+ 
+
BitcoinAfter.Life — BAL PROTOCOL 1.0
+USER MANUAL (revB)
+ +++This is the GitHub‑friendly (HTML/Markdown + images) edition of the official +BAL user manual. The original PDF lives in the +bal_plugin_manual +Gitea repository. A styled single‑page version is available as +
+manual.html.
+
Welcome to using BAL, the open‑source plugin for Electrum Wallet, dedicated +to managing bitcoin digital inheritance.
+An open‑source plugin is a software extension that adds functionality to an +existing program, and whose source code is publicly available. This means that +anyone can view, modify, and distribute the plugin code.
+The plugin was designed for Electrum, the Gold standard of Bitcoin wallets.
+It was not considered reasonable to proceed with the development of a new wallet +or a fork of a wallet (a bifurcation of Electrum's code) so as not to put funds +at risk. Instead, we thought it prudent to lean as a plugin on the most tested +and therefore secure open‑source Bitcoin wallet (Electrum), trusting that in +the future the plugin will be placed directly on Electrum by default.
+Installing the BAL plugin
+The steps for installing the BAL plugin are very simple:
+-
+
- Install the latest version of Electrum (Bitcoin wallet). +
- Install the BAL plugin (find the files on the Bitcoin‑after.life site or + links on the Bitcointalk forum), copying it to the Electrum plugins folder. +
- Activate the plugin from the Electrum menu (Tools → Plugins → BAL). +
- Restart Electrum. +
Now you are ready to leave your digital legacy to your heirs!
++
The BAL interface
+
Figure 1 — the screen that appears after starting Electrum with the BAL plugin +installed.
+As you can see there are now two new tabs (HEIRS and WILL) on the +Electrum interface.
+-
+
- HEIRS = the screen of heirs to whom you want to leave your inheritance. +
- WILL = the screen that shows you the technical details of your inheritance: +
- locktime +
- creation time +
- transaction fees for miners +
- status +
- heirs +
- will‑executor with associated fees +
++NB: Inheritance with the BAL plugin can also be set on a wallet that is +still receiving incoming transactions not yet confirmed on the blockchain.
+
+
The HEIRS parameters
+You can leave the default plugin parameters; they are more than fine for 99 % of +inheritance cases.
+
Figure 2 — the parameters on the HEIRS tab: (1) Delivery Time, (2) Check Alive, +(3) Fees.
+1 — Delivery Time (Locktime)
+Indicates the date on which the inheritance of your wallet on the blockchain
+will be transferred to the recipient. You can enter the inheritance date either
+as Relative (example: 1 year from today → RAW = 1y) or as a Precise
+Date (Date).
If you choose Raw, you can insert various options based on a suffix:
+-
+
d: number of days after the current day (e.g.1dmeans tomorrow)
+y: number of years after the current day (e.g.1ymeans one year from today)
+
* The locktime can be anticipated to update the will.
+2 — Check Alive (Threshold)
+(i.e. check whether you are still alive, and then postpone the inheritance.)
+This parameter — settable as relative (RAW) or absolute (DATE) — indicates
+the time by which the inheritance will not be changed by postponing it.
++NB: if you set it negative (i.e. back in time) it is as if it were not +there. This can be useful for doing quick inheritance tests.
+
Example: if you set the inheritance to one year from today and the Check +Alive (threshold) parameter to 6 months, then in 8 months — if you open +Electrum — the BAL plugin will ask whether you want to update the inheritance +date.
+Why does it do this? Because it assumes that if you open the Electrum wallet +with the plugin, you are still alive, and therefore estimates that you will +still live a certain amount of time, so you probably want to postpone the +inheritance so as not to transfer it too soon while you are still alive.
+A practical example
+Today is January 1, 2025. I set the inheritance for December 1, 2025 +(11 months from now) and the Check‑Alive (threshold) at 6 months (so +June 1, 2025):
+Future case histories:
+-
+
- Case 1 — I no longer access the Electrum wallet: the inheritance on + December 1, 2025 will be transferred to the heir (sent to Bitcoin nodes by the + will‑executors). +
- Case 2 — I access the wallet in 4 months (earlier than the set 6‑month + Check‑Alive threshold); the inheritance will remain set for December 1, 2025. +
- Case 3 — I access the wallet in 7 months (later than the 6 months set); + the plugin will ask whether I want to postpone the date of the inheritance, + because it assumes I am still alive and may want to postpone the inheritance so + as not to transfer it while I am still alive. +
3 — Fees
+Denoted in satoshi/vbyte. This parameter indicates the fees that go to the +miners to have the transaction validated on the blockchain at the time of +inheritance. It is the classic fee/commission you pay every time you send +bitcoin to another wallet.
+We recommend leaving the default value of 100 sat/vbyte; this way you will be +sure the inheritance is accepted by the miners, even on days when the blockchain +is saturated and network costs are high. (As of January 2025, that is roughly +$25 USD for a wallet without too many UTXOs — a value that allows the tx to be +placed on the blockchain even on congested days.)
++
IMPORTANT — sizing inheritance transaction amounts
+Automatic sizing to 100 % of the wallet. The plugin always makes sure that +ALL the value of the wallet is delivered to the heirs.
+-
+
- Example: I have a wallet with 3 BTC. I write as inheritance 1 BTC to JONNY + and 10 % to ANDREA. The BAL plugin sends 1 BTC to Jonny and all the rest + (2 BTC) to Andrea. +
- Or: I set 5 % to Jonny and 80 % to Andrea. The plugin recalculates the + percentages proportionally so the wallet is completely emptied. Instead of + 5 %/80 % it sends 5.9 % to Jonny and 94.1 % to Andrea, for a total of + 100 %. (Otherwise 15 % would be left in the wallet.) +
++NB: if you wanted to send only 80 % of the wallet to the heirs and make +20 % inaccessible forever (bitcoins lost forever — increasing digital scarcity +and giving wealth to all bitcoin participants), just set yourself as an +heir with a percentage (e.g. 20 %) to an internal wallet address. This also +improves the privacy of the transaction, as it is difficult to understand the +destination wallets.
+
-
+
- Another example: I own 10 BTC and want to give Jonny exactly 4 BTC and + Andrea exactly 2 BTC. What about the missing 4? The plugin recalculates to + transfer 100 %. The only way to give Jonny and Andrea the exact BTC is to + transfer the missing 4 to another wallet by designating a third heir. +
+
Staggered inheritance over time
+Currently BAL version 1.0 does not support this. It is already in development +for version 2 of the protocol. In version 2 it will be possible, for +example, to stagger the inheritance 10 % per year until the tenth year, or even +1 % per month, month by month for 10 years — as if it were a kind of annuity, +but without the need for third parties or intermediaries.
++
The [NEW HEIR] button
+After setting steps 1, 2, 3, press the [New Heir] button and the BAL New +Heirs window appears:
+
Figure 3 — adding a new heir.
+Here you enter the following parameters:
+-
+
- Name: name of the heir, with any details you prefer. +
- Address: the Bitcoin wallet address where the inheritance will be sent. +
- Amount: how much you want to send to this heir (as a percentage or a + fixed value). The plugin always makes sure that 100 % of the inheritance + is given to the heirs (see Sizing inheritance transactions). +
++NB: You can add several heirs — even 10 or more.
+
+
Delivery time changes
+If you change the Delivery Time of a will, when Electrum closes the BAL +plugin will notify you that you need to update the inheritance.
+-
+
- If you postponed the Delivery Time: the plugin will create a transaction to + invalidate the current inheritance and create a new, postponed one. To do + this safely, the BAL plugin creates a transaction that it sends to the miners, + which you will have to sign, costing 100 sat/vbyte. +
- If you anticipated the Delivery Time: the plugin simply sends a new + inheritance transaction to the Will‑Executor servers, which anticipates and + thus invalidates the transactions already sent to them. +
++👉 For a complete, code‑accurate breakdown of every change (add/remove heir, +change percentages, fee, executor, date earlier/later) and whether it costs an +on‑chain fee, see the companion +Inheritance Options Guide.
+
+
RAW settings
+If you set, for example, RAW‑1d and it is, say, 5 p.m., the plugin will not
+execute the inheritance precisely 24 hours later (5 p.m. the next day) but will
+roughly estimate the blockchain block number corresponding to that time — so
+with a tolerance of a few hours.
++NB: Inheritance is executed on nodes, on average, with a tolerance of about +1 hour after the date/time set in the BAL plugin (because of the 11‑block +Bitcoin median).
+
+
Heirs sheet — quick test tip
+If you want a quick test run, enter an upcoming legacy date/time (e.g. 18 hours +later). For such short intervals the Check Alive could create problems, so +set the Check Alive parameter in the past (a date before today) — e.g. a +previous month.
++
Practical example — multiple dates
+I have 2 children, Peter (12) and Arnold (16). I own 10 BTC and want +each to receive 5 BTC on their respective 18th birthdays.
+In the current BAL plugin (1.0) it is not possible to set different delivery +dates — the inheritance date is unique. So in this case I prepare two wallets +of 5 BTC each and set the respective inheritance with the BAL plugin. Electrum +helps here, as it lets you easily create and manage multiple wallets.
++
BAL plugin parameters
+Accessible from the menu Tools → Plugins.
+Backup Transaction
+
Figure 4 — the Backup Transaction option (default: Disabled).
+Backup Transaction (default Disabled) is used to manage the inheritance +transaction (locktime tx) even without the BAL plugin automations that rely +on the online Will‑Executor servers.
+By enabling this option you also keep an offline backup of the signed legacy +transaction, useful in case all online Will‑Executor servers are destroyed (a +highly unrealistic event).
+The backup transaction is saved locally — on a USB stick or wherever you prefer. +For example, it can be delivered through a notary, trusted persons, or even +directly to the heir. (In the latter case, however, the heir becomes aware that +they will receive an inheritance on a specific date and amount, which could be +imprudent.)
+The backup transaction, once delivered to the heir, can — at a later date than +the inheritance delivery time — be sent to the nodes via Electrum to receive the +funds in the inheritance wallet.
+Difficulties and risks of using only the backup transaction (versus trusting +the automation of Will‑Executor servers):
+-
+
- Risk of the transaction being invalidated later if you accidentally spend + even one satoshi from one of the wallets you pre‑signed the legacy transaction + from. +
- Difficulty delivering the signed transaction to the heir (the heir would learn + about the inheritance and its value). +
- Each step must be handled by hand, with the risk of errors. +
If you activated Backup Transactions in the parameters, this is visible in the +[WILL] screen with the status NONE in the Will‑Executor column:
+
Figure 5 — backup transaction shown with "NONE" will‑executor.
+Then, by right‑clicking it and selecting [Details], the following screen +appears, where you can save your transaction to your preferred medium (USB flash +drive, cloud, NAS, etc.):
+
Figure 6 — transaction details / save dialog.
++
Wallet security — saving your will
+To keep a copy of your will, simply save the wallet from Electrum +(File → Save Backup).
+If, for example, your notebook is stolen or breaks down, just install Electrum on +a new computer together with the BAL plugin and open the previously saved wallet.
+++Remember to save (and not lose) your wallet password on Electrum, or +you will no longer be able to access the inheritance data saved with the +wallet. If you restore your wallet from SEED only, you will regain access +to your bitcoin funds but lose the BAL inheritance data saved with the +wallet file.
+
You can also export the heir list to keep a printable copy of your +inheritance:
+
Figure 7 — exporting / printing the heir list.
++
Will‑Executor service list
+This window opens from the Electrum menu, Tools → Will‑executor, and shows +the official list of will‑executor servers.
+If you want to make changes — such as adding an additional will‑executor server — +you can enter it manually or import a list of will‑executor servers (found on the +bitcointalk.org forum or on the official BAL website).
+Commands in the window:
+-
+
- Ping: checks which servers in the list are online — a green dot means + active. +
- Import: imports a will‑executor list other than the default. +
- Export: exports the list of will‑executor servers in your plugin (useful to + move it to another Electrum + BAL installation). +
- Add: adds a will‑executor server manually. +
List columns
+-
+
- URL — the URL address of the will‑executor. +
- Base Fee — the commission/reward for the will‑executor. This reward lets + the will‑executor cover the cost of keeping the server online. The + will‑executor earns the base fee only on the date of inheritance, and only + if it is the first to send the transaction to the nodes — which sets in + motion a competition among will‑executors to earn the base fee. (Example: I + set up an inheritance that will happen in 4 years; in that case the + will‑executor will only earn the fee in 4 years.) +
- Info — server description or website link. +
- Default Address — the bitcoin wallet address where the base fee will be + sent. +
- S — server status. A green dot = server online. +
Right‑click on a server line opens four sub‑commands:
+
Figure 8 — the will‑executor context menu.
+-
+
- Select — right‑click the server, add the green check mark on the left, and + this will‑executor will be used in your inheritance. +
- Edit — edit the relevant column field. +
- Ping — verify that the server is online. +
- Delete — delete the server from the list. +
+
Privacy of (online) will‑executors
+Transactions sent to will‑executor servers (pushed) by the BAL plugin are +stored on the servers. They are not publicly accessible (for privacy), but +from your BAL plugin you can check at any time whether the transaction is +properly stored on the servers: right‑click the inheritance transaction in the +WILL tab and choose Check. The transaction will be tagged in the +Status column as Checked if it is indeed online on the server.
+WILL tab columns
+a. Locktime — the date of inheritance. +b. Txid — identification of the bitcoin transaction. +c. Will‑Executor — address of the will‑executor. +d. Status — see the table below.
++
Colour progression of transaction statuses
+Transactions on the WILL page are coloured to conveniently display their +status of progress. Below are the colour progression states your legacy +transactions can have in the WILL tab, on each will‑executor that is online.
+Chromatic progression table
+| # | +Status | +Meaning | +Colour | +HEX | +
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +New | +TX new inheritance | +White (transparent) | +#FFFFFF |
+
| 2 | +Signed | +TX inheritance signed into the wallet | +Azure | +#2BC8ED |
+
| 3 | +Pushed | +TX sent to will‑executor | +Azure‑green | +#73F3C8 |
+
| 4 | +Checked | +TX actually present in the will‑executor | +Bright green | +#8AFA6C |
+
| 5 | +Confirmed | +TX confirmed in the blockchain | +Gray | +#BFBFBF |
+
| 6 | +Pending | +TX awaiting confirmation on blockchain | +Yellow | +#FFCE30 |
+
| 7 | +Failed | +Communication failure with will‑executor | +Red | +#E83845 |
+
| 8 | +Invalidated | +UTXO input is no longer available | +Orange | +#F87838 |
+
| 9 | +Replaced | +A backdated‑locktime transaction spends the same input | +Violet | +#FF97E9 |
+
+
WILL tab — commands
+
Figure 9 — the WILL tab with its commands.
+-
+
- Prepare — prepares the inheritance and puts it on the list. +
- Sign — sign your legacy transaction with your private key (using your + wallet password or hardware key). +
- Broadcast — sends the inheritance transaction to the online Will‑Executor + servers on your Will‑Executor Service List. +
- Display — brings up the Will‑Details window, where you can see the + transactions with all available data: + - Locktime (date of inheritance) + - Creation time + - Transaction fee (to the miners) + - Status (see table) + - Heirs + - Will‑executor (server address) + - Commission (base fee) — reward for the will‑executor +
Figure 10 — the Will‑Details window (Display).
+++NB: When you close Electrum, the plugin automatically proceeds to execute +Prepare → Sign → Broadcast (if they have not already been completed) to +ensure the inheritance is correctly executed.
+
+
Using hardware keys
+Ledger, BitBox2, etc. — all hardware keys that are compatible with and +recognised by Electrum are compatible with the BAL plugin.
++
Insights (privacy)
+Caution: consolidation of UTXOs
+When you send the entire contents of a wallet, you risk losing the privacy of +your UTXOs. It may be a good rule of thumb to execute the inheritance leaving a +small remainder to another wallet, to improve the privacy of the transaction — +especially if there is only one heir.
+++Example: 99.7 % inheritance to the heir and 0.3 % to a random bitcoin +address (e.g. taken randomly from a block explorer).
+
+
Wallet inheritance behaviour when the balance / UTXO changes
+If your wallet managed with the BAL plugin changes in balance — e.g. you send +additional funds or spend some — the inheritance must be updated.
+The BAL plugin takes care, when closing Electrum, to check whether there has been +any such change (balance or UTXO) and then updates the inheritance +automatically.
+Thanks to this you can use an inheritance‑ready wallet on Electrum even for +everyday Bitcoin transactions (possibly with a hardware key to sign), knowing +that in case of death the entire contents of the wallet will be sent to your +heirs.
+If you use your read‑only wallet on devices other than your Electrum (using
+the public key Zpub/Xpub, e.g. to monitor funds remotely), any funds sent
+directly into the wallet will not be added to the inheritance already set up.
+To work around this, open your wallet on Electrum so the plugin can update the
+inheritance UTXOs and re‑send them to the will‑executors, updated with the new
+value.
++⚠️ WARNING: If you use the same SEED on multiple devices (a behaviour +always strongly discouraged), spending even one transaction of even one satoshi +invalidates the inheritance, because it changes the wallet's UTXO structure +and therefore the nodes discard the inheritance transaction.
+
+
About installing a will‑executor server or collaboration, send your request to: +info@bitcoin-after.life
++
Signed,
Svātantrya