Why households keep paper ledgers beside cold wallets

Hardware wallets excel at guarding private keys. They do not excel at telling your spouse which device holds the family ETH, or whether the USDC on Kraken matches the USDC on your Ledger.

Three ledger sections we never skip

Address index — Every public address, device label, and “last verified” date. No keys, only locations.

Reserve worksheet — Stablecoin rows with exchange name, account nickname, and statement date. Totals cross-footed by hand so errors are visible.

Heir cover sheet — One page listing binder contents, update schedule, and first phone call (usually the family attorney, not an exchange chat bot).

The mistake we see most

Families copy balances once, then never update. We recommend quarterly reconciliation even when nothing changed — the act of signing a “no change” tally proves someone reviewed.

A Gangnam-specific note

Many of our clients keep duplicate binders: one in a home safe, one with a relative in Bundang or Incheon. Seoul traffic makes mid-week swaps painful; plan duplicate pickup on weekends.