Imagine accidentally throwing away $700 million. While it sounds like the plot of a movie, this nightmare scenario has become a reality for James Howells, a computer engineer from Wales, who has now spent more than a decade fighting to recover a discarded hard drive containing the private key to his Bitcoin fortune. This highlights how an asset inventory is an essential part of an estate plan to ensure nothing valuable is overlooked.
Here’s what happened. In 2013, Howells mistakenly discarded a hard drive during an office cleanup. He didn’t realize until too late that this particular drive contained the only copy of his private key to access the 8,000 Bitcoin (BTC) he had mined years earlier. When he realized his error months later, the cryptocurrency had skyrocketed in value. Today, those 8,000 BTC would be worth approximately $700 million and as much as $848 million at the BTC all-time high thus far. Howells’ lost BTC could be worth over $1 billion at some point…or $0.
For over a decade, Howells has tried everything to recover his lost fortune – begging local officials for permission to search the landfill, offering to share the recovered BTC with the city, taking his case to court, and even proposing to buy the entire landfill. Despite these efforts, the Newport City Council has consistently refused his requests, and British courts have ruled against him, stating there is “no realistic prospect of success.” As this article is being published, Howell has said he will file a case with the European Convention on Human Rights.
This cautionary tale highlights a crucial lesson for everyone who owns digital currency and even those who do not: If you don’t know what you own, where it is, and how to find it, your assets could be lost when you die. And, especially if you have digital assets, losing what you have can be a catastrophic, unrecoverable loss. Digital assets are especially vulnerable to loss if they aren’t inventoried and included with your estate plan.
While most of us won’t lose hundreds of millions in cryptocurrency, many people face similar challenges on a smaller scale. Our assets (only part of which are financial) are increasingly scattered and less tangible in today’s digital world.
For instance, you may have:
How are you keeping track of these assets? Are you sure you know exactly what you have and where it is? Howells wasn’t.
Now think about this: If Howells could lose an extremely valuable asset while he’s alive, how will your loved ones know where your assets are after you’re gone? Or, how will they even know what you have? If you don’t know the answer, the ramifications can be considerable.
Across the U.S., approximately $60 billion in known assets have been lost or forgotten. Bank accounts, insurance policies, retirement funds, and other financial assets regularly become “lost” when people move, change contact information, or simply forget about accounts. And that doesn’t even count the billions or, one day, trillions of lost digital assets that aren’t yet being tracked as lost.
If you don’t have an up-to-date inventory of all your assets, here’s what’s likely to happen:
While it’s possible some of your assets could end up in a landfill like Howells’ BTC hard drive, what’s more likely to happen is they get turned over to the government. Each state has a Department of Unclaimed Property for this purpose. To recover the lost asset, you or your loved ones must go through a time-consuming, tedious process that may even result in failure.
As a Personal Family Lawyer®, I’ve seen families devastated not just by the financial impact of lost assets but by the emotional toll when meaningful items disappear or become inaccessible after a loved one’s passing. This happens if a person has no estate plan, an outdated estate plan, or a plan that’s just a set of legal documents. There is a better way.
The traditional way to do estate planning, the way most people know because they haven’t been educated, is to draft a will, financial power of attorney, health care power of attorney, and maybe a trust. Then, you “set it and forget it,” storing your documents in a drawer and never looking at them again. When “planning” is done this way, it often results in court, conflict, lost assets, and even irreparably broken relationships among those you love most.
But my proprietary Life & Legacy Planning process is entirely different. I go beyond mere document drafting and create legal documents and all the other facets necessary for your plan to work, including a comprehensive asset inventory as a foundational element. Here are just a few highlights of the Life & Legacy Planning process:
Right from the get-go, I help you create a detailed inventory of everything you own – from real estate and bank accounts to digital assets and family heirlooms. This comprehensive map ensures nothing is overlooked or forgotten. I believe this is so important that I’ll support you to do this whether you decide to work with me.
Life changes, and so do your assets. My process includes regular reviews to ensure your inventory stays current as you acquire or sell new assets.
I guide you in communicating with loved ones about what you have and where it’s located without compromising security during your lifetime. I’ll also be there for your loved ones so they know what to do after you’re gone.
James Howells’ story is extreme but serves as a potent reminder that in today’s complex world, knowing what you have and ensuring it’s properly documented is more critical than ever.
As your trusted Personal Family Lawyer® attorney, I don’t just draft documents; I assist you in making informed and empowered decisions about life and death for yourself and the people you love. That’s why I offer a Life & Legacy Planning® Session, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before and make all the best choices for the people you love.
(By Appointment Only)
14425 Falcon Head Blvd
Bldg E-100
Austin, TX 78738
