# The Inheritance Problem in Traditional Finance

In the real world we have processes for inheritance. While the law differs across countries and some processes (especially tax calculations) vary, these processes present many similarities in how they are executed and the inefficiencies that come with them.

Current processes for managing inheritance are very manual. Even when families prepare a will with a professional, executing that will is still convoluted. Updating a will typically requires creating a completely new will and paying full price to make the new will valid.

When the inevitable moment comes and the inheritance process starts, the nominated executor in the will must manually locate and gain control over all assets and relevant ownership documentation of the deceased. The executor also needs to track, locate, and contact all beneficiaries named in the will, confirm their acceptance of the inheritance, and complete the necessary steps to transfer assets and the owneship right into their control.

{% stepper %}
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### What the executor must do (overview)

* Locate all assets owned by the deceased.
* Gather and authenticate ownership documentation for each asset.
* Track down and contact all beneficiaries named in the will.
* Confirm beneficiaries' intent to accept the inheritance.
* Complete the legal and administrative processes required to transfer assets into beneficiaries' control.
  {% endstep %}
  {% endstepper %}

This manual process is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and often expensive. It is estimated that completing the process results in 3–10% of the total value of the inheritance being lost to costs. These costs increase significantly—often well above this threshold—when litigation is needed or when the will is contested.

{% hint style="warning" %}
A regular inheritance process commonly takes months to years to complete, and costs can be substantial—especially if litigation or disputes arise.
{% endhint %}

The industry currently requires a great deal of trust in professionals and public administrators. Will creation is often opaque and not transparent: a paper copy of the will is delivered to a professional or governmental entity for safekeeping. Safety measures are often basic, and there is no strong assurance the will has not been tampered with or that the final will reflects the deceased's true wishes. This lack of transparency is particularly concerning because the person who could verify the will’s validity (the deceased) is no longer able to do so.

There have been recorded scams related to will creation and execution that exploit this lack of transparency.

Technology that is immutable and that allows verification that the will was indeed created by the deceased could help solve these problems. Such technology could also enable a registry of different versions of a will and ensure the latest valid version is followed during execution.


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