What to do with someone's accounts when they die

When someone dies, most of their accounts do not unlock on their own, and no single call fixes it. Each company has its own process. Some need a death certificate, some need a court order naming you as executor, and a few can never be opened at all. This section walks through the common ones, one at a time, with the documents and timelines each one asks for.

The hard part is that everything is separate. The phone is locked by Apple, the email by Google, the money by a bank, and the crypto by nobody but the person who chose the password. There is no central office to call and no master key. What there is, for most accounts, is a documented process for the next of kin or the executor.

Start with whatever is urgent: a phone you need to reach people, a subscription still charging the account, a bill that is coming due. The rest can wait until the estate is settled. Each guide below tells you what the company requires, how long it takes, and what to do first.