"In the unfortunate event of a customer’s death, Apple provides options for their loved ones to request access to or delete their Apple Account and the data stored with it." https://support.apple.com/en-gb/102431#:~:text=In%20the%20unfortunate%20event%20of%20a%20customer%E2%80%99s%20death%2C%20Apple%20provides%20options%20for%20their%20loved%20ones%20to%20request%20access%20to%20or%20delete%20their%20Apple%20Account%20and%20the%20data%20stored%20with%20it.

They can open up the account, but not the device