Where your backups are matters as much as how many you have. This advanced guide helps you design a layout. It is part of our guide to advanced setups.

Think in scenarios

For each location, ask: "What happens if this place is lost? What happens if a thief gets in?"

ScenarioQuestion to ask
House fireIs a full set of backups elsewhere?
BurglaryIs one location enough to steal the funds?
Regional disasterAre all locations in the same city?
TravelCan I reach my funds if I am abroad?
CoercionCan someone be forced to reach enough pieces?
Illness or deathCan my family reach them?
Lost trustCould one person spend the funds?

Examples of layouts

Single seed, two locations

One copy at home and another at a relative's home. It survives one disaster, but a found copy exposes everything. Adding a passphrase, stored elsewhere, helps.

Passphrase split

LocationHolds
HomePhrase copy 1
RelativePassphrase copy 1
Bank boxPhrase copy 2
LawyerPassphrase copy 2

No single location is enough to spend, and losing any one leaves a working set.

2-of-3 multisig

LocationHolds
HomeKey 1, config
Second home or officeKey 2, config
Bank box or trusted personKey 3, config

See multisig. A burglar at one location gets one key, and you can still spend.

Shamir 2-of-3

The same layout works with Shamir shares.

Design rules

  1. One location alone must never be enough to steal your funds.
  2. Losing one location must never lose your funds.
  3. Keep things simple enough to explain.
  4. Avoid locations that share a single risk.
  5. Think about how you would actually reach each place.
  6. Keep each piece labeled in a way that makes sense to you, but not to a stranger.

Things that are easy to forget

  • Trusted people move, fall out or die.
  • Bank boxes can close.
  • Your device and backup should not travel together.
  • Offices change.

Keep it working

Check every location during your yearly health check. Then make sure that your inheritance plan reflects your layout.