Heritkey

What happens to your domain names, Cloudflare, AWS servers, and side businesses if you die unexpectedly?

· 6 min read

For developers, indie founders, agency owners, content creators, and small business operators, your most valuable assets aren't sitting in a brick-and-mortar storefront — they sit inside Cloudflare, Namecheap, Porkbun, AWS, GitHub, Stripe, App Store Connect, and Google Workspace. A profitable website or domain portfolio worth $50,000 to $500,000 can drop to $0 in six weeks if your family cannot keep the infrastructure alive.

The 30-to-60 day chain reaction that destroys an unattended online business

Most founders think: "Everything is on auto-renew, so my websites will keep running and sending Stripe payouts to our bank account." Here is what actually happens when an account owner dies or is incapacitated:

  1. Day 7 — Your credit card is cancelled: When your spouse notifies the bank of a death (or when a card expires or triggers a fraud check), the credit card on file with AWS, Cloudflare, Heroku, Vercel, and Namecheap immediately starts declining.
  2. Day 21 — Cloud hosting suspends and deletes instances: Cloud hosts typically send three automated billing warning emails — to an email inbox your family can't open — and then terminate the virtual servers and databases permanently.
  3. Day 30–45 — Custom domain email stops working (locking out every other login): If your business email runs on `you@yourcompany.com` via Google Workspace, Fastmail, or a domain that expires, losing the domain or failing a Workspace bill kills the very email address needed to receive password-reset links for Stripe, GitHub, and your bank!
  4. Day 60 — Domain drop-catching bots snatch your `.com`: Once a domain passes its renewal grace period, automated auction bots snap it up within milliseconds because of its backlink profile, destroying the brand and giving a stranger control of your `@yourcompany.com` email catch-all.

Lock in the $3.99/month early-access price →Or $74.99 once for life. Your heirs never pay. Waitlist members keep the launch price.

What happens to each platform without your credentials

Platform What happens if billing or 2FA fails How hard is estate recovery via support?
Domain Registrars (Cloudflare, Namecheap, Porkbun, GoDaddy) ✗ Domains expire & go to public drop-catch auction ✗ Weeks of notarized probate forms — often too slow before expiry
Cloud Infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Vercel, DigitalOcean, Hetzner) ✗ Servers & databases terminated after ~14–30 days of unpaid bills ✗ Terminated server disks cannot be recovered
Payment Processors & App Stores (Stripe, Apple App Store, Lemon Squeezy) ✗ Payouts pause on failed KYC refresh or expired Apple Developer renewal ($99/yr) Requires court-appointed executor documents
Source Code (GitHub, GitLab) ✗ Private repos stay locked behind 2FA / passkeys GitHub deceased policy only transfers public/account ownership after probate

The 5-item "Founder Runbook" to put inside Heritkey

Your spouse does not need to learn how to deploy Kubernetes or write Python. They just need a 1-page plain-English runbook inside Heritkey that tells them how to keep the lights on until a trusted developer friend or broker sells or winds down the assets (see also digital inheritance for small business owners):

  1. "Rule #1: Do NOT cancel credit card ending in [XXXX] until you update billing on these 4 sites." List the exact registrars and cloud hosts billed to that card.
  2. Master credentials + 2FA recovery codes: Include the login and 2FA backup recovery codes for your password manager, primary email, domain registrar (Cloudflare/Namecheap), cloud host (AWS/Vercel), GitHub, Apple Developer account, and Stripe.
  3. Monthly revenue vs. monthly cost of each project: Tell your spouse clearly: "Project A makes $4,000/month and costs $40/month on AWS — keep it running and sell it on Acquire.com / Flippa. Project B makes $0 and costs $90/month — shut it down immediately."
  4. Your designated technical executor: Name one trusted developer friend or co-founder whom your spouse can pay a flat fee or 10% commission to handle the technical transfer or sale.
  5. Domain portfolio valuation: If you own premium domain names that look like random words to your family, list their estimated value so your spouse doesn't let a $15,000 domain expire for a $12 renewal fee.

Why Heritkey is built for founders and developers

Frequently asked questions

What happens to my Apple App Store apps if I die and the $99/year Apple Developer fee fails?

If an individual Apple Developer Program membership expires without renewal, Apple removes all associated apps from sale on the App Store and stops paying out new subscriptions until the membership is renewed or transferred.

How can I stop my domain names from expiring right after I die?

First, register critical domains for 3 to 5 years in advance rather than year-to-year. Second, store your registrar login and 2FA backup codes inside a zero-knowledge vault like Heritkey so your family can update the payment card and renew or sell the domains.

Does GitHub have a deceased user policy?

GitHub allows a designated successor or legally verified next-of-kin to request limited administrative access to public repositories after submitting a death certificate, but private repositories and organization secrets require direct credentials or complex legal orders.

Can I assign different vaults or instructions to my business partner vs. my spouse?

Yes. You can organize your instructions clearly so your co-founder or technical contact gets the server runbook while your spouse gets your family financial and personal accounts.

Protect the websites, domains, and businesses you spent years building. Join the Heritkey early-access list for $3.99/month or $74.99 once for life.

Sources & further reading