How do I cancel a deceased person's subscriptions if I don't know their passwords?

Start by checking their email for subscription receipts and renewal notices. Contact each company directly with a copy of the death certificate — most will cancel without needing a password. For digital subscriptions billed through Apple or Google, contact those companies' deceased account support lines. Check bank and credit card statements for recurring charges you might not recognize.

What happens if I don't cancel a deceased person's accounts?

Accounts that aren't closed can continue to charge fees, accumulate debt, auto-renew contracts, and become targets for identity theft. Utility accounts may generate bills that go to collections. Streaming and subscription services will keep billing whatever payment method is on file. The longer accounts stay open, the harder (and more expensive) it gets to untangle.

Can I cancel someone's cell phone contract after they die without paying an early termination fee?

Yes. Most major carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) will waive early termination fees when a subscriber dies. You'll need to provide a death certificate and may need to be an authorized account manager or the executor of the estate. Call the carrier's dedicated deceased account line rather than general customer service.

📋 CareTabs Blog

10 Accounts You Didn’t Know You Need to Cancel When Someone Dies

📱 Beyond banks and credit cards — these are the accounts most families forget, and they keep charging.

✍️ By the CareTabs Team 🕐 7 min read 📅 May 2026

When someone dies, most families know to contact the bank, cancel credit cards, and notify the insurance company. But in 2026, the average person has over 100 online accounts — and many of them keep charging, renewing, and collecting data long after someone is gone.

Some of these forgotten accounts are just annoying — a $15/month streaming service nobody’s using. Others are genuinely costly — an auto-renewing insurance policy, a gym contract with cancellation fees, or a cloud storage plan quietly billing for years.

Here are 10 accounts families commonly miss, and how to handle each one.

📱 1. Cell Phone Plan

This one seems obvious, but it’s often delayed because the family wants to keep the phone active — to access texts, photos, two-factor authentication codes, or just to hear the voicemail greeting one more time.

The problem: monthly charges keep accruing, and if the account is on a family plan, the billing structure may change when a line is removed. If the phone was under contract, an early termination fee may apply — though most carriers waive this with a death certificate.

💡 Before you cancel: Download all photos, voicemails, and contacts from the phone first. Transfer any two-factor authentication to another device. Once the line is canceled, you lose access to verification codes sent via SMS — which can lock you out of other accounts.

📺 2. Streaming Subscriptions

Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Premium, Audible, Paramount+, Peacock — the average household has 4+ streaming subscriptions. Many are billed to a credit card that’s still open, so they keep charging quietly in the background.

Check for: video streaming, music streaming, audiobook subscriptions, podcast premium plans, and news subscriptions (NYT, WSJ, The Athletic, etc.).

Most streaming services will cancel immediately with proof of death. Some will even issue refunds for recent charges. Contact each service directly — canceling the credit card alone won’t always stop the billing (some services will retry or send to collections).

🏋️ 3. Gym Memberships & Fitness Subscriptions

Gym contracts are notoriously hard to cancel even when you’re alive. After death, they can be even more frustrating — especially if the membership was through a franchise with strict cancellation policies.

Don’t forget digital fitness subscriptions too: Peloton, Apple Fitness+, Strava, ClassPass, or personal training apps with recurring billing.

⚠️ Watch out: Some gyms require cancellation in writing or in-person, even after death. Send a certified letter with a copy of the death certificate. If they resist, file a complaint with your state attorney general’s consumer protection office.

☁️ 4. Cloud Storage & Backup Services

iCloud, Google One, Dropbox, Microsoft 365, Backblaze, Carbonite — these are easy to forget because they’re automatic and invisible. But paid tiers can run $10–$30/month, and the data they hold may be irreplaceable.

Before canceling, download everything you want to keep: photos, documents, tax files, personal writing. Once you cancel a paid plan, the provider may delete data after a grace period.

Apple, Google, and Microsoft all have dedicated processes for accessing a deceased person’s account — but they require legal documentation and can take weeks. Start early.

💊 5. Prescription Delivery & Telehealth Services

Mail-order pharmacies (Express Scripts, Pillpack, Alto, Amazon Pharmacy), telehealth subscriptions (Hims, Hers, Cerebral, Talkiatry), and automatic prescription refills can all keep billing and shipping after death.

Contact the pharmacy and prescribing providers to stop all refills. If medications arrive after death, do not use them — most pharmacies cannot accept returns, but you can dispose of medications safely through DEA take-back programs or pharmacy disposal kiosks.

📦 6. Amazon Prime & Online Shopping Accounts

Amazon Prime is $139/year, and it auto-renews. But beyond Prime, check for: Subscribe & Save orders (household supplies, pet food, supplements delivered monthly), Walmart+ membership, Instacart+ membership, Costco membership (annual renewal), and any Buy Now Pay Later accounts (Klarna, Afterpay, Affirm).

BNPL services are especially easy to miss because they don’t show up on credit reports the same way traditional credit does. Check the person’s email for payment schedule notifications.

🚗 7. Auto Insurance, Roadside Assistance & Vehicle Subscriptions

If your loved one had a car, there are more subscriptions than you might think: auto insurance (will keep billing), AAA or roadside assistance membership, SiriusXM satellite radio (auto-renews annually), OnStar or connected vehicle plan, and EZ-Pass or toll transponder accounts (which may have stored value).

Cancel auto insurance after the vehicle is either transferred, sold, or no longer being driven. If someone is still driving the car during estate settlement, keep the insurance active until the title is transferred.

🔐 8. Identity Theft Protection & Credit Monitoring

Services like LifeLock, Aura, Identity Guard, or credit monitoring through Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion all have monthly or annual fees. Ironically, the deceased person is now at higher risk of identity theft — but the monitoring service they were paying for won’t help unless the account is still active and someone is watching alerts.

Instead of continuing to pay for monitoring, place a deceased alert on all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion). This is free and helps prevent fraudulent accounts from being opened in the deceased person’s name.

💳 9. Store Credit Cards & Loyalty Programs

Department store cards (Macy’s, Target, Kohl’s), gas station cards, and retailer-specific financing (Home Depot, Best Buy) are easy to overlook because they’re not primary payment methods. But they may carry balances, earn interest, and charge annual fees.

Also check loyalty programs with stored value: airline miles, hotel points, credit card reward points, and cashback balances. Some programs allow point transfers to family members; others expire them. Check each program’s policy — you may be able to transfer tens of thousands of miles or points.

📧 10. Email Accounts & Social Media

These aren’t billing accounts (usually), but they’re important for a different reason: security and legacy. An active email account that nobody is monitoring becomes an easy target for hackers — and it may be linked to financial accounts, medical records, and two-factor authentication.

For each platform, you have options:

🔒

Delete / Close

Permanently remove the account. Google, Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter all have deceased user request processes. Requires proof of death and proof of authority.

🕊️

Memorialize

Facebook and Instagram allow accounts to be “memorialized” — the profile stays visible but can’t be logged into. Useful for families who want to preserve the person’s online presence.

🔍 How to Find Every Account

The hardest part isn’t canceling — it’s finding accounts you didn’t know existed. Here’s a systematic approach:

✅ Check bank and credit card statements — go back 12 months and look for every recurring charge. This catches most subscriptions.

✅ Search their email — search for “subscription,” “renewal,” “receipt,” “your plan,” “payment confirmation,” and “billing.” This usually reveals dozens of accounts.

✅ Check their phone’s app store — both Apple and Google show active subscriptions in account settings. Many people have subscriptions they signed up for through an app and forgot about.

✅ Look in their password manager — if they used one (1Password, LastPass, Bitwarden), it’ll have a list of every site they have credentials for.

✅ Check the mail — for 2–3 months after death, watch for renewal notices, billing statements, and membership cards that arrive by postal mail.

✅ Pull a credit report — this shows all open credit accounts, loans, and authorized users. Request through AnnualCreditReport.com using the death certificate.

📁 Don’t Let Your Family Face This Scramble

The families who navigate this most smoothly are the ones who documented everything ahead of time. Every account, every subscription, every login — stored securely and shared with the one or two people who’ll need it most.

You don’t have to do it all in one sitting. Start with the big ones — banking, insurance, phone, email. Then work your way through subscriptions and memberships. The point isn’t perfection. The point is making sure somebody can find it when the time comes.

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