• Request the assistance of an attorney or your wealth advisor.
• Discuss your situation with your advisor to uncover any opportunities to shore up your financial plan, insurance coverage, etc. We can help you create an inventory of your assets and identify your named beneficiaries if needed.
• Review your estate plan—at least annually or whenever your situation changes—to ensure it is up to date and includes durable powers of attorney, medical directives (or medical powers of attorney), and named agents or administrators of your wishes.
  
  • Note: Beneficiary designations supersede your will, so you should also review your beneficiaries on all accounts on an annual basis or whenever your situation changes.
  • Ensure your brokerage or bank accounts have appropriate registrations to match your estate distribution wishes (registered into trusts as applicable, transfer on death, etc.).
• Consider setting up legacy contacts for your digital estate. For instance, this would give a designated contact the authority to access your digital pictures, videos, or application content (Apple ID or social media accounts) when you pass.
• Specify your final wishes in writing (if not done in a will), such as memorial arrangements or burial/cremation preferences. Consider including thoughts around what your journey has taught you (personally and financially).
• Review how medical benefits for you, your spouse, and dependents would be impacted at your death. Ensure your beneficiaries know whom to contact and what to expect (i.e., COBRA coverage under a group plan from your employer, state exchange, etc.).

What To Do in the Weeks After a Loved One Has Passed

While this is not a comprehensive list, it highlights the most pressing items you may need to address in the first few weeks after the passing of a loved one. After making the immediate arrangements for the deceased (funeral, memorials, ceremonies), talk with your wealth advisor before proceeding with next steps.

REQUEST DOCUMENTATION AND BEGIN REPORTING

• Request death certificates for your loved one. Coroner’s offices produce them, and funeral homes can usually assist in requesting copies.
  • Ensure you request enough copies to provide to life insurance companies, banks, investment firms, creditors, and any other institutions where the loved one held accounts.
• If the deceased was employed, contact the employer to notify them. Confirm with the employer any and all benefits to which the deceased and their beneficiaries are entitled (such as back pay, insurance coverage, etc.).
• Report your loved one’s death to the Social Security administration for the purposes of survivor or death benefits.
• Notify any life insurance companies as needed for potential payouts.
• Contact each credit monitoring agency to notify them of death and freeze the credit of the deceased (or ask whether the funeral home assists with this).
• Set up mail forwarding as needed if the loved one lived at an alternate address.

HELP SETTLE THE ESTATE

• If advised, submit for an estate employer identification number (EIN) with the IRS (this can be done online in a few minutes with the right information).
  • Use the EIN to create a bank account in the name of the estate of the deceased.
  • Begin moving any and all assets received on behalf of the deceased/estate into this account.
• Locate the deceased’s estate plan documents (will, trusts, etc.) and identify the executor/administrator of the estate.
• Contact a CPA and estate attorney as needed to assist with the settlement of the estate.
  • If advised, contact the probate court to begin the process of settling the estate (generally based in the county the deceased lived; this can extend to other agencies if there is property or assets in multiple states).
  • Individual retirement accounts (IRAs), employer-sponsored retirement plans (such as 401(k)s), transfer-on-death (TOD) registrations, revocable trusts, and rights of survivorship avoid the probate process and will go directly to the designated beneficiaries or survivors.
• Once all accounts are settled and debts of the deceased are paid, the estate may need a final tax filing to notify the IRS of the decedent’s death.