Frequently asked questions

Straight answers, including to the uncomfortable ones. Anything missing, ask us at support@inheritvault.com.

What is a digital inheritance vault?

A digital inheritance vault is a secure, encrypted online record of everything your family would need if you died: which bank accounts, pensions, insurance policies, properties, and digital assets exist, where your will is held, and who to contact. The contents stay encrypted so only you can read them while you are alive, and they are released to the executor you nominate through a verified death process. Unlike a password manager, it is built around inheritance: regular check-ins, executor verification with a death certificate, and a printed Recovery Certificate stored with your will.

What is Inherit Vault?

A digital inheritance vault: an encrypted place to keep the map of your estate, which banks, pensions, policies, and digital assets you hold, where your will is, and what your family should know, released to the executor you nominate, through a verified process, when you die. It is a companion to a will, not a replacement for one.

Can Inherit Vault staff read my vault?

No, and not as a policy promise, as a structural fact. Your vault is encrypted in your browser before anything reaches us, and the only keys that can open it are your password and your recovery phrase, both held only by you. We store no master key, no escrow key, and no backdoor: everything on our servers is a locked box, never its contents, so a breach of our systems exposes encrypted data that no one can read without your keys. That is why we ask you to guard your password and your printed Recovery Certificate, they are what open the vault.

What is the Recovery Certificate?

A printed document you create when you set up your vault, carrying your recovery phrase, the one key besides your password that can open your vault. We recommend storing it with your will (your solicitor can keep it in the same packet) and keeping a second copy somewhere safe. Your executor uses it to unlock the vault after your death.

What happens if I forget my password?

Your recovery phrase (on your Recovery Certificate) restores access. If you lose BOTH your password and your certificate, your vault is gone, permanently and for everyone, including us. That is the price of a vault nobody else can read, and we ask you once a year to confirm you still know where your certificate is.

How does Inherit Vault know when I’ve died?

Two signals. You check in on a schedule you choose (monthly or quarterly); missed check-ins escalate through reminders to you, then notifications to your executors. And your executor can come forward at any point with a death certificate and their own ID. We never release anything on a timer alone, a verified human process always sits between a claim and a release.

What stops someone falsely claiming I’ve died?

Several layers. The claim requires a death certificate and the claimant's identity documents, reviewed by a person. A mandatory 14-day waiting period follows, during which you and your co-executors are notified, a live owner can stop a fraudulent claim with one email. And even a successful fraudulent claim would receive only an encrypted vault: without the printed Recovery Certificate held with your will, it is unreadable.

Can my executor see my vault while I’m alive?

By default, no, contents are released only after the verified death process. You can optionally allow earlier access, and every executor login is reported to you and your other executors either way.

Should I store my banking passwords in the vault?

For banks and other institutions: store the map, not the keys, which accounts exist, reference numbers, and contacts. Executors should never log in as you; banks operate bereavement processes for exactly this, and using a deceased person's credentials can breach the institution's terms and the law. The exception is self-custody crypto, where the seed phrase IS the asset: record where the recovery materials are kept, and consider our guardian-split tool.

How much money actually goes unclaimed like this?

£50bn sits unclaimed in the UK right now: forgotten pensions, dormant bank accounts, and investments nobody knew existed. The average forgotten pension pot alone is worth about £9,500, more than a decade of Inherit Vault. It rarely happens because assets are hidden. It happens because nobody left a map.

What happens to my vault if Inherit Vault shuts down?

Your data outlives us. If we ever had to close, every vault owner would receive their complete encrypted vault file before we did, with reasonable notice. Our free offline recovery tool, a single file you can save to disk today, opens that file using only your recovery phrase, with no Inherit Vault servers involved. Your family's access never depends on our existence.

How much does it cost?

Vault owners choose a monthly, annual, or one-off Lifetime plan. Current prices are always on the pricing page at inheritvault.com/pricing. Executors and family members never pay anything.

What happens if I stop paying?

A failed payment starts a 7-day grace period with your vault fully active while we retry. If payment ultimately stops, the account is suspended, but we will never let non-payment defeat a release process that has already properly begun for your family.

Is my vault legally part of my will?

No. Your will controls who inherits; your vault tells your executor what exists and where. Nothing in the vault creates, changes, or revokes a will, and your estate is always distributed according to law and any valid will. That separation is deliberate, a will becomes a public document after probate, while your vault stays private.

I’m a solicitor, will writer, or adviser, can I refer clients?

Yes, that's our partner programme. Your firm gets a branded referral link and portal, your clients see your logo alongside ours, and you earn commission on subscriptions we collect, paid 30 days in arrears. Apply at inheritvault.com/partner-signup; accounts are opened after our review.

Is two-factor authentication required?

Yes, for everyone, vault owners and executors alike, before any vault access. Repeated failed logins lock accounts progressively, and failed attempts are logged and flagged for review.

Does using Inherit Vault have tax implications?

No. Inherit Vault only stores information, it never holds, custodies, or transacts in any account or asset, so simply using it creates no tax event of its own. We are not tax advisers though, and inheritance tax and other tax rules depend on your own circumstances, so speak to a qualified tax adviser about your specific estate.

Does Inherit Vault operate outside the UK?

Yes, vaults can be set up from anywhere, this is not a UK-only service. If you want to record an asset or liability category that is not currently listed, email support@inheritvault.com and we will arrange it where possible.

How old do I need to be to use Inherit Vault?

18. You must be at least 18 to create a vault as an owner, and anyone nominated as an executor or other trusted contact must also confirm they are 18 or over before they can accept that role.