What happens to my Dropbox files when I die?
By default, nothing — the account and its files simply sit there, still billed if it's a paid plan, until someone acts. Dropbox's first suggestion, if you're looking for a deceased person's files, is low-tech: "look in the Dropbox folder on the person's computer if you can" — a locally-synced Dropbox folder is often the fastest way in, with no request process at all.
For a formal request to Dropbox itself, the bar is high. Dropbox's help page requires proof of two separate things: "The person is in fact deceased," and "You have a legal right to access the person's files under all applicable laws." The specific document Dropbox asks for is "a valid court order establishing that it was the deceased person's intent that you have access to the files in their account after the person passed away, and that Dropbox is compelled by law to provide the deceased person's files to you." Source
That's a notably narrower bar than a generic death certificate plus letters of administration — Dropbox is explicitly asking for a court order that speaks to intent and compulsion, not just proof that you're the legally appointed executor in general. Even then, Dropbox is not promising success: "we can't guarantee that we'll be able to provide access," and the review "can take some time."
What we could not verify: whether a standard letter of administration/executorship (without language specifically about the Dropbox files) has, in practice, ever satisfied this requirement — the help page's wording suggests it wants something more specific than the general-purpose estate paperwork that satisfies PayPal, Venmo, or Kraken.
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