What happens to Ko-fi account when the owner dies
Ko-fi Labs Limited has a formal process for transferring account after an account holder dies
Ko-fi Help Center (support hub)
Ko-fi Support (no dedicated estate team published; submit a request through the support hub)
Ko-fi publishes no timeline for a deceased creator's account, because it publishes no estate process; requests are handled case by case through the support hub. For the money, the relevant timelines belong to the payment processors: funds paid to the creator's PayPal or Stripe account follow those providers' own hold and payout schedules and their own deceased-account procedures.
Ko-fi's Terms of Service (last updated and effective from 13 July 2026) do not address death, estates, inheritance, account transfer, or assignment, and Ko-fi publishes no deceased-user or estate process, so handling a deceased creator's account is a discretionary support matter decided case by case. The load-bearing structural fact is that Ko-fi holds no money: the Terms state Ko-fi is "not a marketplace, a payment agent or intermediary, financial institution, merchant, creditor, charity, advisor, or broker" and does "not process or hold payments," and that "Payments are made directly from Supporters to Creators externally to Ko-fi using a third-party payment provider (e.g. PayPal, Inc., and Stripe, Inc.)." Ko-fi's help center says the same in plainer terms: creators are paid directly into their PayPal or Stripe account and never hold a balance on Ko-fi. So a deceased creator's funds are addressed through PayPal's and Stripe's own deceased-account procedures and through the estate's bank account, not through Ko-fi. What Ko-fi holds is the account: the page, posts, messages, supporter list, and transaction history. None of that is documented as transferable, and Ko-fi's help center states that deleting a creator account permanently removes the transaction history, posts, supporter list, and all other account information, cancels active subscriptions to that page, and cannot be undone. Ko-fi's help center is silent too: all 120 published English help articles were scanned end to end on 2026-09-16 and none mentions a deceased, estate, executor, heir, or next-of-kin process, and the support form's own "Query type" list carries no bereavement, deceased, or estate option. The only formal records-and-preservation channel Ko-fi publishes is its law-enforcement guide, which is for authorised law enforcement acting under a court order or an emergency justification — an executor is not that, so an estate request is a discretionary support matter. Three recurring-payment traps matter to an executor: fans keep being charged on active memberships until those memberships stop; the creator's own paid Ko-fi subscription keeps charging as well, since the Terms state that "Merely deleting your Account without cancelling your subscription will not stop these payments," so the subscription has to be cancelled in its own right; and disconnecting the page's PayPal or Stripe does not stop them either, because Ko-fi's help center states that active subscriptions "will still renew even if your PayPal/Stripe is disconnected since they're tied to your payment provider rather than your Ko-fi account."
How to request a transfer
To request a transfer of Ko-fi account after an account holder's death, follow these steps:
- •PayPal — see the separate PayPal estate guide for PayPal's deceased-account process
- •Stripe — funds sit in the creator's Stripe account or have already paid out to the linked bank account; handle the bank account through the estate and Stripe through its own support
- •The linked bank account — recent and ongoing Ko-fi income lands there, so the estate's bank records are the clearest picture of what is still arriving
- •A copy of the death certificate
- •Documentation of your authority over the estate (for example, Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration)
- •The creator's Ko-fi page name and the email address on the account
Required Documents
- Copy of the death certificate
- Documentation of your authority over the estate (for example, Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration)
- The creator's Ko-fi page name and the email address on the account
- Estate handling of the connected PayPal and/or Stripe account, where the funds actually reside
Timeline
Ko-fi publishes no timeline for a deceased creator's account, because it publishes no estate process; requests are handled case by case through the support hub. For the money, the relevant timelines belong to the payment processors: funds paid to the creator's PayPal or Stripe account follow those providers' own hold and payout schedules and their own deceased-account procedures.
Frequently asked questions
No. Ko-fi's Terms of Service state that Ko-fi is not a payment provider and does "not process or hold payments," and that "Payments are made directly from Supporters to Creators externally to Ko-fi using a third-party payment provider (e.g. PayPal, Inc., and Stripe, Inc.)." Ko-fi's help center puts it the same way: creators are paid directly into their own PayPal or Stripe account and never hold a balance on Ko-fi. So a deceased creator's money is claimed through PayPal's and Stripe's deceased-account procedures and through the estate's bank account, not from Ko-fi.
No published one. Ko-fi's Terms of Service do not mention death, estates, inheritance, transfer, or assignment; none of Ko-fi's 120 published English help articles describes a deceased, estate, executor, or next-of-kin process; and the support form's "Query type" list has no bereavement, deceased, or estate option. Requests are handled case by case through the general support hub at help.ko-fi.com. Because there is no form to follow, a written request that states who died, who you are, and exactly what you are asking for — with a death certificate and your Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration enclosed — is the practical starting point.
Ko-fi documents no way to transfer a creator account to another person or to an estate. The Terms of Service say nothing about transfer or assignment, and there is no family-sharing or beneficiary feature. The page, posts, supporter list, and transaction history are tied to the account. An executor can report the death and ask Ko-fi what it will do; anything Ko-fi grants is at its discretion.
Supporters keep being charged on a recurring basis until the memberships stop. Ko-fi's help center states that deleting a creator account cancels active subscriptions to that page, and that disconnecting the page's PayPal or Stripe does not, because those subscriptions "will still renew even if your PayPal/Stripe is disconnected since they're tied to your payment provider rather than your Ko-fi account." Until the memberships stop, income continues to arrive in the connected PayPal or Stripe account, so the estate's bank records are the clearest way to see what is still coming in. An executor has to decide whether to wind the memberships down gracefully or end them at once.
No, and this catches estates out. Ko-fi's Terms state that "Merely deleting your Account without cancelling your subscription will not stop these payments." The creator's own paid Ko-fi subscription has to be cancelled in its own right, separately from any account deletion, or the recurring charge continues against the payment method on file.
Everything on it. Ko-fi's help center states that deleting a creator account permanently removes the transaction history, posts, supporter list, and all other account information, and that a deleted account cannot be recovered. Because the transaction history is the estate's record of what the creator earned and from whom, ask Ko-fi to preserve the account and provide the records first, and treat closure as the last step.
After the transfer is complete, the recipient can use the account according to the program's standard terms. Document the deceased account holder's details to make this process easier for your executor or family.
Sources
Data sourced from Ko-fi Labs Limited primary sources (7 pages reviewed). How we research.
Ko-fi Help Center (support hub)
Ko-fi Support (no dedicated estate team published; submit a request through the support hub)
Ko-fi publishes no timeline for a deceased creator's account, because it publishes no estate process; requests are handled case by case through the support hub. For the money, the relevant timelines belong to the payment processors: funds paid to the creator's PayPal or Stripe account follow those providers' own hold and payout schedules and their own deceased-account procedures.
Is this your situation?
Get a complete guide for your specific circumstances.
More tools for handling this estate
Calculators and checklists for executors and trustees.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Estimate attorney fees, executor fees, court costs, and timeline for probating an estate in your state. See if the estate qualifies for simplified probate procedures.
How Much Can an Executor Charge?
Calculate how much an executor (personal representative) can charge for administering an estate. See if your state has statutory fees or uses reasonable compensation.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Find out who inherits your estate and how much they get if you die without a will. Based on your state's intestate succession laws.
What's Fair Trustee Compensation?
Find out what's fair compensation for serving as trustee. Compare family, professional, and corporate trustee rates based on your situation.
How Much Are Estate & Inheritance Taxes?
Calculate federal estate tax, state estate tax (12 states + DC), and inheritance tax (5 states) for an estate or trust.
How Many Death Certificates Do I Need?
Calculate how many certified death certificates you need based on the assets and accounts you need to close. See state-specific ordering information.
