What to do when an Apple account holder dies
Report the death to Apple at 1-877-255-5923
What happens to Apple accounts after the account holder dies depends on how each account was titled. Beneficiary-designated and trust-owned accounts transfer directly. Accounts in the deceased's name alone go through the estate, and the executor or administrator works with Apple (1-877-255-5923) to claim the funds.
The first step is contacting Apple at 1-877-255-5923 with the account holder's full name, account numbers, and the death certificate in hand.
Death claim process
Follow these steps to file a death claim with Apple:
Filing a claim
- Apple Savings: Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Lockbox 7022, P.O. Box 71022, Philadelphia, PA 19176-1022
- Apple Card: Lockbox 6112, P.O. Box 7247, Philadelphia, PA 19170-6112
- With a Legacy Contact access key: start a Legacy Contact access request
- To delete the account you need your own Apple Account and the account to delete: start a deletion request
- In the U.S. you can also request access with a court order that names you as the rightful inheritor of the deceased person's personal information
Required Documents
- Death certificate, For a request on the deceased person's Apple AccountApple says the legal documentation it requires "generally includes a death certificate, and might also require a court order or other documentation."
- Legacy Contact access key, For a Legacy Contact's request to access the Apple AccountApple says the key might be "in your Apple Account settings, printed out, or included in your loved one's estate planning documents."
- Court order, To request access to the Apple Account in the U.S. without an access keyApple says "the court order must name you as the rightful inheritor of your loved one's personal information."
What happens to each kind of account4
- Payable-on-death account
Apple Savings can name up to six payable-on-death beneficiaries, paid in equal shares. If a beneficiary dies before the owner, the funds are paid to the surviving beneficiaries.1
- Account in one name
An Apple Savings account "may only be owned by one person." If a fiduciary is appointed, Goldman "may allow the fiduciary to access an Account, subject to the fiduciary's verified rights."1
- Fiduciary account
An Apple Savings account "may not be opened in the name of a trust or other legal entity or by a fiduciary (e.g., executor, conservator, guardians, trustees, etc.)."1
- Credit card
If the account is in default, Goldman may "require you to immediately pay all or any portion of your total outstanding balance (this action may also be taken upon death)."2
Each Co-Owner of a shared Apple Card is "jointly and severally responsible for paying us all amounts due." A Co-Owner cannot remove a Co-Owner, but may ask to close the account and apply for an individual one, and stays responsible for the closed account's balance.2
Accounts handled elsewhere1
- Green Dot Bank
Apple Cash balances3
Phone: 1-877-233-8552
Mailing address: Apple Cash Customer Service, P.O. Box 1070, West Chester, OH 45071
Help Apple offers survivors1
- Digital Legacy
Apple's way for loved ones to request access to, or delete, a deceased person's Apple Account and the data stored with it. Apple "requires and verifies legal documentation before we can assist with a deceased person's account."4
Who qualifies: A Legacy Contact with the access key, or in the U.S. a requester named in a court order as the rightful inheritor; deletion takes the requester's own Apple Account.
What Apple's agreement and guidance say7
- Telling the institution
The Apple Savings agreement says: "We must be notified immediately if the Account owner passes away or is declared legally incompetent. Until we receive notice and required documentation, we may act as if the owner is alive and competent."1
- What it does when notified
Goldman may restrict an Apple Savings account if it believes the owner has passed away, and lists "a reasonable basis to believe the Account owner is deceased" among its reasons to restrict or close an account.1
On written notice from a personal representative, executor, guardian or other agent, Goldman "may rely on any representations made in such notice and may take action to restrict or close your Account."1
- Deposits after the death
"If payments from certain government entities are deposited into your Account after your death, we may be required to return those payments to the originator upon notice."1
- Disputes between claimants
Goldman need not give a fiduciary access or payment if it believes in good faith "there may be a bona fide dispute concerning rights to an Account," or if it is "uncertain as to who is entitled to Account access or Account funds."1
- Powers of attorney
An accepted attorney in fact may use the Apple Savings account "unless we have had a reasonable opportunity to act on written notice that you have passed away or the power of attorney has been revoked."1
- Debts owed to the institution
Goldman "may use the funds in your Account to cover any: (i) rights of set-off, levy, attachment, garnishment, or other valid legal process or court order relating to the Account owner."1
- Dormant and unclaimed accounts
Goldman says it is "required to send the balance of any abandoned or unclaimed Account to the state of your last known address."1
Green Dot "may transfer, also known as escheat, funds in your Apple Cash Balance to the appropriate state if no activity occurs on your Apple Cash Account" within the period state law sets.3
Not in Apple's published guidance5
- A list of required documents, for deposit accounts
- A list of required documents, for lending products
- A claim form
- How long a claim takes
- Death terms in the Apple Cash Terms and Conditions
Sources4
- 1.Deposit Account Agreement, Effective March 19, 2026
- 2.Apple Card Customer Agreement
- 3.Apple Cash Terms and Conditions, October 1, 2026
- 4.Request access to a deceased family member’s Apple Account, Published Date: August 10, 2026
Apple can be reached by phone at 1-877-255-5923 for questions throughout the claims process.
Sources
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Data sourced from Apple primary sources (16 pages reviewed). How we research.
Apple death claims support
Phone
Apple Card
Apple Cash (Green Dot Bank)
Apple Cash (Green Dot Bank)
Mailing address
Website
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