Death of a Hubber

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   here-s johnnyposted 9 years ago

   My wife was a writer on Hubpages for over 2 years and she passed away in 2011. She has quite a following and people write comments several times per week on her hubs, which I do moderate and publish. In order to make a decision, I am not going to name her but I wanted to ask your opinions.  Her hubs still make $$ and it is deposited on her PayPal account so I am reluctant to shut off her account.  If your spouse passed away, would you keep his/her Hubpages account open?  If so, would you write on it to keep it alive? (I would sign my own name, not hers)  Or would you just let it falter and die out?  I have my own account but when I check hers for comments etc. I wonder what to do with her account.  Any input is welcomed. Thank you. John De Vettese

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      HollieTposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I read in one of HP forums a while ago (this is my 2nd HP account, I've been here a couple of years) about a woman who had taken over her deceased husbands account, with the blessing of HP.
      
      Personally, I would not shut off the account. Your late wife's work is generating an income. Ask yourself, what would she want you to do with that income? Throw it away? It's the result of her labour. And besides, if your wife has quite a following and  her account is still generating revenue, her thoughts and words still resonate with some. That's quite a legacy!

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         here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         TYVM HollieT

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      snakeslaneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting question h-sj, I'm so sorry to hear of your wife's passing, my sincere condolences

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         here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         TYVM snakeslane

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      Beth37posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I think you would honor her by allowing her words to continue on. It is a good way for her to be remembered. I'm so sorry for your loss.

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         here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         TYVM Beth37

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      Thelma Albertsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Condolence! I´m so sorry for the loss of your wife. I wish I could answer here for you but I can´t. Lets see what HP staff says about it. I would like to know, too.

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         here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         TYVM Thelma Alberts

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   5. 86

      Life and Luxuryposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Dear Johnny,
      
      My deepest condolences.
      
      Assets like royalties, from a deceased spouse, are usually given to the surviving spouse, unless the deceased wrote out a will asking for the assets to go to someone else. Although it isn't legally the same, consider it akin to a person leaving their 401(k) account to their surviving spouse -- it is income to live on and should rightfully defer to you legally.
      
      Unless I'm mistaken, you can reset Adsense and Paypal accounts under the HubPages account, by removing them and then attaching your own Adsense and Paypal accounts in place of them.
      
      Refill  the tax information connected to the HubPages account with your own information as well.
      
      Contact HubPages to double check.

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         here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Life and Luxury - Thank you for your input.  I was directed to this excerpt regarding accounts on HP/Adsense.      http://hubpages.com/faq/#multiple-adsense-accounts  I am still reading what hubbers have to say before making a decision, if any. TYVM

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2. 72

   relacheposted 9 years ago

   Legally, you need to switch the hub account to your own AdSense and PayPal accounts, and change the profile info to your own.
   
   A legal interpretation of "impersonation" can result in the HubPages account being cancelled permanently, and ditto on the AdSense and PayPal.

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      here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      TYVM relache, Just wondering out loud here, but if I change the profile info to my own (I already have this acct), I'm afraid of discrediting my wife's work, misleading readers and her following,  However, I did try to switch her Adsense to my Paypal account and it was rejected today for multiple accounts.  I'm still catching up on what others have to say -- whether they think I should continue writing on her account or just leave it be.  TYVM for your input.

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3. 88

   DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years ago

   I'm not a lawyer, but I would think that if you had a will that named each other as beneficiaries of your property(ies) after death, and that if you are the executor of the estate, with legal power of attorney, there shouldn't be an issue of "impersonation."
   
   But, that's just my opinion...I'd get legal advice for sure on this.

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      relacheposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      A will would just give the right of ownership of the content to the inheritors.  That does not meet the conditions spelled out in the various TOS for HubPages, PayPal and AdSense regarding legal ownership and use of those accounts.

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      here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      When I tried to change her Adsense to my account, it was rejected today because I already have one Adsense account linked to my PayPal.  I asked them a few questions to try to remedy and I'm waiting to hear back. TYVM for your input..

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4. 84

   KCC Big Countryposted 9 years ago

   And she died in 2011? Why bring it up now?

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      Carolina Creteposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'd definitely keep it going, but change the adsense and paypal accounts to your own. I have thought about this myself as I have a  number of websites, blog etc and I'd wish for my husband and children to keep them going and have access to the income should anything happen to me. I'm  compiling a file with all data for them so that they have the passwords etc.

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         here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         TYVM Carolina Crete

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      here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      KCC Big Country. I am bringing it up now because I am just coming out of my grief fog - it took over two years since her death to even want to do anything productive with my writing life.  After going through her computer, finding HP, I  have just started on HP about 6 or 7 months ago, didn't really understand the process, started publishing hubs about June 1, 2013 (2 months ago). I see the revenue generated from her account which is considerable and then the revenue from my account, which is still in infancy, and I can't help wonder what happens to all those accounts where people just die and family members either don't know about HP or dont' want to do anything about HP and the revenue just goes to Paypal each time.
      
      I wondered if anyone else had the same thing happen to them -- their spouse died and all of a sudden they find out about HP, see revenue and a great following and what they did about it. 
      
      The other reason I kept her account going is because her hubs are chocked full of great info that people do access daily, she is listed high in the search engines, people leave comments or emails that I don't publish because of my uncertainty,  and I wouldn't deprive readers of the information in her hubs for the world.  She was a talented writer/physician and her work will stay. I just wanted to know what to do with it -- leave it under her name or change it to mine.
      
      I didn't think I could have 2 HP accounts going to the same Paypal address so I hesitated on that score also.  I hope that helps clear up why I waited so long to do anything about her account since 2011.

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         snakeslaneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Hope you get this worked out h-j I would be interested to see the process. Clearly, it is complicated.

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            here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            TYVM snakeslane

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5. 94

   Peggy Wposted 9 years ago

   I am so very sorry for your loss.  Check with HP headquarters and take their advice regarding this subject.  It would benefit them financially also to keep your wife's account open since it is still generating views although you may have to switch the payments to your name instead of hers.  Best wishes!  Many of us would want the same thing to happen with our own accounts.

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      here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      TYVM Peggy W

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6. 59

   ThriftyBoomerposted 9 years ago

   Change to your PayPal account to avoid any problems. If Paypal finds out she is deceased, they will freeze all payments. This could be a problem if you have already settled the estate. It only takes a minute to change the info. Since the income is taxable, you will also avoid problems with the IRS.

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      here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      TYVM ThriftyBoomer

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   mary615posted 9 years ago

   I am very sorry for your loss.  I have informed my children of my account here, and left the password for them.  I would hope they would keep my account open.  I don't know the legal ramifications as far as tax, PayPal, etc. so I would definitely check with the HP staff.
   I think she would want her hard earned writings to live on:  I know I would.
   
   We have had several Hubbers to pass away (that I know of), and this question has come up on the Forums before.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      This I can tell you for a fact.  I have been extremely ill and still suffer from many ailments in my older years.  I write on this site because I want to leave something good behind when I leave this earth.  I also want my husband, if he survives me, to benefit from my work financially.  I would never want him or anybody to terminate this account because I want what I've written to live on beyond me.  I'm betting your wife would feel the same.

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         here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         TYVM TIMETRAVELER2, I'm betting you are right

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      here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      TYVM mary615

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8. 93

   rmcrayneposted 9 years ago

   Preserve her legacy!
   
   Here is the profile of a much loved hubber, now deceased: 
   
   http://earnestshub.hubpages.com/

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      here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      TYVM rmcrayne, what a wonderful tribute to earnestshub. I see 145 hubs to his stats, but only about 50 or so published.  I am assuming that was a decision by family or HP, maybe due to revenue?  Your reply has prompted me to stay the course with what I have been doing for the last 2 years - leave her hubs in place. I am waiting to hear back from Adsense with the legality of what to do with her earnings etc.  TYVM

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         rmcrayneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Are you in contact with HP staff?  team@hubpages.com

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            here-s johnnyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I am waiting for a reply.  TY

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