how to access dead husband's email account

bonnie yates 1 Reputation point
2026-08-10T17:02:05.55+00:00

<removed PII>****@charter.net was our first email account. It was primarily used by my now deceased husband, and I discovered that the old password no longer works. I have been trying for months to access this email to see if there are any important bills etc. that need to be addressed. I tried your online questionnaire to reset the password, but I could not list enough sent emails to satisfy. Now what? I can't get a person ever on the phone to help. In fact, I get hung up on. Bad customer service! If I get billed for huge late payments or have a stroke from the aggravation this has caused, I am going to sue Microsoft for lack of assistance when I have requested it multiple ways, using many phone numbers, and useless no-reply emails.

Windows for home | Other | Email and communications
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  1. MR_MEOW 3,706 Reputation points
    2026-08-10T17:46:38.92+00:00

    Hello. ----@charter.net is not a Microsoft account. Microsoft has nothing to do with charter.net. Microsoft is not affliated with charter.net . I think the internt company might be charter.net I would try to contact your internet provider. A lawyer is always best to take over any account. You can call the billing company and make a payment with out being an authorised user. You will need a lot of death certificates. I did the same thing when my dad passed away. You will want a lawyer to see if there was a will or what not. Also will need to hand the certifcates to the credit card companies , banks and so on.

    -- Sorry for your loss.

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  2. DaveM121 928.6K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-08-10T17:38:35.5966667+00:00

    I am sorry for your loss, this forum is just a user to user forum, no-one here has any account access, try using the process they provide on this link to try to regain access to that account.

    http://support.microsoft.com/en-us/accounts-billing/manage/microsoft-account-sign-in-helper

    If that process is not successful, on the link below, Microsoft indicate to gain access to a Microsoft account or associated service after someone has passed on is basically a legal process that must be entered into.

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/accounts-billing/manage/accessing-outlook-com-onedrive-and-other-microsoft-services-when-someone-has-died

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