Structuring Digital Assets with Your Spouse: Clean Control Matters More Than Joint Access #
You and your spouse hold Cryptocurrency, maybe some NFTs, possibly tokenized investments. You want both of you to have ownership, but you’re realizing that shared Wallet access without clear rules is asking for problems. Someone needs decision authority. The structure you choose determines who controls what, how assets transfer if one of you dies, and whether you’re protected if something goes wrong.
The LLC approach works well for couples who want formal ownership percentages and clean management authority. You set it up with both spouses as members, assign specific ownership stakes (50/50 or whatever split makes sense), and designate one person as manager. That manager role controls all decisions about buying, selling, moving, or Staking digital assets. The non-manager spouse owns their percentage and gets their share of distributions, but they’re not signing transactions or managing wallets day to day.
This solves the “too many cooks” problem. Crypto transactions are irreversible. If both of you have equal signing authority and no process for who approves what, you’re either duplicating effort or creating opportunities for mistakes. One manager means one person tracking keys, managing Custody, and executing strategy. The other spouse has full financial rights through their membership interest without the operational headaches.
Trusts handle it differently but accomplish similar goals. You create a revocable living trust, fund it with your digital assets, and name yourselves as co-trustees or designate one spouse as primary trustee. The trust document treats the assets as marital property, so both of you have rights, but decision authority sits with whoever is named as the acting trustee. When the first spouse dies, the trust continues without probate, and the surviving spouse maintains control or the trust terms direct how assets transfer to beneficiaries.
Here’s what doesn’t work: shared wallets with no rules about who approves transactions, assets sitting in personal accounts with no succession plan, or assuming that being married means your spouse automatically inherits your crypto. Digital assets don’t transfer like bank accounts. If you die and your spouse doesn’t have your keys or recovery phrases, those assets are gone. A properly structured trust or LLC with documented Custody procedures prevents that.
Custody matters enormously with digital assets. You need secure storage that both protects against theft and ensures access for authorized parties. Keeping Custody on D’Cent hardware wallets provides that security while maintaining the control structure you’ve set up in your LLC or trust. Your wealth management strategy should include Custody protocols that match your entity structure.
Working with a registered investment advisor who understands digital assets is different from finding someone who’ll humor your crypto holdings. Digital Wealth Partners provides wealth management services and asset Custody for high-net-worth individuals with traditional and digital portfolios. Fiduciary Duty means they’re required to give you advice that serves your interests, not steer you toward products that earn them commissions. That distinction shows up in how they approach Custody recommendations and Portfolio allocation.
For couples with substantial digital holdings alongside traditional wealth, Family Office services make sense. You’re coordinating Estate Planning, tax strategy around crypto gains, possibly multi-generational transfers of digital assets, and making sure your trust documents actually work with Blockchain technology. Most estate attorneys drafted your trust before digital assets were a consideration. Digital Ascension Group provides Family Office services that coordinate these pieces, working across your legal, tax, and wealth management teams to structure Digital Asset ownership properly.
The tax piece can’t be ignored. If you transfer digital assets into an LLC or trust, you need to understand basis tracking and how Capital Gains work. If you’re gifting interests to children, you’re dealing with gift tax rules. If assets appreciate inside the trust, you need clean records showing acquisition dates and values. Broker-dealers might miss these details. A fiduciary advisor operating under registered investment advisor standards won’t.
Structure this right from the start. One manager or trustee, clear ownership percentages, documented Custody procedures, and proper integration with your overall estate plan. Don’t wait until you’re trying to figure out access after someone dies or during a divorce.
Contact Digital Ascension Group to learn how our Family Office services can coordinate your complete financial picture, including Digital Asset structures, Custody strategy, and Estate Planning for traditional and Cryptocurrency holdings.
