A Managing Editor must submit If an author is unable to submit an electronic licence for publication form, for example due to technical capabilities or health conditions, a Managing Editor may submit the form on behalf of an author if one of the following circumstances apply:
...
the author’s behalf,provided that the ME or the Contact Person (corresponding author) for the review have the author's current agreement and consent to publish, or, in the case of an incapacitating condition, had all indications of this agreement and consent prior to their incapacitation. Instructions are available in the Editorial Manager Knowledge Base.
Please see Deceased authors for full guidance on considerations for authors who have died before publication
...
.