An Atlassian organization administrator may be the person who set up a company's Jira site, connected its identity provider, and organized years of Confluence documentation. When that person dies, teams can still have working projects while nobody knows who can change administrative settings. A family member may have estate responsibilities without knowing which records belong to the business or who should maintain them.
Start by naming a coordinator and separating the decisions that need attention: administrative access, information preservation, billing, and operational responsibilities. This checklist concerns Atlassian Cloud organizations. A self-managed installation needs a separate infrastructure plan. The aim is to help authorized representatives organize a handover; technical access alone does not establish business ownership or inheritance rights.
1. Identify the organization and decision makers
Write down the organization name and identifier if available, every relevant site URL, and the deceased administrator's work email address. Include Jira, Confluence, and other connected services actually used by the team. Record subscription references, known administrators, and a contact address controlled by the organization. One company may have several sites or subscriptions, so avoid treating a familiar logo as a complete inventory.
Identify who can approve spending, grant access, decide retention, and communicate with customers. In a small founder-led business, these responsibilities may require coordination between a surviving manager and an estate representative. Record decisions in a dated log. Give every unresolved item a responsible person and a follow-up date so essential work does not disappear into a general request to sort out the accounts.
2. Check surviving administrative access
Ask a surviving administrator to sign in using their own account and inspect the relevant organization. Atlassian distinguishes organization, site, user access, and app administrators.
Check the controls needed for this particular handover rather than relying on a job title or group name. Can the successor review users, inspect the relevant sites, and handle necessary settings? Separately test whether they can access the Jira projects and Confluence spaces they are meant to maintain. Record permission gaps and request targeted changes through an authorized administrator.
Use named successor accounts so later actions can be attributed to the person performing them. Keep recovery material in an approved secure location. If planning ahead, arrange a backup administrator and verify their access while the current administrator can still help. Having an invitation in an inbox is not the same as a tested administrative account.
3. Request support when the administrator is unavailable
Atlassian directs teams to Support for an unavailable administrator's role transfer.
Explain that the administrator has died, identify the organization and affected sites, and specify the role or control that is missing. Provide a contact who can answer questions on behalf of the organization. Gather relevant invoice references and records of authority, then ask Support which evidence is required and how to submit it securely. Keep sensitive documents outside public forums and shared project comments.
Ask what can continue during verification and record the support case number. Treat any stated verification or approval step separately from a promised completion date. Do not assume a death certificate alone guarantees account access, that a family relationship transfers an administrative role, or that every request follows the same timeline. Keep colleagues informed about confirmed progress and unresolved restrictions.
4. Preserve Jira and Confluence responsibilities
Build an inventory of critical Jira projects, upcoming work, service queues, Confluence spaces, and operational documents. Ask team leads to identify important material that a central list might miss, including restricted client records and instructions maintained by one person. Record who should own each continuing responsibility and who can approve access to sensitive information.
Review work assignments, project administration, space permissions, and documentation stewardship separately. Ask each successor to open the records they need and perform a permitted routine action. Check linked files in other services too; a Confluence page containing a link is not an independent copy of the file. Record missing access rather than declaring the entire handover complete because the site opens.
Where authorized preservation is needed, check the export or backup options available for the particular service and plan. Define the scope, store copies securely, and verify that saved files open. Avoid promising that a single export captures attachments, permissions, and every connected dependency. Keep a record of what was preserved and what still needs investigation.
5. Review domains and identity dependencies
Record the company domains, domain registrar, DNS host, website administrator, and identity provider involved in sign-in. Atlassian treats domain verification and account claiming as separate steps.
Ask the authorized identity and domain administrators to review the current configuration together. Check who can maintain renewal payments, DNS records, verification files, and sign-in settings. Preserve the documented configuration before making changes. Avoid removing an unfamiliar record or website file simply because its purpose is unclear; identify its owner and function first.
Document the status of the deceased person's account rather than assuming that a company-looking email makes it managed. Plan account changes with the people responsible for the identity system and application administration. Consider the effect on connected services before removing access. Domain control, application permissions, and authority over estate records should each have a documented responsible person.
6. Keep billing and integrations under review
Identify subscription contacts, renewal dates, payment responsibilities, invoice storage, and the person authorized to approve ongoing costs. Confirm that billing communications reach a monitored address. Decide whether the organization needs uninterrupted service during the transition, and keep confirmation of any approved billing or cancellation changes. Administrative succession and payment management are separate tasks in the handover inventory.
List automations, API connections, marketplace apps, incoming email workflows, and external repositories that the team actually relies on. Identify any dependency associated with the deceased person's account. Arrange authorized replacement credentials where needed and test representative workflows with safe sample data. Review credential revocation alongside continuity work; a security incident may require immediate action before the broader handover finishes.
7. Coordinate account changes and rehearse the plan
Before routine account removal, review outstanding assignments, private material that the organization is authorized to handle, and integrations. If urgent security concerns require suspension, act through authorized administrators and document the remaining preservation work. Keep personal family records and business information on appropriate paths rather than sharing the entire account with everyone assisting the estate.
For future planning, maintain a short continuity note with organization identifiers, backup administrators, billing contacts, critical projects and spaces, secure recovery locations, and closure instructions. Link it to the wider online business continuity plan. Review it after staff changes, new sites, and changes to the identity provider.
Rehearse a handover: ask a backup administrator to locate the correct organization, a finance colleague to find the renewal record, and a project lead to open essential documentation. Record the review date and repair any gaps. A practical rehearsal reveals dependencies that a list of names and passwords cannot demonstrate.
Next steps
Choose a coordinator, inventory the organization, and verify surviving access. Open a focused support request if necessary. Preserve authorized records, assign Jira and Confluence responsibilities, review domain and identity dependencies, and check billing and integrations. Finish with a dated list of completed actions and unresolved items. A clear handover helps the team continue its work while reducing the administrative burden on the family.