How do I manage a loved one's Amazon account after their death?

Amazon is the 6th most visited website in France, with 152 million monthly ^visitors1. With 4,000 items sold per minute by the e-commerce company in the USA, we can say that it is without doubt a major player in the sector in France and worldwide. As a result, you or your loved ones are bound to have an Amazon account, enabling you to buy goods online quickly and easily.

When a family member or friend dies, it can be difficult to manage their Amazon account. Certain questions may arise: who has control of the account, who owns the items associated with the account, and what if charges are made to the account after the death? Here's a brief guide on how to manage a loved one's Amazon account in the event of death.

What are the 5 steps to follow after a death? 

If a loved one with an Amazon account has passed away, it's important to think about how to manage it. The best thing to do is to follow certain steps to make sure you don't forget anything. 

Contact Amazon customer service

The first step is to contact Amazon customer service via live chat or by phone. They will be able to help you through the account closure process and ensure that any charges or refunds are handled correctly.

This means you'll have a single, competent point of contact throughout the Amazon account closure process.

Gather important information

To close an Amazon account, however, you will need certain information such as an e-mail address, password, payment details and legal identity documents that prove your connection to the deceased. 

It's important that you gather this information as soon as possible so that all accounts can be updated and closed correctly. In particular, the Amazon website states that to close the account of a deceased person, it is necessary to " attach a certified copy of the death certificate and indicate the e-mail address associated with the account to be ^closed2".

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¹ Oberlo, Amazon figures: 10 statistics to know in 2022, 2021

² Amazon, Deceased account, accessed February 2023

Close accounts associated with the deceased person

Amazon associates many different accounts with a primary login. This includes Kindle eBook purchases, Amazon Music subscription services and all video streaming services associated with the deceased's primary Amazon login. 

Even if these accounts are not currently in use, it's a good idea to check whether they contain active subscriptions or recurring payments before closing the main Amazon account. 

Transfer all digital content and libraries

If your loved one had digital content such as movies or music stored on Amazon Prime Video or on their personal devices such as tablets or Kindle phones, these assets must be transferred before closing an account. 

Each asset must be transferred first to the new owner's device (or to unregistered devices) before any other step. In this way, there will be no loss of content when old accounts are deleted. 

So take the time to list all digital content to ensure that no digital assets are lost during the closing process.

Close your Amazon account

The final step is to close the Amazon account. To do this, it is essential to follow the customer service instructions on how to send closure requests. In addition, the documents you gathered in a previous step must be sent at the same time. The e-mail address to use is: bereavement-support@amazon.fr.

Once you have successfully submitted all valid closure documents, you will receive confirmation from Customer Service regarding the official closure of any remaining accounts associated with the Amazon master account.

How do I send gift vouchers?

If the deceased had gift certificates in their Amazon account, you can request that these be transferred to your own Amazon account. Note, however, that the platform requires you to verify the relationship you had with the deceased. 

If you are mentioned on the death certificate, you can show this document to Amazon before requesting the transfer of the gift certificates. Otherwise, you will need to provide another official document proving your relationship with the deceased.

Plan ahead for the transfer of your digital heritage

To facilitate the management of your digital assets and accounts after your death, we strongly recommend that you plan your digital estate in advance. While everyone is concerned about the traditional transfer of assets, the transfer of digital assets is often overlooked.

Yet we all have multiple online accounts; social networks, online banking, cryptocurrency wallets, Netflix account, Amazon account, etc.

However, it is possible during his lifetime : 

• Identify all digital assets and property; 
• Centralize them on a secure platform; 
• Decide what you want to do with each of these assets; 
• Appoint a custodian to handle the transmission;
• Legal assistance from a notary.

To benefit from all these features, simply create an account on the SOLAL TECH platform. As the benchmark in digital asset management, our online solution enables you to plan the transfer of your digital assets with peace of mind. This way, your loved ones will have no difficulty in looking after your online accounts after your death.

Throughout the process of preparing your estate, you are supported by both your notary or a SOLAL partner notary and the SOLAL TECH team. Whether you have a technical or legal question, you can be sure of receiving a quality answer as quickly as possible.

Note that you can create a free account to take inventory of your digital assets and register a beneficiary. This is an ideal way to test the platform and determine whether it meets your needs and expectations.