Estate planning as a Lyft account holder

A Lyft rider account holds several estate-relevant items: a Lyft Cash stored balance (Lyft calls Standard Lyft Cash "a gift card issued by Lyft, Inc.," funded by card, bank, gift card, partner points, or promotions and used to pay for rides), an optional paid Lyft Pink membership, a Lyft Family link to as many as five other riders sharing one payment method, saved payment methods, and the account's ride history and Lyft Cash Rewards. Lyft Cash cannot be transferred to another party and, under Lyft's own terms, is not refundable except where the law requires a refund; Lyft Pink is non-transferable and tied to the member. An automatic refill, if it is switched on, charges the saved payment method for a fresh Lyft Cash purchase every time the balance falls below $15, and it stays on until someone turns it off. Lyft publishes no deceased-account or bereavement process for riders, so an executor works through general Lyft Support. (The Lyft Driver earnings side is covered separately.)

Lyft, Inc. reviews transfer requests for Lyft accounts on a case-by-case basis after the account holder's death. Approval is at the company's sole discretion, and documentation requirements must be met before any transfer is considered.

What happens at death

Lyft publishes no bereavement or deceased-rider process, so a deceased person's rider account is handled case by case through general Lyft Support. Nothing in the account transfers. The Lyft Terms of Service (Eligibility) state "You may not allow other persons to use your User account, you agree that you are the sole authorized user of your User account, and you may not use your User account on behalf of any third party." The Lyft Cash Terms describe Standard Lyft Cash as "a gift card issued by Lyft, Inc.," state that "No portion of Lyft Cash may be transferred to another party," that "Lyft Cash is not redeemable for cash," and that "Except to the extent required by law, Lyft Cash is not refundable. All Standard Lyft Cash purchases are final." Purchased Standard Lyft Cash "does not expire and is not subject to any fees," while promotional Lyft Credits "may expire as determined by Lyft." Deleting the account "will result in the irrevocable loss of any Lyft Cash balance remaining at the time of deletion, except where Lyft is required to provide a refund by law," and Lyft adds: "Please check your account for any balance prior to deleting." Automatic refill is the charge that keeps running after a death: "By enabling the refill feature, you authorize Lyft to automatically charge your payment method for a new purchase for the pre-selected amount each time your Lyft Cash balance falls below $15 USD," and "The automatic refill charge amount you selected will remain on unless and until you elect to turn them off." Lyft Pink "may not be transferred, exchanged or resold," is non-refundable, and "has no cash value, is not redeemable for cash (except as required by law)"; it ends when the membership is cancelled or the account closes. Lyft Cash Rewards are lost on closure: "If your Lyft App account is terminated, all Rewards will be forfeited immediately upon termination." Because Lyft's own terms make the stored balance non-refundable, an estate cannot count on getting it back; the "except where required by law" carve-out is the only opening, and Lyft does not address death or unclaimed property anywhere in its terms. Lyft does state that "Lyft Cash is issued in the State of California and these Lyft Cash Terms shall be governed by the laws of the State of California," which is where the gift-card characterization points, but Lyft draws no conclusion from that and neither does this record.

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