Task: Digital Accounts: Amazon

Photo Credit: Eric Broder Van Dyke/Shutterstock.com

Even though the majority of people use it to shop, Amazon has found a way into almost every aspect of our lives, including:

• Shopping: Prime (obviously) and Prime Now
• Streaming: Prime Video, video purchases
• Music: Amazon Music, music purchases
• Digital books: Kindle
• Photo storage: free with Prime
• Groceries: Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods
• Hardware: Either connected to your TV (Fire) or listening to you right now and awaiting instructions to tell you the time, weather, or a joke (Echo).
• Amazon Web Services: You might not know, but AWS provides cloud computing to a decent sized chunk of the entire internet, Everplans included

While much of Amazon operates within its own ecosystem — you might not use your Amazon account to login to other accounts — it’s a massive universe that allows you to share your account and benefits with two adults and four teens and four children via Amazon Household. If the main account holder passes it can get tricky, which is why each trusted and responsible member of the household should have access to the main account.

Purchased Content

Digital media purchases you may have made, whether it’s books, music or videos, are a one-time agreement between Amazon and the person who bought it. When you delete an account all that goes away (read more about that here: When The Digital Entertainment Files You Thought You Owned Are No Longer Yours). If you’ve been building a substantial library of digital books over the years — the Kindle was released in 2007 — you can’t put them in a box and hand it to your grandkids to enjoy. This is why you might want to keep the account alive, either by having someone take it over or removing any payment options — you don’t need a credit card to have an account, that’s only for Prime — and keeping it dormant to still access those purchases.

If you want to let a Prime subscription lapse, it’s not the end of the world but there are few things you should check beforehand. Will any auto-deliveries be interrupted? Do you need to download any backed up photos? There are also video watchlists and music playlists, but anything subscription-based can be recreated on another person’s Prime account.

Sellers

There are 5 million marketplace sellers on Amazon, which range from individuals selling like they would on eBay, to small businesses using it for distribution. We have a separate task about running a small business, but here’s a little insight into any money-making (or losing) ventures: They have to be included as part of your estate. The executor you name in your Will has to gather up all the assets. Money, including points or gift card balances, in a seller’s account is considered an asset.

Instructions To Delete Or Transfer

Before you delete Amazon, be keenly aware of all the implications. It might be easier to simply take it over if you want to keep using it. This way you don’t have to set up the same exact thing again. You’ll need to change the email to your own, which means you should have access to the previous email in case it requires verification. (Passwords to the rescue again!) Any canceled credit cards will need to be updated to prevent a disruption in service.

Your Task

Identify all the Amazon services you use, how important they are, if you want them deleted or transferred, and how you plan on granting access. If you use a password manager you can write it directly in the notes field, if you use a digital document you can put it there, and last but not least you can put it in the Digital Accounts section of your Everplan.

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