Web Extra: Cellphone company policies for deceased family member

AT&T Policy:

Recommended Videos



Below is our policy and happy to say it's accessible to consumers online.  I copied the details below.

Link to policy: http://www.att.com/esupport/article.jsp?sid=KB410609&cv=820

  • To cancel or change an account for a deceased family member, call 800.331.0500 (611 from your AT&T wireless phone). You'll need to provide the account holder's Social Security number and/or the Security Passcode on the wireless account.
  • Early termination and/or Transfer of Billing Responsibility fees won't be charged on the user's line of service.
  • Installment plans will be adjusted for all lines of service if the account holder is deceased, or for the individual wireless line if the deceased is a wireless user on the account.
  • The balance on the account is the responsibility of the estate.
  • The account can't remain active under the name and Social Security number of the deceased person, with the exception of customers living in Oklahoma. A Transfer of Billing Responsibility is required to keep the wireless number with AT&T service.

Verizon Policy:

If the Account Owner is reported as deceased, all lines on the account qualify to have any Early Termination Fee waived. A death certificate is not required to receive that waiver (nor obituary, nor Power of Attorney).

If the Account Manager on a multi-line account (say, a small business account) is reported as deceased, only their line qualifies to have the ETF waived. A death certificate is not required to receive that waiver (nor obituary, nor Power of Attorney).

One exception: if either the AM or AO is an active duty member of the military killed in the line of duty, all lines on the account qualify to have any Early Termination Fee waived. A death certificate is not required to receive that waiver (nor obituary, nor Power of Attorney).

Sprint Policy:

Our policy is:

A customer or their representative may notify Sprint of the death of one of our customers and request to cancel Sprint service. Once we verify that the request is valid, we'd waive the subscriber's Early Termination Fee (ETF) and remaining installments as needed. We would contact the requestor using the account's preferred method of contact within 5-business days. 

Required information:

The account holder, subscriber, or customer representative must provide Sprint with: 

Date of death or last usage date 
• Deceased customer's name and last 4 digits of their Social Security Number (SSN) 
• The Sprint phone number and account number 
• The name, address, and contact number for the person responsible for handling the estate 
• The requestor's name and contact number 



Recommended Videos