I use a passphrase. The 25th word. Extra security layer. Nobody can get in without it.

That part works exactly as advertised.

What nobody told me is that it creates a second single point of failure my family probably doesnt know exists.

Heres what happens in practice. Someone dies. Family finds the hardware wallet. Family finds the seed phrase. Family recovers the wallet. Wallet looks empty. Family assumes its the wrong wallet or the coins are gone. Nobody told them a second piece was required.

The seed phrase without the passphrase opens a real wallet. Just not the one with the coins in it. Its a valid derivation path with a zero balance. Looks exactly like a dead wallet.

This failure mode is quiet. No error message. No indication anything is wrong. Just an empty wallet where there should be something.

The security benefit of a passphrase is real. But it only works as an inheritance tool if whoever inherits knows that two separate pieces exist, knows where both are, and knows that both are required. Most passphrase setups skip that conversation entirely.

You didnt lose your coins to a hack. You lost them to a documentation problem.

What does your setup actually tell someone who has never seen a hardware wallet before?