Knowing what steps to take after a loved one dies can be difficult. Even if the death was expected, it can sometimes leave you unprepared and shock affects your mental health. During the first weeks, taking necessary steps to tend to practical matters is essential.
Where to begin
Contacting a close family member or trusted friend to help you can be incredibly helpful as you tend to these necessary matters. Ask them to keep a notebook and document of the following:
Tasks
Names and numbers of contacts
Dates and times when calls are made
Any information obtained; even small details may be critical later
Contact the funeral director and obtain 10 to 20 certified copies of the death certificate. This document will be vital because some agencies or companies only accept certified copies. You will need it to:
Receive distribution from life insurance policies
Retitle or transfer investment accounts
Transfer personal property, automobiles and real estate
Tasks to put on your list
Review the will or letter of instruction if the deceased had these documents. Contact an attorney if you have one. The attorney can coordinate the probate process and may have copies of any will or trust documents.
Contact your loved one’s financial advisor or tax account. This advisor can help determine what investments your loved one owned and help assess the valuation on the date of death. They can also help with retitling assets to a beneficiary or an heir.
Locate insurance policies and contact all insurance companies to file claims. Consider filing for life insurance benefits immediately. The estate-planning attorney or tax professional can advise whether the estate may be subject to federal or state estate taxes. If your loved one owned an annuity, the financial advisor should carefully review the contract to ensure any amounts payable to the decedent (or their estate) are collected. If an heir is entitled to continued payments from the annuity, contact the provider to transfer payments to that heir.
Report the death to the Social Security Administration. If the deceased received benefits, determine whether any payments must be returned. Additionally, a surviving spouse may be eligible for a lump-sum death benefit or survivor’s benefit.
Notify the credit reporting agencies. Unless you are named on the account and wish to keep the card(s), reduce the risk of identity theft and contact the three national credit reporting agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) and request that a “deceased – do not issue credit” flag be placed on the credit file.
Follow up with employers and past employers. Your financial advisor may be able to assist with pension plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) and the transfer ownership of retirement account assets to designated beneficiaries.
Pay for housing. If you continue to live in the apartment, ensure the rent is paid on time. Whether a house is occupied or vacant, ensure there is no lapse in the homeowner’s insurance or mortgage. Usually, a home is someone's biggest asset, and protecting it is essential.
Cancel or redirect home deliveries. Stop newspaper and magazine subscriptions and other reoccurring deliveries such as groceries or meal plans if necessary. If you will no longer occupy the residence, you may wish to stop lawn care, maid or other reoccurring services as applicable.
Contact the post office. While they do not need notice of death, it is essential to reroute the mail to the executor or administrator of the estate.
Notify utility companies. Contact an attorney or estate planning agent about when to contact utility companies about transferring or stopping services. Telling them too soon can result in power, gas or water being shut off. Getting these services turned back on is extremely complicated and an unnecessary hassle.
Contact financial institution(s). Ask an attorney or estate planning agent about the appropriate time to notify banks. It may seem counterintuitive to wait, but telling a bank prematurely can result in several issues that can take considerable time (or legal assistance) to fix. For example, contacting the bank too soon could put you at risk of account freezes, which could severely delay auto-payments and direct deposits, including mortgage payments. To minimize costs, obligations and liabilities, a plan of action must be developed to address jointly held bank accounts, stocks and bonds.
Forward email. If you have the passwords to access email accounts, follow the instructions within the platform for forwarding emails to the address of the executor or administrator of the estate.
Practice self-care and check in on yourself often
Processing such tragic and unexpected news can leave anyone feeling numb, confused and lost. Even though you have several practical tasks to do, you will be in shock. Give yourself a chance to try to make sense of what has happened. Be kind to yourself.
Ask family and friends for help when you need it and demand space when you need that instead. Your mental and emotional health should remain a priority during this time. Grief can be very isolating. You are not alone. Your EAP is available to assist you and can provide additional resources to handle practical tasks.
