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PayPal · Estate process

What happens to your PayPal account when you die

A PayPal balance is money, and money belongs to your estate. The only risk is that nobody knows it is there.

Estate processOfficial help centre

What happens if nothing is set up

A PayPal account usually stays open until someone tells PayPal about the death. Any balance stays in the account in the meantime.

PayPal handles deceased customers through its estate process. The executor provides documents, PayPal verifies them, closes the account and pays out the balance to the estate.

The bigger risk is that the account is never found, especially if it is linked to an old email address. Recurring payments set up through PayPal may also keep running until someone acts.

Steps

What to do instead

There is nothing to switch on. What helps is making the account easy for your executor to find and close.

  1. Record the account

    Note the email address the account uses and roughly what it is for.

  2. List linked payments

    Write down subscriptions or automatic payments that run through PayPal, so they can be stopped.

  3. Note linked banks and cards

    List which bank accounts and cards are connected, which helps your executor trace money.

  4. Keep it with your will

    Store the note with your other financial instructions so your executor finds everything in one place.

PayPal's exact requirements vary by country, so your executor should check PayPal's current help pages.

What your family can request

Requests come from the executor or estate representative.

  • Closure of the account
  • Payment of any remaining balance to the estate
  • No ongoing access to the account is given

Documents usually requested

  • A death certificate
  • A copy of the will or court documents showing who acts for the estate
  • Photo ID for the executor or representative

Policies change. Treat this as a starting point and confirm on each service's own help pages.

FAQ

Questions about PayPal

After PayPal verifies the executor's documents, it closes the account and pays the remaining balance to the estate.

The executor or another person with legal authority over the estate, by contacting PayPal with the required documents.

No. Accounts belong to one person and should not be used by others. The estate process closes it and pays out the balance.

List it in your account inventory with the email it uses. Some people keep that list in a sealed note for their executor in Sealkept, delivered only if they stop checking in.

Other services

Other accounts to plan for

Back to all accounts

Related reading

One service at a time. Or the whole picture at once.

Write one sealed note to your executor in Sealkept listing every account and what you want done. It's delivered only if you stop checking in.

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