Bitcoin Dead Man's Switch: How Evoke's Liveness Checks Work

A "dead man's switch" is a mechanism that activates automatically when its operator becomes unresponsive. In Bitcoin inheritance, this solves a critical problem: ensuring your plan activates when you're unable to trigger it yourself — without requiring your family to know about Bitcoin in advance.

How Evoke's liveness check system works

1. Regular check-ins. Evoke sends you periodic check-in notifications — annually on the Personal plan, quarterly on the Business plan. You simply confirm you're still active and that your plan is up to date.
2. Missed check-in. If you don't respond to a check-in, Evoke sends follow-up reminders through multiple channels (email, SMS, secondary contacts) over a defined period — typically 30–60 days.
3. Escalation. If you remain unresponsive after all reminders, Evoke notifies your nominated contacts and provides them with your Digital Asset Schedule, triggering the inheritance process.

Why this matters for Bitcoin inheritance

Without a liveness check, your family might not discover your Bitcoin plan for months or even years after your death. By then, technology may have changed, passwords may be forgotten, and hardware wallets may be missing. Liveness checks ensure the plan activates promptly and reliably.

What your contacts receive

Your nominated contacts receive a notification that you've been unresponsive, along with access to your Digital Asset Schedule and instructions for next steps. They do not receive your private keys — only the documentation needed to begin the recovery process through proper legal channels (probate, estate administration).

Is this the same as other "dead man's switches"?

Some crypto dead man's switches work by pre-signing transactions that auto-execute. Evoke's approach is different — we don't auto-move funds. Instead, we notify your pre-nominated contacts when the liveness check fails, and they work with your executor through legitimate legal channels. This is safer because it involves human oversight at every step.

Privacy note: Your contacts are never notified during normal operation. They only receive information if the full escalation protocol has been exhausted without a response from you.