Estate planning as a HBO Max account holder

HBO Max is the streaming platform from Warner Bros. Discovery, offering HBO originals, Warner Bros. films, DC content, and Discovery programming. The service was branded as "Max" from May 2023 until July 2025, when Warner Bros. Discovery restored the HBO Max name. An HBO Max account holds up to five Authorized User profiles with their own watch histories, recommendations, My List, and parental controls. The Terms of Use grant a limited, revocable, non-transferrable license to access the platform for personal, non-commercial use, and subscription fees are non-refundable unless required by law, though HBO Max reserves the right to offer a refund as a discretionary accommodation. Two things do survive the license: One-Time Purchases (pay-per-view events and other content bought outside the subscription) leave a purchase record, and an Adult profile can be copied to another HBO Max account through the published profile-transfer feature while the original account is still active.

After a HBO Max account holder dies, Warner Bros. Discovery may transfer accounts to a designated recipient, but this is handled case by case. The outcome depends on the documentation provided and is entirely at Warner Bros. Discovery's discretion.

During their lifetime, HBO Max members can transfer accounts to other program members for a fee. This provides a straightforward way to share accumulated value.

What happens at death

HBO Max accounts are non-transferable under the US Terms of Use, Section 3.2 of which provides that "Your Subscription grants you a limited, revocable, non-transferrable license to access the Platform and the Platform's Content solely for your personal, non-commercial use, and only on the Platform in accordance with these Terms." The closing assignment clause repeats the point: "Your rights and obligations under this Agreement are non-transferrable." There is no formal estate transfer or inheritance process, HBO Max publishes no dedicated bereavement page, and its US Privacy Policy describes no deceased-user or authorized-agent route. To cancel a deceased person's account, contact HBO Max customer support at 1-855-442-6629 or support@HBOMax.com, both published in Section 3.7 of the Terms of Use, or through the Help Center. Support representatives can work with family members or legal representatives who provide a death certificate and proof of authority to close the account. Whether HBO Max will do anything beyond closing the account is handled case by case; the Terms of Use do not contemplate transfer of the account itself. Two narrower paths are documented. First, HBO Max publishes a profile-transfer feature: an Adult profile, including its avatar, watch history, My List, PIN, settings, and recommendations, can be copied to a new or existing HBO Max account, provided the account holding the profile still has an active subscription, both accounts are in the same country or region, and the destination account has fewer than five profiles. Kids profiles cannot be transferred. Second, Section 2.4 states that subscription fees are non-refundable and that HBO Max does not provide refunds, credit, or prorated billing for cancelled subscriptions, but adds that "A Subscription Provider may choose to offer refunds, discounts or other consideration as a discretionary accommodation." The Extra Member Add-On is the one documented automatic refund: the help center states that if there is remaining time on the add-on when the base plan expires, the account owner receives a prorated refund for the remaining days. Where the subscription is billed through a third party (Apple, Google Play, Amazon Appstore, Roku, Samsung, Xumo, or a TV/ISP provider), refunds follow that provider's policy and cancellation must be done through that provider.

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