What Happens to Your AWS (Amazon Web Services) Account When You Die
Quick Facts
Charges
Continue indefinitely
Root access
Critical to document
Services
EC2, S3, RDS, Route 53
Step-by-Step Guide
Disable IAM users and roles
Revoke access for any unused IAM users. Rotate root account credentials if compromised.
Stop running instances
EC2 instances, RDS databases, and other compute services bill hourly. Stop or terminate anything not needed.
Check Route 53 domains
Domains registered through Route 53 will not auto-renew if the account is closed. Transfer to another registrar.
Contact AWS support
aws.amazon.com/contact-us for estate account closure. Root account credentials are critical.
Document Now Checklist
- AWS account ID and root email
- Root credential location
- List all running services and regions
- Monthly AWS bill amount
- IAM users with access
Save this to your vault
When you document your accounts in Passed Plan, your family gets a personalized action plan — with only the guides that apply to them, in the right order, with your notes attached.
Start your vault — free for 30 daysLast verified: June 2026. Platform policies may change. Verify current procedures directly with AWS (Amazon Web Services). This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Related Guides
WordPress.com
Document every WordPress.com site URL, admin login email, and whether each has a premium plan. Add a separate vault entry for each site if you manage multiple.
WordPress.org (Self-Hosted)
Document every self-hosted WordPress site URL, hosting provider, wp-admin login, and database credentials. Add a separate vault entry for each site.
GitHub
GitHub has no formal memorialization process. Private repos become permanently inaccessible without account credentials. Add a trusted contact as org owner for any organizations you manage.
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