Stan Reeves is a Bitcoin custody and inheritance consultant and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Auburn University. He works with individuals, estate attorneys, financial advisors, and institutions who need expert guidance navigating the unique custody and inheritance challenges that Bitcoin presents.
Stan spent his career at Auburn applying rigorous analytical methods to complex engineering problems — the kind of discipline that demands precision because small errors compound into large failures. He brought that same disposition to Bitcoin when he began studying it seriously in 2021. What he found was a discipline with no margin for error: lost keys stay lost, undocumented inheritance plans leave families locked out, and poorly designed multi-party custody arrangements fail at exactly the moment they're needed most.
The intersection of Bitcoin and estate planning is underserved in exactly the ways that matter. Estate attorneys are increasingly advising clients who hold significant Bitcoin, but most attorneys have no exposure to custody mechanics. Financial advisors know their clients hold self-custodied Bitcoin but lack the vocabulary to ask the right questions. HNW individuals are making consequential custody decisions — often alone, often based on inadequate information — with no expert in their corner. And institutions, from churches to nonprofit foundations, are accepting Bitcoin donations and treasury holdings without custody structures appropriate for multi-stakeholder governance.
Stan's practice addresses all of these gaps. The work is advisory — consultation-based, documented, and integrated with each client's legal and financial team. He does not sell hardware, manage keys on clients' behalf, or recommend custodians. His role is to help you think clearly about custody, design a structure appropriate for your situation, and produce documentation that survives the test of time — and of inheritance.
Stan is also available to present continuing legal education programs to bar associations and law firms on Bitcoin custody and inheritance planning — one of the most rapidly developing areas in estate law, and one that most practicing attorneys have had no formal training in. The CLE program is practical, accessible, and designed for estate planning attorneys who serve real clients, not for technical audiences.
"Bitcoin's value lies in sovereign ownership — but sovereignty without planning is fragility. My work is to help serious Bitcoin holders build custody architectures that are secure, recoverable, and designed to outlast them."
Credentials
Auburn University
