney different from a dead man's switch?
A power of attorney is activated by a legal or medical determination of incapacity while you're alive; a dead man's switch is a technical mechanism that triggers on a missed check-in, usually built for after death. They solve adjacent but distinct problems.