Utilities After a Death: Who to Notify and What to Keep On

Tell each utility company about the death, send them a death certificate, and ask them to move the account to the estate or to the person staying in the home. If the house will be empty, keep power, heat and water on, and cancel extras like cable and internet. Final bills are debts of the estate, so you are generally not personally responsible for them.

Who pays the final utility bills?

The estate does. The FTC says that a person's debts are owed by and paid from their estate, and family members usually don't have to pay them from their own money. The CFPB adds that if the estate has no money, the debt generally goes unpaid.

You could be responsible if you:

• Were a joint account holder or co-signed the service agreement.
• Are a surviving spouse in a community property state, where spouses can share certain debts.
• Are the executor and pay out the estate without settling its debts first.

Pay bills from the estate's money, not your own, and keep every receipt. Our guide on debt when someone dies explains the order in which debts are usually paid.

Which utilities should you keep, and which can you cancel?

Don't cancel everything in the first week. What you keep depends on whether anyone is living in the home.

Frozen pipes are the main reason to keep some heat on in an empty home in cold months. Ready.gov's winter weather guidance links to advice on keeping pipes from freezing. Before you cancel any service, check whether it is tied to another, like an alarm that runs over the phone line.

How do you notify a utility company?

1. Find every provider. Look at recent bills, bank statements and mail. Ask about oil or propane suppliers, sewer, trash and the home alarm company too.
2. Photograph the meters. Take a dated photo of the gas, electric and water meters on the day you take over the home, or as near to the date of death as you can. This helps settle the final bill.
3. Call or use the company's bereavement form. Many utilities have a team for this. Give the account number, the date of death and your relationship.
4. Say what you want to happen. Keep the service on under the estate, transfer it to a resident, or close it on a date.
5. Send the documents they ask for, such as a death certificate copy. Ask if a scan is enough so you don't pay for more certified copies.
6. Ask for a final bill addressed to the estate, and ask whether a deposit or credit is on the account.
7. Get it in writing and keep a note of the date, the name of the person you spoke to and any reference number.

Some companies will want proof of your authority before they talk about the account or refund money. That usually means letters from the probate court. Our guide on what an executor does covers how that authority works.

What if the home is empty?

An empty home is at risk even while the estate is being settled, so a few things matter more than saving money on bills.

• Insurance. Some home policies limit cover when a home is unoccupied. Tell the insurer about the death and ask what they require. See our guide to home insurance after a death.
• Mail. Final bills and refunds go to the old address. Set up mail forwarding for the executor.
• Heat and water. Keep heat on in cold weather and check the home regularly.
• If you plan to sell. You need lights and water on for viewings and repairs. See selling a house after a death.

A mortgage or rent keeps running too, so talk to the mortgage lender or the landlord early.

What about refunds, deposits and scams?

Many households have a credit on their account from budget billing, overpayment or a security deposit. A credit or deposit is part of the estate, so ask the company to pay it to the estate and get the amount in writing. The executor normally needs to supply proof of authority to receive a refund.

Also be careful. The CFPB warns that scammers use obituaries to find grieving families, so be wary of unexpected callers who demand immediate payment. Hang up and call the company on the number from an official bill, or check the account by mail or online.

Is there a single service that notifies utilities?

There is no single government service for this in the US, so you generally have to contact each company yourself.

Elsewhere, government services may not cover utilities. In the UK, for example, Tell Us Once notifies only government bodies such as HMRC and DWP. The GOV.UK page says you must contact utility companies, banks and landlords separately. In New Zealand, the free myTrove service lets you notify many organisations at once, including utilities, banks and insurers.

If you're an executor in the US, check whether a company has an online bereavement form and use that first. It usually saves time on hold.

What to do next

1. List every account and take meter photos.
2. Call each provider, say whether the home is empty or occupied, and ask for the estate team.
3. Put insurance and mail in place before you cancel anything else.
4. Record each credit, deposit and final bill so the executor can account for it.