> Agreed, this is a very good option but it can get expensive

One way to reduce cost is to do, say, 2-of-2 where one is your hardware wallet, and the other is software. For example, Sparrow calls these keystores and makes it easy to set up a wallet with a mix of hardware and software keystores. The software seed would be encrypted in the wallet file. This would still be significantly better security than single hardware sig.

> or tricky to set up if you’re going DIY.

Sparrow is the way to go here.

> It’s important to think about how those you’ll leave your stack to will be able to access it after you’re gone.

Bitcoin is the world’s premier value transfer system. Passing keys to heirs is unnecessary. Instead, use long-dated, pre-signed transactions (Deadman’s Transactions, DMTX) to ensure your heirs can receive coin after you depart.

This requires your heirs to have their own wallets. But this is inescapable. In order to inherit Bitcoin, one must be competent in Bitcoin. There’s no substitute for competence.