How to Cancel Subscriptions and Recurring Payments After a Death

A modern person's financial life is riddled with recurring charges — streaming services, gym memberships, software subscriptions, monthly boxes, cloud storage. When someone dies, these charges keep coming until someone stops them. This guide gives you a systematic approach to canceling them all.

Why This Matters

If the deceased's bank account isn't being actively monitored, recurring charges can drain it for months before anyone notices. The estate is responsible for paying these charges until they're cancelled — and cancelling them promptly preserves estate assets for heirs and creditors.

Step 1: Find All the Recurring Charges

You cannot cancel what you don't know about. Here's how to find them:

Review bank statements — 3–6 months of statements will reveal most recurring payments. Look for anything charged on a regular interval.
Review credit card statements — many subscriptions are charged to a specific card.
Check email inbox — search for "your subscription," "billing receipt," "monthly plan," "renewal notice"
Check Apple ID / Google Play — both platforms show all active in-app subscriptions. This catches app subscriptions that appear on credit card statements as "APPLE.COM/BILL" or "GOOGLE*SERVICES"
Check PayPal and Venmo — some recurring subscriptions are paid through these services

Common Subscriptions to Cancel: A Checklist

Streaming and entertainment

Netflix — cancel at netflix.com/account or call 1-866-579-7172
Hulu — cancel at hulu.com/account
Disney+ — cancel at disneyplus.com
Amazon Prime — cancel at amazon.com/gp/help (requires contacting support with death certificate)
Spotify — cancel at spotify.com/account
Apple TV+ / Apple One — cancel via Apple ID settings or contact Apple Support
HBO Max — cancel at max.com
YouTube Premium — cancel via Google account settings
Cable / satellite TV — call the provider

Tech and software

iCloud storage — contact Apple with death certificate
Google One / Google storage — contact Google with documentation
Microsoft 365 — call 1-800-642-7676 or contact online
Adobe Creative Cloud — contact Adobe Support
Dropbox, Box — contact their support

Health and wellness

Gym memberships — call or visit the gym. Most require written notice plus death certificate to cancel without an early termination fee.
Peloton, Mirror, and similar — contact support with death certificate
Prescription delivery services (Hims, Hers, Done, etc.) — contact directly

Shopping and delivery

Amazon Prime (separate from streaming)
Instacart+
DoorDash DashPass
Subscription boxes (meal kits, beauty, clothing, pet)

News and media

New York Times, Washington Post, and other digital newspaper subscriptions
Magazine subscriptions — contact the publisher

Financial and insurance

Life, auto, home, health insurance premiums — handle as part of your broader insurance account management. Keep home insurance active while property is in the estate.
Investment app subscriptions (Robinhood Gold, etc.)

What to Say When You Call

Most services will cancel a deceased person's subscription with minimal resistance when you say: "The account holder has passed away. I'm their [relationship] and I'm handling their estate. I need to cancel this subscription." Most will ask for the death certificate and/or your identity documentation.

If a service has an early termination fee (gyms are common offenders), explain that the cancellation is due to death. Most companies waive these fees in this circumstance — especially when you're willing to send a copy of the death certificate.

Keep a Log

Track what you cancel, when, with whom you spoke, and the confirmation number. This protects you if billing continues after cancellation and you need to dispute a charge.

For the broader picture of handling bills and accounts after a death, see our guide to bills and debt after a death and our complete accounts management guide.