Can you pass on your Substack account when you die?
Substack reviews requests about a Substack account after a death case by case. While alive, the account holder can use transferring the account and authorized users.
Protecting Substack accounts while the account is active
No beneficiary designation, lifetime transfer options for accounts, and 7-step plan.
How to protect your Substack account while you are alive →Someone died. Handling Substack accounts after a death
Transfer is handled on a case-by-case basis, 7-step process, and 2 required documents.
What happens to a Substack account when someone dies →Substack is a newsletter platform where writers earn recurring revenue from paid subscribers. A publication holds the writer's posts, subscriber list and paid subscriptions; payments run through Stripe, with the writer as merchant of record and payouts going to the writer's bank.
Substack decides what happens to a Substack account after a death case by case; its terms promise no transfer. While the account holder is alive, Substack allows transferring the account and authorized users.
What happens to Substack at death
- Case by case
For a deceased writer, Substack states it can only remove the publication's content; it does not transfer ownership of the account after death.1
Naming who acts after a death
Other companies and product lines involved1
Sources4
- 1.How do I request the removal of a deceased family member's Substack publication?
- 2.How do I transfer ownership of my publication to a new email address?
- 3.What happens when a subscriber disputes a paid subscription on Substack?
- 4.How do I set up my Stripe account on Substack to start receiving payments?
Substack publishes its own process for a deceased person's account: How do I request the removal of a deceased family member's Substack publication?; a written request goes in through Substack's support ticket system. There is no way to name a beneficiary or successor on a Substack account.
Sources
Data sourced from Substack Inc. primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
Substack customer support
Substack Support (chatbot; escalates to an email ticket)
Website
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