Close or transfer AT&T lines after death
After a death, AT&T's life-event process covers moving billing to someone else or ending a line, and families without the account passcode can contact AT&T for help. A suspended line still owes its monthly plan fees and installments. If you're planning ahead, add a secondary online user while you can.
- 7 steps
- Official sources
Steps
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Contact AT&T after a death
AT&T says families without the wireless account passcode can contact it for help and verification. They should identify themselves. Send required documents through AT&T's process. Ask a lawyer in your state about legal authority if needed.
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Leave instructions for a later life event
Give your family AT&T's life-event help page. Note whether they should ask about keeping a number, moving billing or ending a line. A suspended line still owes its monthly plan fees, add-ons and installment plans.
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Check who owns the AT&T account
Find the name on the bill and identify the household lines included. Note where your current billing papers are kept. Distinguish the account owner from each phone user, so your family knows which service arrangement it needs to discuss.
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Review secondary online access
AT&T supports secondary online users with their own AT&T IDs. Read its access guide before choosing someone. The role involves co-managing the account, so discuss what you want the person to handle while you are alive.
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Use Permissions to add a user
In your account profile, select Permissions and follow AT&T's Add a secondary user process. Confirm the person and account. Let the invitee use their own identity, and check that setup is complete before recording it as active.
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Keep online and store roles distinct
Ask AT&T which role covers the help you need. Its guide distinguishes online access from store access. Record the role name and purpose. A person listed for one channel may not be able to perform every task through another.
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Review dependencies before changing service
Check your own accounts that use the number for recovery and preserve chosen messages. Use the active-line guide before a transfer. Keep AT&T instructions with the digital plan, so your family can find them outside email.
Good to know
Can someone help without my AT&T password?
AT&T offers secondary online access through the other person's own AT&T ID. Review its role permissions and complete the supported invitation. That is different from giving someone your own sign-in details or assuming they can act because they use a family line.
Where do I add secondary online access?
AT&T's guide directs you to account profile Permissions, then Add a secondary user. Follow the current prompts for the intended account. Confirm the person accepts and can use the arrangement before marking it complete in your family instructions.
What if the family does not know the passcode?
AT&T says to contact it for help. Its life-event page explains the additional verification it may request. Do not guess the code or sign in as the account holder. Use the company's own secure process for any sensitive information it needs.
Does a store role equal online access?
AT&T describes those roles separately. Ask which one applies to the task you want someone to perform. Keep the actual role name in your plan, so the family does not mistake an in-store permission for general control of the online account.
Helping a parent plan AT&T service?
Review the account owner, the household lines and the role your parent wants you to have. Let your parent make the selection. Then ask which number should be preserved and where AT&T billing and device-payment papers can be found.
What we checked
| Fact | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T secondary online users can co-manage the account using their own AT&T IDs. | AT&T (current official source) | Oct 15, 2026 |
| AT&T adds secondary online users from account profile Permissions. | AT&T (current official source) | Oct 15, 2026 |
| AT&T asks families without the wireless account passcode to contact the company for help. | AT&T (current official source) | Oct 15, 2026 |
| A suspended AT&T line still owes its monthly plan fees, add-ons and installment plans. | AT&T (current official source) | Oct 22, 2026 |
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Something wrong here? Tell us.