Playbook

Any Other Account or Service

Platform claims verified July 6, 2026

What this mechanism is

This is the catch-all playbook for any account that doesn’t have its own dedicated guide: a utility company, a streaming subscription, a domain registrar, a cloud host, an airline miles program, a small brokerage, anything. There is no single mechanism here. Instead, this guide gives you a repeatable way to document a service so that the person handling your affairs can deal with it without you — even a service they have never heard of.

The core idea: for every account, answer four questions. What is it? Why does it matter? What are you leaving behind for it? And what should your survivors actually do with it?

Set it up now

Create a generic account card in AmberKey for the service.
Name it clearly. Use the name your survivors will recognize, not internal shorthand. “Namecheap — where my domains live,” not “NC.”
Say what it is, in one sentence a stranger would understand. “This company hosts the family photo website” beats “VPS provider.”
Say why it matters and how urgent it is. Pick one:
- Keep alive — something breaks or is lost if this lapses (a domain, a web host, cloud storage holding the only copy of something).
- Has value — money, credit, points, or refunds to recover (airline miles, store credit, a small investment account).
- Just cancel — a subscription that only costs money from now on (streaming, gym-style memberships, software subscriptions).
Record the metadata on the card: the login email or username (not the password), the website, roughly what it costs and how often, which payment card it bills to, and any account number.
Decide whether it needs a Layer 2 secret. Most generic services don’t — your survivors can use the service’s own account-recovery or cancellation process. Escrow a credential to Layer 2 only when losing access loses something irreplaceable (for example, a domain registrar or a cloud host holding the only copy of your data). Never do this for banks, brokerages, or credit cards — see the banks playbook for why.
Write one or two sentences of instructions to your executor in the card’s instructions field. Example: “Renew the domain every year — the family photo site runs on it. Everything else here can be cancelled.”
Check for a built-in legacy option. More services add “legacy contact” or “inactive account” features over time. Search the service’s help pages for “deceased,” “legacy,” or “memorial.” If one exists, set it up and note it on the card.
Repeat for each service. A five-minute card that exists beats a perfect card you never wrote.

What AmberKey stores

Layer 1 (metadata — the executor packet): the service name, what it is, why it matters, the login email, the website, billing details, account numbers, and your instructions. This is safe to store because none of it lets anyone into the account by itself.
Layer 2 (bearer secrets — the encrypted vault): only if you decided in step 6 that this service truly needs one — a password or recovery code for a keep-alive service holding something irreplaceable.
Never store: credentials for banks, brokerages, credit cards, or anything else regulated. Survivors use the institution’s death process for those, with a death certificate — not your password.

What your survivors do

Open the account card in your AmberKey packet. Read the “what it is” and “why it matters” lines first — they tell you whether this is urgent or can wait.
If the card says keep alive: make sure the bill keeps getting paid. If the payment card it bills to is being cancelled, update the payment method first. Do not let it lapse while you sort out everything else.
If the card says has value: contact the company before closing anything, and ask how to claim or transfer the balance, miles, or credit. Ask them to put a hold on the account in the meantime.
If the card says just cancel: contact the company, say the account holder has died, and ask them to close the account and stop billing. Ask for a confirmation email and whether any recent charges can be refunded.
If you can’t find a phone number, search the web for the company name plus “deceased account holder” or “bereavement.” Most companies have a process; it’s often just not well signposted.
If a company refuses to talk to you, don’t argue on the first call. Ask exactly what documents they need, write down the answer and the representative’s name, and send the documents. This is normal — they are required to check.
Keep a simple list as you go: company, date you called, who you spoke to, what they asked for, what happened. You will be glad you did.

Required documents

A certified copy of the death certificate — many companies accept a photo or scan; some want a mailed certified copy.
Your government-issued ID.
For accounts with money or property in them: letters testamentary (or letters of administration) — the court paper naming you as executor. Small subscriptions almost never require this; anything holding funds usually does.

Expected timeline

Simple cancellations: one phone call or email, effective immediately or at the end of the billing cycle.
Refunds and balance claims: 2–8 weeks, depending on the company.
Anything requiring court papers: add the time it takes to get letters testamentary (often several weeks after filing for probate).

Gotchas

Auto-renewals don’t stop on death. Subscriptions bill until someone cancels them. Reviewing the deceased’s bank and card statements for recurring charges is the most reliable way to find accounts nobody documented.
Domains expire quietly. A lapsed domain can be bought by a stranger, taking a family website or an email address with it. If a card mentions a domain, treat it as keep-alive and check the renewal date immediately.
Cancelling an email account too early breaks everything else. Other services send password resets and confirmations to it. Cancel email and phone service last, after everything that depends on them is settled.
The account email might BE the recovery path. If survivors can receive email at the deceased’s address (see the Google and Apple playbooks), many generic accounts can be recovered with an ordinary password reset — often easier than the company’s death process.
Prepaid value can be forfeited. Some terms of service void balances or points on death unless a survivor claims them. Ask before closing; closing first can destroy the value.
Don’t guess passwords. Repeated failed logins can lock the account and complicate the company’s own recovery process. Use the documented process instead.