What happens to a Disney+ account when someone dies
The Walt Disney publishes no process specific to a deceased person's account; a written request goes in through The Walt Disney's support ticket system.
Under The Walt Disney's terms, a Disney+ account closes when the holder dies and nothing in it passes to anyone.
The Walt Disney publishes no process specific to a deceased person's account; a written request goes in through The Walt Disney's support ticket system. The request takes 4 documents.
What to do
Required Documents
- Account email: The estate supplies the email the account uses when it contacts Disney+ Support.
- Death certificate: if contacting Disney+ Support without account access. Typically requested by support.
- Proof of relationship: if contacting Disney+ Support without account access. Typically requested by support.
- Proof of authority to act on the account holder's behalf: on request
What The Walt Disney Company's terms say at death
- 3(a)
“Within the Territory and subject to the terms and conditions in this Agreement, we grant you a limited, personal use, non-transferable, non-assignable, revocable, non-exclusive and non-sublicensable right to do the following: Install and make non-commercial, personal use of the Services; and stream or temporarily download copyrighted materials... This is a license agreement and not an agreement for sale or assignment of any rights in the Content.”1
What The Walt Disney Company says happens7
- Balances, payouts and refunds
Where Disney+ Support approves a refund on a directly billed subscription, the amount usually returns to the original payment method within 7-10 business days.2
Except as required by law, no refund or credit is owed for a partly used subscription term or billing period, but Disney may give one case by case at its sole and absolute discretion.1
Gift Card Credit on the account does not expire, but it is not refundable or redeemable for cash, cannot be moved back to the Gift Card, and applies only to future Disney+ billing on that account.7
- Subscriptions and billing
If the account holder's subscription ends, all profiles on the account lose access.1
A Disney Bundle pairs Disney+ with Hulu and optionally HBO Max or ESPN Unlimited; the bundled services share one Subscriber Agreement and one billing relationship, so cancelling the bundle cancels access to all of them.1, 3, 4
Self-service cancellation is under Account, Cancel Subscription, at disneyplus.com in a web browser, and takes effect at the end of the current subscription term.5
A subscription billed through Apple, Google, Roku, Amazon or another third party is cancelled through that platform as well; a Disney+ cancellation alone does not stop a billing partner's charges.6
- Purchased content and licenses
Downloaded content becomes inaccessible when the subscription ends, and downloads cannot be preserved off-device.1
- What carries over to a new account
Profiles, watchlists and viewing history are tied to the account and cannot be moved to another Disney+ account.1
- Closing the account
The subscription must be cancelled before the account is deleted; once deleted, the account can no longer be cancelled through the website or app.6
Deleting a Disney+ account does not delete a Hulu or ESPN account or the MyDisney account used across other Disney services, and does not stop a subscription billed through a third-party partner.6
- Deletion and data retention
Deletion removes the email address, name and profile names and anonymizes the remaining Disney+ account information.6, 8
- Inactive accounts and expiry
Disney reserves the right to terminate a subscription that stays inactive for an extended period, for example more than one year, and failure to log in counts as inactivity. The termination is discretionary, not automatic.1
Not in Disney+'s published guidance7
- A process for a deceased account holder
- Transfer at death
- A complete list of the documents to send
- A mailing address for a written request
- A phone number for this
- A dedicated estate email address
- How long a support-assisted closure or records request takes
A written request to The Walt Disney can ask it to provide purchase and transaction records for the estate inventory, refund an unspent balance, close the account and preserve the account while the estate is opened.
Nothing in the account survives the holder, and The Walt Disney allows no lifetime transfer of it either.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter for Disney+ drafts that request from the estate's details.
Sources
Data sourced from The Walt Disney Company primary sources (10 pages reviewed). How we research.
Disney+ estate claims
Disney+ Help Center
Hours
Website
Estate requests go through general customer service.
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Forms for Settling an Estate
Free forms for settling an estate: the probate petition, small estate affidavit, notice to creditors, inventory, and closing forms.
Affidavit of Death
Put a joint owner's or a transfer on death deed owner's death on the land records with the affidavit your state's statute names, laid out for recording.
IRS Form 56
Notify the IRS that you are the fiduciary of an estate, a trust or a person, or end a notice filed before, on the official form.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter
Prepare a letter requesting a deceased person's online accounts, points, and balances from the program that holds them.
Petition for Probate and Letters
Open probate and ask the court to appoint you and issue Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
Notice to Creditors
Notify estate creditors and start the claim period — the published notice plus mailed copies for known creditors.
Renunciation of Executor
Decline an appointment as executor named in a will — the writing filed with the court before anyone is appointed.
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