What happens to a Verizon account when someone dies
Verizon Communications publishes its own process for a deceased person's account; a request goes in through Verizon Communications' online form.
Verizon Communications' terms give a family member a path to a Verizon account after the holder dies.
Verizon Communications publishes its own process for a deceased person's account: Executors - Transfer or disconnect service when an Account Owner is deceased; a request goes in through Verizon Communications' online form. The request takes 4 documents. Executor transfer or disconnect service form answers at 1-800-922-0204.
How to request a transfer
- •Complete one form for each Verizon account the lines move to, with the Letters Testamentary on each.
- •Save any voicemails first; they are not kept when a line is transferred.
- •Verizon reviews the request in about 3 business days, then emails the new Account Owner to complete the transfer.
- •Return it with the return kit Verizon sends; the remaining balance is forgiven when the device arrives.
- •Keep it; Verizon disconnects the line and charges the remaining balance on the next bill.
Required Documents
- Letters Testamentary: for the executor's transfer or disconnect form, one copy with each form. A copy is uploaded as a .jpg, .pdf or .png file of up to 10Mb, with the deceased's private information redacted.
- Death certificate: for an Account Member's form, and by phone or in a Company Store. The member form takes a redacted copy; by phone, Verizon may ask for an upload through the transfer or disconnect form.
- The Account Owner's name and the mobile numbers being transferred or disconnected
- The Verizon mobile Account PIN: when disconnecting by phone or in a Company Store
Timeline
Verizon reviews a deceased Account Owner's transfer or disconnect request in about 3 business days.
What Verizon Communications Inc.'s terms say at death
- Sections 7.1 and 6.3
“Dollars and Program benefits are non-transferable and cannot be sold, gifted, or assigned to another account or party. ... If a customer terminates their Verizon service, all accumulated Verizon Dollars will be immediately forfeited.”1
What Verizon Communications Inc. says happens6
- Transfer at death
Consent is not required to transfer a line from a deceased loved one's account to another Verizon account.2
An executor transfers lines after providing the executorship paperwork; when approved, Verizon emails the new Account Owner to help complete the transfer.3
- Closing the account
An executor disconnects a line or closes the whole account by phone with Customer Service or at a Verizon Company Store; Verizon Authorized Retailers such as Walmart and Target cannot help.3
- What carries over to a new account
Changing the Account Owner, including transferring service, counts as a cancellation of Verizon services, so the account's Verizon Dollars are forfeited.2
myAccess rewards, voicemails, subscription services and optional $10/month perks do not move with a transferred line; Verizon recommends redeeming myAccess rewards before the transfer.2
- Subscriptions and billing
A perk subscription on the deceased's line cancels when the service is terminated; some must be cancelled with the perk's third party.3
- Balances, payouts and refunds
For a device with a payment balance, the family returns it with Verizon's return kit and the remaining balance is forgiven, or keeps it and the balance is charged on the next bill.3
- How requests are reviewed
Verizon contacts the requester if it needs more information, and sends an automatic email to the deceased Account Owner's email address, which can be ignored.3
Forms Verizon uses2
- Executors - Transfer or disconnect service when an Account Owner is deceased
The executor notifies Verizon of the Account Owner's death and transfers lines to a different Verizon account, or lists lines to disconnect; also used to upload documents Verizon asked for.4
Completed by the executor. Completed online.
- Transfer or disconnect service when an Account Owner is deceased
An Account Member transfers service to another Verizon account; an Account Manager uses it only to upload documents Verizon asked for on a disconnect.5
Completed by an Account Member. Completed online.
Not in Verizon's published guidance1
- A completion time for a number transfer after the review
Sources5
- 1.Verizon Dollars Program: Terms and Conditions, effective as of June 16, 2026
- 2.Transfer mobile numbers between Verizon accounts FAQs
- 3.What to do when someone on your mobile account passes away
- 4.Executors - Transfer or disconnect service when an Account Owner is deceased
- 5.Transfer or disconnect service when an Account Owner is deceased
A written request to Verizon Communications can ask it to transfer the accounts to a named family member, close the account and preserve the account while the estate is opened.
Digital Assets Recovery Letter for Verizon drafts that request from the estate's details.
Sources
Data sourced from Verizon Communications Inc. primary sources (7 pages reviewed). How we research.
Verizon estate claims
Executor transfer or disconnect service form
Phone
Website
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Affidavit of Death
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