Managing subscriptions as an executor

The order that matters

If you are dealing with this now: it does not need to be done today. Amounts are usually modest and most providers refund charges taken after the date of death when given documentation. Getting the list right matters more than getting it fast.

1. Build the list. Twelve months of statements, not three — annual subscriptions charge once. Then the phone if it can be unlocked: iPhone Settings, the Apple Account, then Subscriptions; Google Play, Payments and subscriptions. Then PayPal automatic payments. Then the inbox, searching for "receipt", "renewal" and "invoice".

2. Download anything the family may want, before closing anything. Photos, documents and email in cloud storage are deleted when the account closes, sometimes immediately. This is the step that cannot be reversed and it is the one people skip.

3. Then contact providers. Most large ones have a bereavement route rather than the normal support queue — searching the provider name with "bereavement" finds it faster than the help centre navigation.

4. Close the card last.

What providers ask for

Commonly a death certificate copy, proof of executor status or next of kin, the account email, and the last four digits of the card on file.

Two things worth doing every time. Ask explicitly whether charges taken after the date of death can be refunded — many providers will and few offer unprompted. And get written confirmation of each closure, because a subscription recorded as cancelled but never processed is a recurring problem in this category.

Why not just cancel the card

It makes three things worse.

Accounts stay open, unpaid rather than cancelled. A small balance becoming a collections matter against an estate is genuinely unpleasant.

Data may be deleted on non-payment. Cloud services delete after a grace period, and payment failure can start that clock before anyone has downloaded anything.

You lose the audit trail. Once the card is closed you can no longer see what was being charged, which makes finding the rest considerably harder.

If a card must be closed urgently for security reasons, extract twelve months of statements first.

The version that prevents this

Worth saying because it costs nothing while someone is alive.

A list of subscriptions with the account email and payment method for each, stored somewhere the family can reach, removes almost all of the above. It does not need software — a document in a shared drive, or a page in a password manager alongside the credentials.

Access to the email account is what makes provider closure straightforward, because nearly every process verifies through it. Most password managers now offer emergency access that grants a named person entry after a delay.

If you keep the list in a tool, check that someone else can export it. SubTracker exports everything as CSV or JSON at any time, and a shared workspace means the list is not held in one person's account alone.

Was es kostet

Der kostenlose Plan verfolgt unbegrenzt viele Abos, ohne Karte und ohne Ablauf — mit CSV-Import, Kalender-Feed und vollständigem Export. Erinnerungen und Preis-Alarme sind Plus für $5.90/Monat. Family kostet $9.90/Monat und umfasst einen geteilten Workspace für bis zu zehn Personen.