Estate planning as a Walmart+ account holder

Walmart+ is Walmart's paid membership (free shipping, fuel discounts, Scan & Go, and other benefits) tied to a single Walmart.com account. The same account also holds a rewards balance, which Walmart splits into two programs: Walmart Cash (the broad program, redeemable on purchases and cashable out in store once it reaches $25) and Walmart Rewards for members (in-store cashback that applies to future purchases and is not redeemable for cash). For estate purposes the membership and the stored balance behave differently: the paid membership is non-transferable and ends with the member, while the Walmart Cash terms expressly state the balance cannot be divided as part of a settlement, legal proceeding, or death.

Walmart+ rewards are forfeited at death under the program's terms. The terms explicitly state that rewards are not the account holder's property and cannot be inherited, transferred by will, or assigned through any estate planning mechanism.

What happens at death

Neither the Walmart+ membership nor the stored rewards balance passes to heirs. The Walmart+ Terms of Use state "You may not transfer or assign your Walmart+ Membership or any Walmart+ Benefits," and the membership is for personal, non-commercial use; it ends with the member and is not inheritable. The stored balance is governed by the Terms of Use for the Walmart Cash Program, which state that Walmart Cash "is non-transferable and non-assignable, cannot be brokered, bartered or sold, and cannot be divided as part of a settlement, legal proceeding or death, or combined with Walmart Cash of any other participant in the program." A Walmart.com account in good standing is required to obtain and redeem the balance. Walmart Cash does not expire, but because it is tied to the account and cannot be transferred or divided at death, it is effectively lost unless someone who can lawfully act for the estate accesses the account and redeems it before the account is closed. Walmart Rewards for members are likewise "not cash and are not redeemable for cash" and apply only to future Walmart purchases on the same account. Walmart does not publish a deceased-member transfer process for either the membership or the balance.