What happens to my bitcoin if I pass without an estate plan in place?

Your estate would be settled through your State's intestacy process and would become public record. A court would designate someone as the administrator of your estate and that person will need to have a private key and contact Unchained for assistance with recovering the bitcoin. 

This is often an expensive and time-consuming process, publicly reveals your bitcoin balance, and could introduce legal challenges for someone holding the key to your vault without the title to the vault. 

Unchained strongly recommends establishing an estate plan to ensure your assets are transferred according to your wishes in a timely manner.