What should I do with the cell phone of a deceased family member?

[Anonymous]

My wife passed away one year ago..
My granddaughter (15) calls because she loves hearing her voicemail, and the voicemail is now full. Should I delete most of the voicemail?
If your spouse passed away did you keep paying for their cell phone?

[Anonymous]

Wasn’t my spouse but my mom. I kept her cell phone on for 2 1/2 years after she died. It was like the last lifeline although I keep the physical phone on my desk. I would see if you could record the message and give it to your granddaughter. Also, talk to your granddaughter and let her know you plan to turn off that number in 3 months (made the time up so you choose.) But if you still need to keep the number, then keep the number as long as you want. There is no time limit for grief.

[Anonymous]

Download the recordings. If it’s saved on the phone, just give it to your granddaughter

[Anonymous]

I would be sure to keep the phone until you have closed out all her accounts. You may need it for logging into her social media, financials, etc. Perhaps you could switch to a cheaper or a pre-paid without a lot of minutes, or transfer to google voice (not sure if that will erase her VM).

Otherwise, be sure to back up everything on the phone. Save the VM recording and all the photos. Take it to a phone store if you don't know how to do it.

I like PP's idea about giving the granddaughter a grace period if you choose to turn off the phone. I am very sorry for your loss.

[Anonymous]

There’s a service that will make a copy of the voicemail greeting for you. A woman at Verizon told me about this when I called to cancel my late father’s phone. It’s not something I wanted, but it’s available.

[Anonymous]

I kept my dad’s fur about 2 years then gave it up.

[Anonymous]

When my mother died my father canceled her phone within a week.

[Anonymous]

You can download them and save them - I did that with voicemail from my dad. If I ever get sad I listen to those voicemails and it makes me happy.

[Anonymous]

Yes I think recording her voice on another device would be helpful for your granddaughter. But it’s ok to cancel the phone line when you’re ready, and just let the granddaughter know ahead of time.