# BAL — Bitcoin After Life

**BAL** is an open-source plugin for [Electrum](https://electrum.org), the gold standard of Bitcoin wallets, dedicated to managing **Bitcoin digital inheritance**.

With BAL you define your heirs, a delivery date, and a list of *will-executor* servers. If you stop accessing your wallet, the pre-signed inheritance transaction is broadcast to the Bitcoin network on the date you set — with no third parties or intermediaries holding your funds.

## Why a plugin and not a new wallet?

Developing a new wallet (or forking Electrum) was not considered reasonable, so as not to put funds at risk. BAL leans on the most tested and secure open-source Bitcoin wallet — Electrum — with the goal that in the future the plugin will ship with Electrum by default.

Being open source, anyone can view, modify, and distribute the plugin code.

## How it works in short

1. You add **heirs** (name, Bitcoin address, amount or percentage).
2. You set a **delivery time** (locktime): the date the inheritance is transferred.
3. You set a **check-alive threshold**: if you open your wallet after this time, BAL offers to postpone the inheritance — because you are evidently still alive.
4. The plugin **prepares, signs, and broadcasts** the inheritance transaction to the will-executor servers, which will send it to the Bitcoin nodes on the delivery date.

## Where to go next

- New user? Start with [Installation](user-guide/installation.md).
- Want to understand the core parameters? See [Setting up heirs](user-guide/heirs.md).
- Interested in running a will-executor server? See [Running a server](will-executor/running-a-server.md).

!!! note "Documentation status"
    This site is a draft based on the **BAL Protocol 1.0 User Manual (revB)**. Corrections and contributions are welcome via the [Gitea repository](https://bitcoin-after.life/gitea/bitcoinafterlife/bal_plugin_manual).