Bitcoin Client Discovery Questionnaire

Twenty questions across four areas. Ask them in order; the client's hesitations are as informative as their answers. Nothing here requires you to see, hold, or verify keys.

A. Existence and exposure

Do you own Bitcoin directly, or through an ETF, fund, or trust?
Different planning problems. Exposure transfers like a security; coins move only with keys.
Do you hold any other digital assets you think of separately from Bitcoin?
Surfaces the Bitcoin-vs-crypto distinction early and keeps the inventory honest.
Roughly when did you first acquire it, and in how many places?
Age and spread predict record gaps and forgotten accounts.
Is any of it held by a business, trust, or jointly with another person?
Title drives estate treatment and who may authorize movement.
Does anyone else in the family hold Bitcoin you should plan around?
Household exposure is often larger than the client's own.

B. Custody and access

Where is it held today: exchange, hardware wallet, multisig, collaborative security (sometimes called collaborative custody)?
Each lane fails differently. Use the custody-lanes worksheet to map it.
Who, besides you, could move funds today if they wanted to?
Signing ability is the real question; ownership is the legal one.
Has anyone ever seen, photographed, or stored your seed phrase or backups?
Every viewer is a standing risk. Do not ask what the words are; ask who has seen them.
If you lost your phone and laptop this week, how would you recover access?
Tests whether a recovery path exists outside the client's head.
When did you last verify you could actually restore from your backup?
Untested backups fail at the worst moment.

C. Continuity and estate

If you were incapacitated next month, who would know what exists and what to do first?
The continuity question. Most clients answer 'nobody', and that is the finding.
Do your estate documents mention digital assets without exposing any key material?
Documents should carry authority and process, never keys.
Does your executor or trustee know Bitcoin is part of the estate?
An unprepared fiduciary is a delay or a loss waiting to happen.
Are heirs prepared for their roles without holding dangerous access today?
Readiness without premature access is the goal.
Is there a written recovery process, and where does it live?
Process, not keys: what exists, who helps, in what order.

D. Records and tax awareness

Do you have acquisition dates and cost basis for what you hold?
Gaps compound. Flag for the client's tax professional; do not give tax conclusions.
Can you distinguish transfers between your own wallets from sales?
A common misclassification that a CPA will want cleaned up.
Do you have statements from every exchange you have ever used?
Defunct platforms take their records with them.
Any gifts, inheritances, or charitable plans involving Bitcoin?
Each has its own documentation trail; route to the right professional.
Who prepares your taxes, and do they know about these holdings?
The coordination question that protects everyone.