Closing a Deceased Person's Accounts: What It Really Costs
Here's the honest answer up front: the platforms themselves charge nothing to close a loved one's accounts. What it costs you is time, or someone else's time. Google, Meta, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon all accept deceased-user requests. That time, or money if you hire help, goes into knowing each platform's process, assembling the right documents, filing in the right order, and following up until every request actually completes. Here are the three real options.
Option 1: Do it yourself — free, but it takes real time
Entirely doable, and our free guides exist to help you do exactly this. Here's where the time goes:
- Learning each platform's process and requirements
- Gathering documents, scanning, and filing each request
- Checking statements for hidden subscriptions
- Follow-ups, resubmissions, and tracking until every request is complete
How long it all takes depends on how many accounts there are and how quickly each platform responds.
The hidden cost isn't time — it's errors that can't be undone. Closing a Google account before requesting the photos destroys them permanently. Closing an Amazon account deletes the Kindle library. The DIY path is free only if you sequence it right the first time.
Option 2: Have the estate's law firm do it — billed by the hour
Some firms will take this on, usually assigning it to a paralegal and billing the estate at the firm's hourly rate. Rates vary by firm, so ask for the hourly rate and an estimate in writing before work begins. In Pennsylvania, a lawyer who hasn't regularly represented you must give you the basis or rate of the fee in writing, before or within a reasonable time after starting the work (Pa. Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5(b)). It's not legal work so much as persistent, platform-specific paperwork, and a firm that rarely handles it may be learning each platform's process as it goes.
Option 3: A flat-fee specialist — $497 (that's us)
Quiet Closure does only this work, so the platform knowledge is already built. Our pricing, in full:
- The Complete Digital Closure — $497 flat: every account your loved one had (email, social media, subscriptions, streaming and recurring charges), closed or memorialized through official channels, plus a statement review to find hidden recurring charges and a final Digital Estate Closure Report for the estate's records.
You pay once, online, when you get started. No hourly meters, no phone calls required, and we never ask for passwords.
Questions worth asking any service (including us)
- Do you ever ask for passwords? (The only right answer is no.)
- Do you use each platform's official deceased-user process?
- Is the fee flat and in writing before work begins?
- Do I get written confirmation of every closure?
- What happens if a platform rejects a request?
Would you rather not deal with this at all?
Quiet Closure handles the entire digital side of an estate — every platform and every form — for a flat fee, entirely by email. We never ask for passwords.
Get started$497 covers every account your loved one had. · No hidden fees · No passwords needed
Common questions about cost
Do Google, Facebook, or Apple charge to close a deceased person's account?
No — every major platform processes deceased-user requests for free. The cost of account closure is the knowledge it requires, and gathering documents, sequencing, filing, and following up all take real time.
How much does a service charge to close a deceased person's accounts?
Prices vary by provider and by what's included, so ask any service for its full price and what it covers in writing before you pay. Quiet Closure charges one flat fee: $497 covers every account your loved one had.
Can I close all the accounts myself for free?
Yes — the platforms charge nothing, and free guides walk through each process. It does take real time: learning each platform's process, gathering documents, filing, and following up until every request is complete. Be careful with sequencing: closing accounts before requesting data destroys photos and files permanently.
Will the estate's lawyer handle the online accounts?
Some firms will, usually assigning it to a paralegal and billing the estate at the firm's hourly rate. Rates vary by firm, so ask for the rate and an estimate in writing before work begins. It's administrative rather than legal work.