[WSBAPT] Crypto-Wallet Question

[Doehne, Jen]

Hello all-
Background: Administrator of intestate estate discovered that decedent held multiple cryptocurrency wallets, but is not certain if any of the wallets contain any actual currencies in them. Decedent died unexpectedly and did not leave clear instructions, or any instructions, on how to gain access to any of the wallets. Administrator discovered random scraps of paper which have the name of each wallet followed by multiple random words, which are suspected to be the "seed phrase" or "key" for each wallet, but Administrator is uncertain, as are we. Administrator has researched each wallet (Metamask, Coinbase Waller-not the exchange, Tzero, Trust wallet, and Pie Wallet) and none of the wallets appear to have a "department" or customer service or any such division which can be contacted for assistance or to subpoena for access. Thus, our questions are as follows:


 1.  Has anyone dealt with such an issue, and if so, are we correct that these wallets are truly decentralized and there is no single corporate or other type of entity which can be subpoenaed for access to the crypto in each wallet?
 2.  Would someone be "locked out" permanently if they enter the seed phrase incorrectly, or would the wallet provide some sort of warning that x amount of attempts remain?
 3.  Generally, how have other attorneys dealt with crypto issues in probates? And how do others view the PR/Administrator's fiduciary duties as it pertains to gaining access to cryptocurrencies a decedent may have left behind?

Thanks for any insight!
Best,
Jen


Jen Doehne, Attorney
Pronouns she/her/hers
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