Resources

Next Steps After a Funeral

Secure valuables, personal assets, & belongings

It’s unfortunate, but knowledge that someone has passed away can be an invitation for theft, either from criminals, or even well-intentioned family members wanting to claim sentimental or financially valuable items.

It’s good practice to change locks on the home and ensure all windows or doors can be properly closed or secured.

Walk through the home to remove any perishable items from the kitchen, wash any clothes or bed linens, and clean any bathrooms if the home will be unoccupied for a while.

Don't forget to check under mattresses or within coat pockets in the closet to find any cash that might be hidden and find a safe place to store any valuable’s like jewelry, car keys or family heirlooms.

Depending on family relationships, it can be worthwhile to ask a trusted friend or family member to join you— not only as an extra set of helping hands, but also as a witness to your actions to help prevent any family disputes or accusations.

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Helping hands from friendly neighbors

Ask a neighbor or nearby friend to keep a watch over the home for any evidence of unusual activity or to help avoid any obvious signs that the home is unoccupied, such as the overflow of mail, amazon deliveries or newspapers piling up near the front door.

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Identify and involve any named executors or personal representatives

Get in touch with any individuals named within the will to be in charge of settling or administering the estate.

This is commonly a surviving spouse, child, or trusted friend and could also involve multiple people serving together as co-executors.

While being named as the executor or personal representative over one’s estate is a big honor and testament of a trusted relationship, it can also require a considerable amount of time and work.

Being named does not create a requirement for that person to accept or serve, so conversations should be had with any named individuals to discuss the responsibilities involved and gauge one’s willingness (or ability) to act.

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Leverage estate settlement resources to help simplify the process

Being a personal representative, executor, or executrix (yep, the ladies get a super cool name) can become quite expensive depending upon the details of the estate, family relationships & local laws. Particularly since it's a relatively unfamiliar process that individuals only go through once or twice during their lives (hopefully).

In fact, families often spend a minimum average of $14,000 when hiring professional advisors.

As such, it incredibly helpful to make use of instructional books or online articles before beginning the process.

Better yet, many choose to make use of a DIY estate settlement platform like Atticus, which offers individualized step-by-step guidance, helpful tools, access to necessary forms and the ability to automatically generate shareable reports designed to decrease the amount of time, money and stress spent working through the process.

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Determine if probate is necessary

The probate process isn't one-size-fits-all, but rather, may occur in different ways depending upon the location, type or probate required, ownership & titling of assets and the overall fair market value of assets left behind in the estate.

While there are more in-depth guides available which outline and de-mystify probate, it’s important to get an initial assessment of whether probate will be necessary, and if so, whether the estate may qualify for an accelerated probate before obtaining “letters” in order to avoid costly or timely mistakes later in the process.

Be sure to check the way certain assets are titled in order to assess whether they will fall into probate or should pass directly to known beneficiaries.

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Obtain letters & present will to the probate court (if there is one)

In order to authorize transactions or direct action by institutions, agents or advisors holding access to assets of the estate, you’ll need to either obtain “letters testamentary” or “letters of administration” by visiting that old courthouse building downtown.

While visiting the probate court can be an unfamiliar (or downright anxious) experience for some, keep in mind that the actual probate clerks and judges who work there are sensitive to your situation and trained to help.

That said, because the clerk staff are not attorneys, keep in mind that they’re unable to provide any individualized guidance which could be misunderstood as legal advice.

Taking Action

Notify the IRS and obtain a Tax ID number for the estate

Once someone has passed away their individual social security number loses its effective purpose and value. As a result, a new tax ID number must be obtained from the IRS in order to authorize activities on behalf of the estate.

This new number is commonly referred to as an E.I.N., which technically means “employer identification number,” though it can be more helpful to think of it as the “estate identification number.”

Either way, this new estate E.I.N. can be applied for online, by FAX or mail, and will ultimately be used to close the estate when filing the final Form 1041 tax form.

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Publish a notice to creditors

The public posting of a notice to creditors is the formal process for informing any creditors of the estate of their opportunity to submit any unpaid bills or outstanding debt of the estate.

Local laws determine the format and frequency of publishing these notices in order to ensure effectiveness. As such, it's helpful to use online tools to help automate the process.

If this process is overlooked or skipped, it’s possible for creditors to surface months or even years afterwards with a legal right to demand payment t hereby forcing heirs to reopen the estate.

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File a request to forward mail

Filing a request with the local post office to arrange for forwarding of mail addressed to the deceased is generally pretty simple, although it will require proper documentation showing your legal capacity to act over the estate.

This process can be tremendously helpful for surfacing any unpaid bills, active subscriptions or accounts that should be closed.

Although it’s not required, many publishers of magazines or subscriptions will even issue a refund for any unused subscription services– so be sure to inform them of the situation.

Register for DMA "Do Not Contact" List

The Data & Marketing Association (DMA) maintains a Deceased Do Not Contact List (DDNC) for the sole purpose of requiring all DMA members to remove the names and addresses of deceased individuals from all marketing lists.

There is no fee or cost to register online for the Deceased Do Not Contact List, and only takes about 2 minutes, so this is a really good way for family members, friends or executors to reduce the amount of marketing & advertising materials (a.k.a. "junk mail") being received by mail. The DDNC records are updated and distributed to members monthly, so don't be surprised if it takes 2 or 3 months to begin noticing the effect of receiving less mail.

Either way, taking a moment to register for the Do Not Contact List is an important step in minimizing the risk of future identify theft or fraud abuse.

For any materials which continue to arrive, you can notify these companies by simply writing "Deceased, Return to Sender" and leaving the envelope in the mailbox for the postmaster to return.

Notify insurance and financial institutions

If your loved one had a life insurance policy, it’s important to alert the carrier of the death and begin the process of submitting a claim against the policy.

With banks and financial institutions, we recommend calling each institution ahead of time to pre-arrange a conversation, or meeting, with a manager-level employee to save time by making sure they’re familiar with the internal procedures for handling these conversations.

During these pre-planning calls, be sure to ask what specific documentation they will require before discussing details of the account with you, and whether these documents (like death certificates) must be originals or can be certified copies.

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Open new bank account, and transfer or retitle assets

Depending upon the type of account and whether it was co-titled or shared with another individual, remaining funds must generally be transferred into a new account titled in the name of the estate.

This new bank account will also serve as the checking account used to pay any ongoing bills such as mortgages, utilities, or receive funds like unearned wages.

Be sure to access any safe deposit boxes in order to inventory the contents, or open a new security box to safe-keep any valuables found within the home.

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Cancel services, utilities, drivers licenses, SSN, & voter’s registration

If not already done by the funeral home, someone will need to contact the social security office to report the death and apply for any survivor’s benefits. These reports cannot be made online, so instead, you will need to call the applicable social security local field office or the national help number: 1-800-772-1213.

To further help prevent fraud or identity theft, you should also cancel any driver’s licenses, voter’s registrations & unused services or accounts such as cable, internet & monthly subscriptions.

While it's common for family members to keep government issued documents like Passports as a memento, they can also be destroyed or cancelled and returned to the family by working with the U.S. Department of Service CLASP unit.

...Wait, risk of identity theft after death?

Yep, you heard that right. In fact you might be surprised, but fraudsters' often use techniques like "ghosting" to strike victims after death, causing a nightmare of problems for surviving family members.

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Identify and pay important bills or outstanding claims

Keep track of any bills or claims paid by the estate or payments received, such as unearned income or social security benefits.

This accounting will be important for sharing as an accurate and transparent reporting to the probate court, advisors, family and on income tax forms of the estate.

It can be helpful to also indicate which bills are ongoing (such as utilities, rent/mortgage, credit cards or car loans).

Not only will this help ensure the bills are paid on time, but also provides a great way to monitor usage and assess when these services can be cancelled if being unused (i.e. cable, phone & internet services).

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Compile inventory of all assets

One of the largest responsibilities of an executor is compiling a complete inventory of all assets in the estate and their estimated fair market value.

While this is formally required for determining whether probate is necessary or what inheritance taxes may be due, it’s also a best practice to help minimize the likelihood of arguments among family members.

For many items, especially those with sentimental value or similar descriptions such as jewelry, collectibles or family heirlooms, it can be really helpful to include pictures of the asset within the inventory report to help avoid confusion.

Estate settlement platforms like Atticus help make this as simple as snapping a photo of assets to be uploaded into the report automatically.

Tackle the digital footprint

Many online or digital platforms have a unique process outlined for closing an account, while others like Facebook simply allow others to memorialize the account.

Be sure to talk with family members to reach an agreement before any accounts are closed, especially if you’re able to download or save any data. This is also true for email accounts.

Also, don’t forget to look for any files, purchased media or pictures stored on computer hard drives or cloud storage accounts.

Final Finishes

Make a decision about compensation for the executor

Though not required, many individuals (and effectively all attorneys or professional executors) elect to take some compensation based upon the amount of work involved.

Each state has its own laws around the maximum fees allowable, which is generally based upon a combination of the value of the assets, degree of complexity and overall time involved.

It’s helpful to review these laws, or use an online executor fee calculator, to help determine what compensation is allowable for your situation before deciding whether or not to claim the fee.

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File returns & pay any taxes

Generally, a Form 1040 individual income taxes will need to be filed for the portion of year covering Jan 1st until the date of passing. Additionally, an IRS Form 1041 “estate” income tax return will need to be filed covering the remaining portion of the year from the date of death until Dec 31st, and annually thereafter until the estate is closed.

Depending on the primary residence of the individual, state income tax returns may also be required– again, both for the individual and for the estate.

It’s important to be aware that other death taxes exist and should be considered, such as estate tax or inheritance tax. In reality, these are uncommon as the exemption amounts are set very high and therefore generally only apply to a small minority of very large estates, particularly at the federal level.

Although many people use the terms "estate tax" and "inheritance tax" interchangeably, they are not the same thing and have a few differences.

Generally speaking, an estate tax is a state or federal tax on the overall value of an estate and is payable by the estate, whereas an inheritance tax is based only on the value of inheritance received by a beneficiary from the estate, with the beneficiary being responsible for paying the applicable tax not the estate.

There is no federal inheritance tax and only a handful of states impose one (Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey & Pennsylvania).

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Distribute assets to heirs & beneficiaries

Once you feel confident that all claims have been settled and taxes paid, the personal representative can begin to distribute any remaining assets to named heirs & rightful beneficiaries of the estate. 

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Final report & close the estate

Upon final distribution of the estate’s assets, and assuming no ongoing family disputes or creditor claims exists, a final estate inventory reporting can be filed with the probate court in order to officially complete the process and close the estate.

As is customary with most legal or tax-sensitive documents, it’s recommended (or pseudo required) to keep all statements, accountings, forms and tax returns for a period of 7-10 years as documentation in case any questions or problems later arise.

Are you a survivor of someone who was receiving Social Security benefits? If so, you or another family member may qualify for monthly survivors benefits. As the survivor, if you are the spouse, child or parent of someone who has worked long enough under the Social Security Administration you may qualify to receive certain benefits.

What are Social Security Death Benefits?

Who Qualifies for Benefits?

What Steps Should Survivor’s Take?

How Do I Contact the Social Security Administration?