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How HeirVault Works
A complete guide to creating, managing, and claiming crypto inheritance vaults. Choose your role below to see what applies to you.
Vault Lifecycle
Create Vault
Owner deploys a vault with check-in interval, grace period, heirs with share percentages, required signatures, and optional guardians.
Deposit Assets
Owner deposits ETH, ERC-20 tokens, or ERC-721 NFTs into the vault. AAVE-configured EVM vaults can supply idle stablecoins after vault-level Premium is active.
Periodic Check-In
Owner confirms activity before each deadline, resetting the timer. Guardians can extend the deadline if needed.
Check-In Missed
If the owner misses the deadline, heirs become able to initiate a claim. The grace-period deadline starts when a registered heir submits that claim transaction.
Claim Initiated
Any heir can initiate a claim. Other heirs co-sign until the M-of-N signature threshold is met.
Withdrawals Unlocked
After the grace period ends and enough signatures are collected, an asset snapshot is taken. Each heir withdraws their share.
Special flows: The owner can trigger Emergency Recovery through the dashboard's 48-hour timelocked path to reclaim assets. Current EVM contracts also include owner-only instant recovery for direct contract use while no claim is active. Guardians can cancel scheduled emergency recovery or extend check-in deadlines up to 90 days per active claim, within the 180-day lifetime cap.
Guide by Role
Connect Your Wallet
Connect an EVM wallet (MetaMask, WalletConnect, Coinbase Wallet) via the platform. This wallet address becomes the vault owner. All vault management transactions will come from this address.
Choose a Plan
Select a subscription tier that fits your needs. Plans determine the number of vaults, heirs, chains, and premium features (AAVE yield, Telegram notifications) available to you.
View PlansCreate Your Vault
Set the check-in interval (how often you must confirm activity), grace period (waiting time after a missed check-in), add heir addresses with their share percentages, set the required number of signatures (M-of-N), and optionally add guardian addresses.
Create VaultDeposit Assets
Send ETH, ERC-20 tokens, or ERC-721 NFTs to your vault. You can deposit and withdraw freely while the vault is active. AAVE yield is available only when that EVM vault has an AAVE strategy and an active vault-level Premium subscription.
Check In Periodically
Before each deadline, send a check-in transaction to reset the timer. You can check in from the Owner dashboard with one click. If you miss the deadline, heirs can begin the claim process; their claim transaction starts the grace-period countdown.
Manage Your Vault
Update heirs, change share percentages, adjust the check-in interval, add or remove guardians, or modify the signature threshold. Heir changes use a 2-day timelock for security, while guardian changes take effect once the owner transaction confirms on-chain. All changes are on-chain transactions.
Emergency Recovery
If you need to reclaim assets, the dashboard schedules emergency recovery with a 48-hour timelock during which guardians can cancel the recovery. Current EVM vaults also expose an owner-only instant emergencyRecovery function for direct contract use while no claim is active.
Recovery GuideFrequently Asked Questions
What happens if HeirVault goes offline?
All vault logic lives on-chain in smart contracts. If HeirVault is ever unavailable, you can interact with the contracts directly using any Ethereum client (Etherscan, Remix, or a custom script). Your funds are never locked behind our service.
Recovery InstructionsCan the vault owner take back assets after a claim is initiated?
During the grace period, the owner can still check in to cancel the claim and return the vault to Active state. However, once the claim is executed (grace period elapsed + enough signatures), the assets are locked for heir withdrawal and the owner can no longer access them.
What if an heir loses access to their wallet?
The vault owner can update heir addresses while the vault is Active (subject to a 2-day timelock). If a claim is already in progress, the original heir addresses are locked for that claim cycle. Plan ahead by ensuring heirs have secure wallet backups.
How does the multisig claim work?
The owner sets a signature threshold during vault creation (e.g., 2 of 3 heirs must sign). Any heir can initiate the claim once the check-in is overdue. Other heirs then co-sign the same claim. The claim only executes when both conditions are met: enough signatures AND the grace period has elapsed.
What assets are supported?
EVM vaults support native ETH, ERC-20 tokens, and ERC-721 NFTs on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, BNB Chain, and Avalanche. Bitcoin vaults are available on premium plans, Tron supports TRX/TRC-20, and Solana supports SOL/SPL. Hyperliquid wallet metadata is tracked, but vault deployment waits for a configured factory address.
Can I change vault settings after creation?
Yes. The owner can modify the check-in interval, heir addresses, share percentages, signature threshold, and guardian addresses at any time while the vault is Active. Heir changes have a 2-day timelock for security — you schedule the change, then execute it after 2 days. Guardian additions and removals take effect once the owner transaction confirms on-chain.
What is the grace period?
The grace period is a waiting window after a claim is initiated. It serves two purposes: it gives the owner a final chance to check in and cancel the claim, and it gives guardians time to review the situation. Typical grace periods range from 7 to 30 days, configured at vault creation.
Are there any fees?
HeirVault charges a subscription fee for premium features (AAVE yield, additional chains, Telegram alerts). On-chain transactions require standard network gas fees. There are no withdrawal fees or percentage-based fees on your assets.
View PricingStill Have Questions?
Reach out to our team or create your first vault to see it in action.