How Do I Transfer Rights to My Kindle Direct Publishing Account After My Death?

So, once you know who you want your account to go to, how do you get it to them?

In doing my research for this article, I did not see anything that suggested Amazon lets authors set up a designated beneficiary for their Kindle Direct Publishing account. However, they will honor any transfers made through a will, trust, or probate proceeding.

Transfers via a will: This is the most straightforward, and probably easiest, of the three options. If you state in your will who has rights to your KDP account, the recipient just needs to create their own account and provide Amazon with a death certificate and a copy of the will. They may also be asked to provide some identification to prove that they are who they say they are. Amazon will take it from there.

Transfers via a trust: This one is a little more work, because you need to put your KDP account in your trust while you are still alive. However, if you do so, your trustee can take over the account with minimal fuss, and the transfer to the beneficiary or beneficiaries can take place by providing a death certificate and a copy of the trust.

Side note: While your account can be placed in your trust, you may need to do some legwork to avoid negative tax consequences, particularly for income received after death. Check KDP’s policies and talk to your tax advisor to be safe.

Transfer via a probate: This is the option with the most hassle factor (for everyone else – you’ll be gone, so it won’t be your problem at this point). If the estate has to go through a probate, then your account will sit there until the court appoints an administrator, who may or may not do anything with it once they have the authority to access it. From there it can’t be transferred to the legal heir(s) until the probate is closed, which can take quite some time in California. Your account will still be passed on, but it won’t be quick and it won’t be easy.

Of course, for those who don’t like any of these options, there is one more way you could make this work: setting things up so the royalties go to a joint account or trust account. This way, Amazon can continue to deposit the money, and someone can continue to collect it, without having to do much with the account itself. Personally, I consider this more of a stop-gap than an actual solution, since ownership of the account will need to be dealt with at some point or another. Still, it gives people some time and flexibility while dealing with the general estate.

If you have questions or would like to learn more about Kindle Direct Publishing and incorporating your books into your estate plan, you can contact me at kaway@kawaylaw.com.