Neither Snow, Nor Rain, Nor Heat…
“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
This phrase, known by many as the informal motto of the United State Postal Service (USPS), conveys that nothing can stop of the delivery of the U.S. mail.
But what about death?
I was standing in line at the local Post Office today when I heard the woman ahead of me ask the postal clerk how to stop mail for someone who was dead. The postal worker, after consulting with a colleague, informed her that only the executor of a deceased person’s estate can place a request to stop the mail.
“But I have a death certificate!” the woman cried.
“It doesn’t matter. Anyone can get a death certificate,” replied the postal clerk who went on to explain, “We’ve had many occasions when members of a same family each come in with a death certificate to claim that they want their deceased loved one’s mail to be forwarded to their home. To avoid this confusion, we only accept a formal cancel mail or mail forwarding request from the estate executor.”
I was astonished to hear this exchange and decided to do some research. This is what I learned.
Ideally, the estate executor needs to have the deceased person’s mail forwarded to them so they can manage final correspondence (e.g., pay final bills) for the deceased.
The USPS has formal instructions on their website on how to manage mail delivery for a deceased person. To have a cancel mail or forwarding request put in for a person who has died, you must present (a) proof of death, and (b) proof that you hold a role that entitles you to manage the deceased person’s estate. Of course, mail forwarding can be done online, which ostensibly doesn’t require proof of executor status. However, the USPS website says they use external data sources to verify identity for online change of address requests, which may include searching social security death notices. So, be careful if trying to circumvent the rules by going online.
Until this forwarding or cancellation process is complete, you can forward individual pieces of mail by crossing off the deceased person’s address and writing on the outside of the envelope “Forward to:” and then include the new address. This is only necessary if forwarding the correspondence to someone other than yourself.
You cancel individual subscriptions (e.g., newspapers, magazines, nonprofit newsletters) by contacting each subscription provider directly to inform them of the person’s death. This helps save money while also reducing paper waste. You can usually do this online or on the phone, and it does not typically require proof of death, like a death certificate. It would be helpful to have your dying loved one document their subscriptions in advance, in a document like an EOL Blueprint, so this work can be done in one sitting, rather than each time a magazine or newsletter is delivered by mail.
You can also return unwanted mail sent to a deceased person simply by crossing out the deceased person’s address and writing on the front side of the envelope “Person deceased. Return to sender.” You can then put the mail in any postal box or drop it off at any post office.
To get rid of junk mail, you have two options:
Simply recycle it as it arrives.
The USPS also promotes the use of a paid service called “Deceased Do Not Contact.” Priced at $6 as of this writing, this service requires the completion of an online form, which then sends notice to direct mail companies informing them of the person’s death so they can update their advertising mailing lists.
Please reach out to the team at EOL Blueprint Advisors if you want help documenting paid subscriptions or cancelling the mail of a deceased loved ones.