What happens to your PayPal accounts when you die
No beneficiary or trust option on any account, so they pass through the estate
PayPal does not currently support beneficiary designations, transfer-on-death registrations, or trust account titling on any account type. All PayPal accounts pass through the estate at death and may require probate.
When an account holder dies, the executor or administrator will need to contact PayPal with a death certificate and legal authority documents to claim account balances. The process and required documents are covered on the death claim page.
PayPal does not currently support beneficiary designations (POD or TOD) on any account type. All accounts transfer through the estate at death and may require probate.
Why trust accounts are not available
PayPal does not support retitling accounts into a trust, naming a trust as beneficiary, or any other probate-avoidance mechanism. Account balances transfer through the estate at death.
PayPal Balance Account
Governed by the PayPal Balance Terms and Conditions, which are between the customer and PayPal, Inc. and require the owner to be an individual. Balance funds are unsecured claims against PayPal, except that for customers who have a PayPal Debit Card, use Direct Deposit, or bought or received crypto, PayPal places U.S. dollar balance funds at one or more Program Banks (currently Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.), where they may be eligible for pass-through FDIC insurance. Direct Deposit uses an account and routing number issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. When Synchrony Bank closes a PayPal Savings account, the remaining savings balance is transferred to the PayPal Balance.
PayPal Savings
PayPal Debit Mastercard
Issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. It spends from the PayPal Balance account, and a Balance Account in good standing is required to maintain the card. The Cardholder Agreement states: "If your Balance Account is closed for any reason, then your Card Account will be closed and your Card will be cancelled."
PayPal Crypto
Crypto accounts are provided by PayPal Digital, Inc., a New York limited purpose trust company, and some custody, trading, and transfer services are performed by Paxos Trust Company, N.A. PayPal lists Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and PayPal USD (PYUSD) among the assets it supports. The Cryptocurrency Terms state that closing the linked PayPal account automatically closes the Crypto Account and that Crypto Assets must be sold or transferred before a Crypto Account is closed. Crypto assets are not FDIC or SIPC insured. PayPal's deceased-account article does not mention crypto. PayPal Digital Customer Support for PayPal-linked crypto accounts is (888) 221-1161 or PayPal Digital, Attn: Crypto Support, P.O. Box 45950, Omaha, NE 68145-0950.
Sources
Data sourced from PayPal primary sources (18 pages reviewed). How we research.
PayPal estate support
PayPal Customer Service
Phone
Hours
Website
Estate requests go through general customer service.
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