Can you pass on your Upwork balance when you die?
Upwork Global reviews requests about Upwork balance after a death case by case.
Protecting Upwork balance while the account is active
No beneficiary designation, balance can only be redeemed, not transferred, and 5-step plan.
How to protect your Upwork balance while you are alive →Someone died. Handling Upwork balance after a death
Transfer is handled on a case-by-case basis, 6-step process, and 7 required documents.
What happens to Upwork balance when someone dies →Upwork is a freelance marketplace where clients pay freelancers through escrow services provided by Payment Escrow Inc. (formerly Upwork Escrow Inc.). A freelancer's earnings move through stages before they can be withdrawn: work in progress, in review, pending and available.
Upwork Global decides what happens to Upwork balance after a death case by case; its terms promise no transfer. Upwork Global allows no lifetime transfer of balance; the account holder can only redeem them.
What happens to Upwork at death
- Case by case
Upwork reviews an executor's documents and, upon approval, closes a deceased freelancer's account and distributes all funds in it through the freelancer's previously designated payment method.1
Naming who acts after a death
- Designation
There is no way to name a beneficiary on an Upwork account; after a death Upwork pays the funds through the freelancer's previously designated payment method.1
Upwork Global publishes its own process for a deceased person's account: Collect funds for a deceased freelancer's estate; a written request goes by email to legalnotices@upwork.com. There is no way to name a beneficiary or successor on an Upwork account.
Sources
Data sourced from Upwork Global LLC (escrow services by Payment Escrow Inc.) primary sources (21 pages reviewed). How we research.
Upwork customer support
Upwork Customer Service & Support
Website
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