Domain, email and website after death or business closure: what surviving relatives need to do
Has a customer passed away, or is a company, association or foundation closing down? The website, email address and domain name keep running until someone takes action. This article explains the order in which to handle things: what to send us, how to save the email and website, and how to keep or cancel the domain.
1. First decide what you want
It's usually one of these three:
- Take over everything: the account is transferred to your name and the website, email and domain keep running.
- Keep part of it: for example only the domain name, so old email addresses don't end up with someone else, or only the email.
- Stop everything: first save what you still want to keep, then cancel.
2. Send us the proof
If you can't log in to the account of the deceased, send an email to support@weboke.eu with:
- a copy of the death certificate;
- proof that you're allowed to act on behalf of the next of kin, for example a certificate of inheritance or a certificate of executorship from the notary, or a written authorisation from the heirs;
- a copy of your own ID;
- what you want: to put the account in your name and email address, or to cancel (some of) the products and domains.
Was the account in the name of a company, association or foundation? Then the new director or an authorised signatory sends a recent extract from the trade register (in the Netherlands, the KvK) that lists them, along with a copy of their own ID. If you're not listed on the extract yourself, send a written authorisation from someone who is.
After verification, we update the email address and mobile number of the account. You then request a new password yourself and log in. Read more in I can no longer log in: lost email address or phone, or the customer has passed away.
3. Save the email and the website
Once you're logged in, you manage the package yourself in My WebOké and DirectAdmin. Save whatever you want to keep, even if you cancel everything later:
- Email: set a new password for the mailbox in DirectAdmin, see Changing the password of an email address. Then open the mailbox in an email client and save the mail to a local folder, see Storing mail locally to save space on the mail server.
- Website and files: download a full backup, see WebOké Backups: viewing, restoring or downloading a backup.
- Nextcloud: export files, calendar and contacts, see Exporting your data from Nextcloud: files, calendar and contacts.
Want to let contacts know the address is no longer being read? Set up an automatic reply on the mailbox, see Autoresponders.
Is a business closing down? Keep in mind that business email and invoices may be subject to the statutory tax retention obligation. See Retaining business email: retention obligation and archiving.
4. Renew or cancel
- Keep it running: pay the renewal invoices. If they're on the account of the deceased, you'll receive them as soon as the account is set to your email address.
- Cancel: cancel as of the expiry date, so everything keeps working until that date. You can cancel in My WebOké, or without logging in via the Cancel contract form, with the supporting documents from step 2.
- Transfer: if someone else wants to keep the website or domain, have the package or domain transferred to that person's WebOké account instead of cancelling it.
After the end date, a package stops immediately. If you forgot something after all, we can restore a backup on request up to 30 days after termination. Request this via a ticket. What else happens after cancelling is explained in Cancelling products and domains, withdrawing a cancellation and what happens afterwards.
5. Put the domain in the name of the right registrant
Even if the account is in your name, the domain doesn't automatically belong to you. At the registry, the deceased or the dissolved organisation is still listed as the registrant. If you want to keep the domain, change the registrant in the domain contacts in My WebOké. This is a change of registrant: afterwards, the domain legally belongs to the new registrant.
- Is a private limited company (bv) or foundation closing down, but does one of the people involved want to keep the domain? Then arrange the change of registrant before the organisation is removed from the trade register.
- When a sole proprietorship is closed, the business owner remains the registrant. In the event of death, the domain passes to an heir through a change of registrant.
If you get stuck, send us a ticket. You can read what a registrant is in What is a domain registrant?.
Step by step with screenshots: Changing domain contacts and the owner, Transferring and merging accounts and Cancelling a product, withdrawing a cancellation or transferring in the WebOké manual.