Domain closing/re-owning

For a deceased client...

[Harley_m]

A good friend and client that co run and owned a website that i built for him has recently died. The family have asked me to close the site until further notice - and may or may not decide to keep it going in his name

i would just like to know how i could go about changing the domain over to my name, or closing it down (thats easy i guess, just empty the domain of all pages and wait for it to expire...

will hosts (its with UK2net) transfer domains over in the event of death...?

not something ive had to deal with before - and not one i want to repeat...

Thanks, Harley

[rcjordan]

In the states, a business site will have to be listed among the decedent's assets and then distributed by the executor or probate (if there's no will). Particularly if the site has a history of income that have been reported to the tax man, it's going to show up in the estate close-out if it's done properly.

I'd remove the content to respect the family's wishes, perhaps referring the traffic to another appropriate site, then advise the family that they may want to let it expire.

[Harley_m]

but they may never well not want it too...and it has been thought that it may be asked of me to continue it in his name - it was a non profit site helping those with depressional problems - and has a large member base and visitor base you enjoy and rely on the site...

hence it may well be kept on, and i would need everything transfered into my name...

[Quinn]

Maybe what rcjordan is getting at, is that it may be easier to re-register the site in your name than to worry about the legalities involved otherwise.

[rcjordan]

>easier

That's part of it, as the executor really isn't likely to pick up on it.

>they may never well not want it too

That's really in the hand of the legal representative of the decedent now. It may be a family member, or it may not be. If it isn't allowed to expire, I believe you're going to have to go through the domain name transfer process -after the executor declares it is of no value and releases it.

Standar Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, I just pay a bunch of them.

[buckworks]

Caution: An existing domain with traffic and link pop might be a target for the domain name grabbers, and if it is allowed to expire it's fair game for them.

If you want to keep the site alive, I would strongly suggest that you jump through whatever hoops it takes to get the domain name transferred. Don't wait for it to expire, because you might not get a chance to re-register it.

[Harley_m]

yes that would be a total nightmare

quinn - thanks for the mail - ill reply tomorrow -its v late here!

[xbase234]

Buckworks is right - if there are any backward links pointing to this domain, it could get easily get snagged by a pro grabber.

It could also cost a big chunk of change to get it back, *if* they are willing to respond to you, or it could be pointed to drive traffic to a site that your friend/client had never intended.

By all means, try to transfer the name to a responsible party.

[JayC]

First thing would be to check up on how soon the current registration expires. If it's registered, say, for another 3 or 4 years presumably the family will have made the decision by then whether they want the site to be brought back -- the whole question may have disappeared. On the other hand, if it expires in a couple of months you'll be under some pressure.

In either case, contact the registrar and find out their procedure for transfer under these circumstances. Some registrars are more responsive than others, but depending on where the name is registered there may be a simple solution.

Taking the site down temporarily, as you said in the first post, is easy (you might want to put up some sort of marker page, rather than simply removing everything) and isn't really related to the domain name ownership issue.

[xbase234]

Paying the extra $8.99 a year to renew with your registrar will also buy time to sort out the affairs. It is really a small price to pay for a situation such as this.

[nutsandbolts]

Don't let it expire - Ultimate Search will grab it... If you have access to the domain's admin e-mail account then you can move registrars (say to Opensrs resellers like 000domains) - it's a quick and easy way to take control of a domain. Just contact Uk2net to make sure the domain isn't locked to stop unauthorised transfer.

Sorry to hear about your friend. I have thought about this a lot recently - what would happen if I died? Who would look after my daft sites?

[ritch_b]

Is the domain in question a .uk domain, or a .com?

From previous dealings with UK2, such an issue with a .uk domain would be easier to resolve than with a .com

I've dealt with similar (but not identical) issues before - sticky mail me if I can be of help.

Ritch