Claiming Inherited Crypto on Binance or Kraken

You have their phone. Maybe their passwords are saved on it. Don’t use them to log in to the exchange and move the coins out yourself.

Binance’s inheritance appeal form says so in its first set of notes: create a new account or sign in to your own, and “Please do not submit an inheritance claim while signed into the deceased’s account.” A claim depends on valid inheritance documents and applicable law. Binance asks you to identify the deceased, rather than provide their password. On Binance you give one of their email, phone number or Binance ID, attach the documents, and once the details are confirmed the assets go to the rightful beneficiary or trustee. Binance puts the usual timeframe at around 1 to 2 months.

Where to file a Binance inheritance claim: Self Service, from your own account

The steps below follow Binance’s help article How to Use the “Inheritance Appeal” Feature on Binance?, updated 28 November 2025 and checked in October 2026.

1. Sign up and log in with your own details. The article puts this in red before step 1: make sure you have created your own Binance account before you start. You are the applicant, and the account is yours.
2. Open Customer Support. Under [Self Service], click [View All], then click [Legacy Inheritance] in the [Account] group.
3. Read the instructions on that page and fill in the form. For the deceased, one identifier is enough: their email, phone number or Binance ID. Copy it from an exchange email in their inbox rather than typing it from memory.
4. Attach the documents the form lists (next section) and click [Submit].
5. Wait. After the details are confirmed, the assets are transferred to the rightful beneficiary or trustee. The article says this “usually takes around 1 - 2 months” and may take longer in complex cases. Use the estimate shown in the current help article when you apply; it is not a deadline for your claim.

Other exchanges use other entry points. Kraken has a Deceased Client Account Claims page in its help center (last updated 17 March 2026), with an online form at the bottom: complete the required fields and upload the documents.

Documents you need to inherit crypto from an exchange account

Step 3 of Binance’s appeal form, “Additional materials”, lists four items. Each one must be a certified true copy:

1. A legal document showing you are entitled to the deceased’s assets: a will, a Letter of Administration, a certificate of inheritance, a Grant of Probate, or a similar legal document.
2. The deceased’s death certificate.
3. The deceased’s government-issued ID.
4. Your own government-issued ID.

The notes under step 1 of the form add two conditions. The documents must be notarised, or certified as true copies by a licensed lawyer. Anything not in English needs an English translation attached. File limits and accepted formats are shown inside the form when you get there.

Kraken also asks for four things, worded differently. This is Kraken’s list only; don’t assume another exchange wants the same set.

Kraken also says more documents may be required after you submit, and that it will contact you if so.

Both exchanges release the assets to a lawful party. Binance says “rightful beneficiary or trustee”; Kraken wants the estate’s legal representative. Ask an estate lawyer or notary which succession law applies and which documents establish your authority before submitting the claim.

Why you shouldn’t log in with the passwords saved on their phone

There are three separate problems with that shortcut.

A saved login does not establish your authority to claim the assets. Binance asks for documents showing your right to the estate; Kraken asks for proof that you are its legal representative.

The providers’ bereavement services do not hand over saved passwords. Apple’s Legacy Contact can reach photos, messages, notes, files and device backups, but not data in iCloud Keychain, which covers payment information, passwords and passkeys. Google’s page on deceased users is blunter: “We cannot provide passwords or other login details.” Neither company hands that key to the family.

An exchange email or text message can help identify the account. Preserve those records for the claim instead of changing the account settings.

Until the claim is settled, don’t log in to the deceased’s exchange account, and don’t change its password or linked email and phone.

Don’t know which exchange they used? Find the account first

If you are authorised to access their email or phone, search for exchange messages: registration confirmations, verification codes, new-login alerts. The sender tells you the exchange. The inbox those messages landed in is the email you’ll put on the claim; the same goes for the number that received the texts. Since Binance only needs one of email, phone or ID, finding the registration email is enough.

Locked out of both? Two platforms have a route for families.

• Google account. The Google Account Help page Submit a request regarding a deceased user’s account offers three choices: close the account, request funds from it, or obtain data from it. Looking for exchange emails means the third one. Google adds that “Any decision to satisfy a request about a deceased user will be made only after a careful review.” What you may receive is data, not a way to sign in.
• Apple Account. If they named you as a Legacy Contact, use the access key and the required proof of death. If they did not, Apple also accepts requests supported by a court order or other legal documentation, depending on the country or region. Its deceased family member account guidance explains what to take to Apple Support.

Don’t leave the email search for months. Google’s About Inactive Account Manager says Google reserves the right to delete an account, with its activity and data, after at least two years of inactivity across Google.

Plan ahead for your own accounts: what Google, Apple and exchanges let you set

This part is about what you can arrange while you’re alive.

Exchanges. Kraken says it doesn’t currently offer a way to add a beneficiary to an account. For other exchanges, read their current help center rather than menu paths repeated in third-party posts. What actually helps is telling your family which exchanges you use and the email or phone number on each account, since that’s what a claim asks for. Keep that account inventory separate from passwords and recovery codes.

Google Inactive Account Manager. After your account has been idle for a period you choose, Google shares the data you picked with up to 10 people. To decide whether you’re still active, Google checks signals such as your last sign-ins, recent activity in My Activity, Gmail usage and Android check-ins.

Apple Legacy Contact. On iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap your name, then Sign-In & Security → Legacy Contact → Add Legacy Contact, and choose how to share the access key. On a Mac the same path starts from System Settings. It needs iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2 or macOS Monterey 12.1 or later; the steps are in Apple’s How to add a Legacy Contact for your Apple Account. It lets your family search your messages and files for clues to which exchanges you used. It doesn’t replace the exchange’s own claim.

After the transfer: the exchange may ask where the money came from

Once the inherited assets reach your account, a source-of-funds check can follow. Binance’s Guide to Verifying Source of Wealth and Source of Funds (updated 24 June 2026) has an “Inheritance and donation” category. Three of its documents fit an inheritance directly:

• Tax statement. The official form from your tax authority, showing your name, tax ID, taxation period and filing date, and clearly showing the amount inherited or the tax assessed or paid on it, with an official receipt, e-filing reference or stamp.
• Will or testament. Identifies the deceased and the beneficiaries, you included, and shows your entitlement or share of the estate. Certified by a lawyer or notary and marked “True Certified Copy”.
• Distribution statement. Identifies the deceased and the beneficiaries, states the amount or assets distributed to you and the date, and carries the same lawyer or notary certification.

Which one you send depends on what the review notice asks for. Keep copies of everything you filed with the claim; the will and any distribution statement may be needed again at this stage.