It is definitely a stressful experience to deal with the death of a dear loved one. But, when you don’t know what should be done about the finances of a person after his demise, this becomes an added burden on an already grieving family. There are many people who don’t know how to settle the estate of their mother or father after his/her death. Here’s a simple checklist to follow to make to set the deceased love one affairs in order.
Get multiple photocopies of the death certificate: If you’re either the spouse or the executor of the deceased person, the very first step to take is to visit the office of the city clerk and get some certified copies of the death certificate. Make sure you get at least 10 to 20 copies, as this will be something important in the long run. If you’re wondering why, then you should know that a wide number of economic institutions, credit unions, government agencies and other organizations will never start a conversation with you about the deceased person until you produce the death certificate.
Get letters of administration and testamentary: Before you get in touch with the institutions with which the deceased person was involved commercially, you have to offer them with the proof that you have the authority to wrap up the financial matters of that person. The proof that you should show here are the testamentary letter or the letters of administration. You can get the help of a probate attorney, he can secure all the required documents and allow you to navigate through the probate court, among all the other things.
Speak to a lawyer. After your loved one expires, there are many heirs who love to take legal help. When you play the role of an executor, there is liability to you personally if you don’t follow the terms and conditions of the will exactly. Hence, it is always better to seek legal help.
Gather required documents: Collecting the litany of documents is the most time-consuming aspects of handling the financial affairs of a deceased person. There are lot of people who think that estate planning is a job for the old only but this is not always true. Even if you don’t have enough funds, you should still practice estate planning. Have an inventory of accounts, assets and property ready.
Hence, if some loved one has died in your family, make sure you follow the above mentioned steps so that you don’t fall tough the hassles later on.