What happens to Upwork balance when the owner dies
Upwork Global LLC (escrow services by Payment Escrow Inc.) has a formal process for transferring balance after an account holder dies
Upwork Customer Service & Support
Upwork Legal (funds owed to a deceased freelancer)
Upwork, Attn: Legal, 3490 S 4400 W #70008, West Valley City, UT 84120
Upwork asks for at least seven business days to review the estate documents, then closes the account and distributes the funds through the designated payment method; arrival time then depends on the method (Upwork states Direct to Local Bank withdrawals should arrive within four business days, Direct to U.S. Bank within two to five business days, and PayPal transfers usually right away or within 24 hours). Earnings that are not yet available run on their own clocks: hourly work follows a weekly billing period (Monday 00:00 UTC to Sunday 23:59 UTC), then a review period, then a five-day security period; fixed-price work submitted with "Submit Work for Payment" starts a 14-day countdown for automatic payment, followed by the five-day security period. A fixed-price contract with funds in escrow and no activity for 90 days after its last milestone date becomes dormant, and if neither side acts the funds are released to the client by default.
Upwork publishes "Collect funds for a deceased freelancer's estate." To collect money owed to a deceased freelancer, the executor sends all of the following to Upwork by email (legalnotices@upwork.com) or mail (Upwork, Attn: Legal, 3490 S 4400 W #70008, West Valley City, UT 84120): a letter stating the freelancer is deceased and the executor wants to close the freelancer's Upwork account; a copy of the death certificate; a copy of the will or a legal document identifying the requestor as executor (Upwork states a probate court order is preferred); and a copy of the executor's photo ID. Upwork asks for at least seven business days to review. Upon approval it closes the account and distributes all funds in the account via the freelancer's previously designated payment method (ACH, Direct to Local Bank, PayPal, Payoneer, etc.); the executor then collects the funds from that payment vendor. The same article states Upwork can contact the deceased's clients or hired freelancers on the estate's behalf (the official death certificate is required), and can move funds to a different withdrawal method on receipt of the official death certificate, proof of beneficiary status, and the requester's identification. What counts as the freelancer's money depends on the stage: earnings that clients have approved become available after a five-day security period, while funds a client deposited on a fixed-price milestone that was never submitted or released remain the client's under the Fixed Price Service Contract Escrow Instructions (§ 4.4.1: when a freelancer ends a contract, all funds held in escrow on it are released to the client; § 4.3: a dormant contract with no action defaults to release to the client). The account itself is not transferable: User Agreement § 15.3 states that "No other assignments are valid without Upwork's prior written consent" and "Any other attempted transfer or assignment will be null and void," and § 1.4 limits each person to one Account.
How to request a transfer
To request a transfer of Upwork balance after an account holder's death, follow these steps:
- •A letter stating the freelancer is deceased and that the executor wants to close the freelancer's Upwork account
- •A copy of the death certificate
- •A copy of the will or a legal document identifying you as executor of the estate (Upwork states a probate court order is preferred)
- •A copy of the executor's photo ID
- •Email: legalnotices@upwork.com
- •Mail: Upwork, Attn: Legal, 3490 S 4400 W #70008, West Valley City, UT 84120
Required Documents
- A letter stating the freelancer is deceased and that the executor wants to close the freelancer's Upwork account
- A copy of the death certificate
- A copy of the will or a legal document identifying the requestor as executor of the estate (a probate court order is preferred)
- A copy of the executor's photo ID
- To move funds to a different withdrawal method: the official death certificate, proof of beneficiary status, and the requester's identification
Timeline
Upwork asks for at least seven business days to review the estate documents, then closes the account and distributes the funds through the designated payment method; arrival time then depends on the method (Upwork states Direct to Local Bank withdrawals should arrive within four business days, Direct to U.S. Bank within two to five business days, and PayPal transfers usually right away or within 24 hours). Earnings that are not yet available run on their own clocks: hourly work follows a weekly billing period (Monday 00:00 UTC to Sunday 23:59 UTC), then a review period, then a five-day security period; fixed-price work submitted with "Submit Work for Payment" starts a 14-day countdown for automatic payment, followed by the five-day security period. A fixed-price contract with funds in escrow and no activity for 90 days after its last milestone date becomes dormant, and if neither side acts the funds are released to the client by default.
Frequently asked questions
Upwork publishes a process for it. The executor sends Upwork Legal (legalnotices@upwork.com, or by mail to Attn: Legal in West Valley City, UT) a letter stating the freelancer has died and asking to close the account, a copy of the death certificate, a copy of the will or a document identifying the executor (a probate court order is preferred), and the executor's photo ID. Upwork asks for at least seven business days to review. On approval it closes the account and distributes the funds through the freelancer's previously designated payment method, and the executor collects them from that bank or payment provider.
Money a client deposits for a fixed-price milestone is held by Payment Escrow Inc. and is released to the freelancer when the client approves the work. If the milestone was never submitted, the estate should not assume it is owed. Under Upwork's Fixed Price Service Contract Escrow Instructions, when a freelancer ends a contract all funds in escrow on it are released to the client; a client who ends a contract can request a refund, and the freelancer has seven days to dispute it; and a dormant contract where neither side acts is released to the client by default. Work already submitted for payment is different: submission starts a 14-day countdown for automatic payment. Upwork states it can contact the freelancer's clients on the estate's behalf.
Possibly. Hourly work follows a weekly billing period, then a review period in which the client can dispute hours, then a five-day security period before the money is available. Fixed-price payments become available five days after the client approves them. The estate can ask Upwork to identify which amounts are available, pending, or still in review.
Upwork distributes a deceased freelancer's funds through the previously designated payment method, but its estate article states it can move funds to a different withdrawal method. It asks for a copy of the official death certificate, proof of beneficiary status, and a copy of your identification, sent to legalnotices@upwork.com or by mail to Upwork Legal.
No. Upwork's User Agreement limits each person to one account and states that assignments without Upwork's prior written consent are null and void. The Job Success Score, badges, feedback and profile belong to the freelancer's account and end when it is closed. The estate's claim is to the money, not the account.
Upwork describes Connects as virtual tokens freelancers use to submit proposals, sold at $0.15 each. Its help article states that Connects returned when a client cancels a job are credited back for reuse, "not for a refund of their cash value," and it describes no way to cash out a Connects balance.
After the transfer is complete, the recipient can use the balance 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 Upwork Global LLC (escrow services by Payment Escrow Inc.) primary sources (21 pages reviewed). How we research.
Upwork Customer Service & Support
Upwork Legal (funds owed to a deceased freelancer)
Upwork, Attn: Legal, 3490 S 4400 W #70008, West Valley City, UT 84120
Upwork asks for at least seven business days to review the estate documents, then closes the account and distributes the funds through the designated payment method; arrival time then depends on the method (Upwork states Direct to Local Bank withdrawals should arrive within four business days, Direct to U.S. Bank within two to five business days, and PayPal transfers usually right away or within 24 hours). Earnings that are not yet available run on their own clocks: hourly work follows a weekly billing period (Monday 00:00 UTC to Sunday 23:59 UTC), then a review period, then a five-day security period; fixed-price work submitted with "Submit Work for Payment" starts a 14-day countdown for automatic payment, followed by the five-day security period. A fixed-price contract with funds in escrow and no activity for 90 days after its last milestone date becomes dormant, and if neither side acts the funds are released to the client by default.
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