Prevention is the only real safeguard
A self-custodied wallet has no backstop. We put hygiene, redundancy, and tested instructions in place before a loss, because little can be done after one.
PRACTICE · CRYPTO & DIGITAL ASSETS
Digital Asset Protection
Self-custodied wealth has no bank to call when a seed phrase is lost, a device fails, or a wallet is drained. We work with holders to harden custody before a loss happens — key and seed hygiene, redundancy that survives a single failure, and a succession path that lets heirs reach the assets without ever exposing a private key to the public probate record. The aim is preservation: the holding stays intact, and it reaches the next hands intact.
- Discipline
- Crypto & Digital Assets
- Engagement
- Custody & loss-prevention
- Counsel
- Christopher Moye
CRYPTO & DIGITAL ASSETS
Prevention is the only real safeguard
A self-custodied wallet has no backstop.
The problem
Most digital-asset losses are quiet ones — a misplaced seed, a dead device, a holder who never wrote down how anyone else would find the keys.
Self-custody puts the whole burden of security and succession on the holder, and a single failure can be final: there is no institution that restores access to a wallet no one can open. Theft and fraud are real risks, but lost access is the more common one. Both are addressed by structure put in place beforehand — hygiene, redundancy, and tested instructions — not by anything that can be assembled after the holding is already stranded.
Principles · 01
How we draft the matter.
Every engagement is composed against these commitments. They shape the protections we add, the questions we ask, and the document that leaves the file.
No single point of failure
One key in one place is a vulnerability. We structure redundancy and, where it fits, multi-signature custody so one loss does not end access.
Access transfers privately
Keys must never enter the public probate record. We draft trust and fiduciary structures so heirs inherit reachable assets, not exposed credentials.
What we watch · 02
What can break the matter.
These are the terms, structures, and practical risks that usually decide whether the work holds when the file is tested.
HOLDERFAMILY
Key & seed hygiene
Documenting how keys and seed phrases are stored, backed up, and located — so a single misplaced phrase or failed device is not the end of the holding.
HNWFAMILY OFFICE
Redundancy & recovery planning
Designing multi-location or multi-signature arrangements and written recovery steps that survive incapacity, loss, or the death of any one keyholder.
PATRIARCHSTEWARD
Succession without exposure
Drafting trust and RUFADAA-compliant fiduciary structures so heirs gain access through a secure channel rather than a private key sitting in a public court file.
The work · 03
Four steps. One engagement.
Each step is concrete; each step has a deliverable. The scope is defined, the matter moves, and the file closes.
- 01
Holdings & risk review
We map your wallets, devices, and current arrangements, separating custodial accounts from self-custody and identifying where access could be lost.
- 02
Custody hygiene
We document key and seed storage, backups, and the redundancy needed so no single misplaced phrase or failed device ends access.
- 03
Succession structuring
We draft the trust and RUFADAA-compliant fiduciary instruments that let heirs reach the assets without exposing private keys to probate.
- 04
Access simulation
We run a simulated access exercise to confirm a named fiduciary could actually locate and reach the holding when the plan is relied on.
Proof
What stands behind the work.
What stands behind the work — credentials and representative engagements, stated plainly.
Digital-asset protection matters are handled by Christopher Moyé, Esq., who authors the firm's published writing on crypto custody and succession.
Custody and key-management hygiene, redundancy and recovery planning, theft and fraud risk review, and succession that keeps private keys out of probate.
We document the plan and then run a simulated access exercise — confirming a named person could actually reach the assets before anyone relies on it.
Common questions
Questions clients ask.
Plain answers to the questions that come up most. If yours is not here, send the facts — we answer in writing.
- Can you recover my lost seed phrase or stolen crypto?
- No. We do not perform technical recovery, and we cannot guarantee that lost keys or stolen assets can be retrieved — often they cannot, because a self-custodied wallet has no issuer or court that can reverse the loss. Our work is the legal side of prevention and response: documenting custody and succession beforehand, and, where a loss has occurred, advising on reporting, preservation, and coordination with the appropriate professionals. We do not promise any particular outcome.
- How do I keep my heirs from being locked out of my crypto?
- By separating access from the public record. A will that lists a seed phrase can expose it once probate becomes public, and naming the asset without solving access often strands it. We use trust structures and RUFADAA-compliant fiduciary language so a named person inherits the ability to reach the assets, with the keys delivered through a secure channel rather than the court file.
- Should I store my seed phrase in my will or a safe deposit box?
- We generally advise against placing a seed phrase directly in a will, because a probated will becomes a public document. A safe deposit box can be part of a plan but is a single point of failure and may be sealed at death. We help structure redundancy — multiple secured locations or a multi-signature arrangement — so no one place holds the only copy and no single event ends access.
- What is RUFADAA and why does it matter for protecting my assets?
- The Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, adopted in New York, governs whether your fiduciary may access your digital accounts. Without the right authorizing language, a custodian or exchange can refuse — or freeze — an account at incapacity or death. We draft the clauses that establish that authority so a fiduciary is not turned away when access is needed most.
- What should I do right now if I think my wallet has been compromised?
- Move quickly to secure any assets you can still control and preserve a record of what happened, then seek both technical and legal advice — but understand that taking these steps does not assure recovery. We can advise on reporting to the relevant authorities, preserving evidence, and notifying any custodians or exchanges involved. We do not represent that funds can be returned, and any next step depends on the specific facts.
PROTECT WHAT YOU HOLD
Protect what you already hold.
Bring your wallets, devices, and current arrangements. We document the custody hygiene, redundancy, and succession path that keep the holding intact and reachable.
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