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Geiger Law Office P.C.
2701 Loker Avenue West, Suite 150
Carlsbad, California 92010
P (760) 448-2220 F (760) 477-6091
info@geigerlawoffice.net |
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Satellite Offices :
Plaza Tower I
600 Anton Boulevard
11th & 12th Floors
Costa Mesa, California 92626 |
4370 La Jolla Village Drive
Northern Trust Building
suite 400
San Diego, California 92122 |
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13 Practical Steps You Need to Take When a Loved One Dies |
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“In this special report,
I’m going to tell you what you need to do when a
loved one dies”
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Call the local funeral homeBring the deed to the grave plot, pre-paid cremation documents and/or military discharge papers (if applicable). Also bring any written instructions your loved one left behind regarding viewing and burial preferences. And note that it is customary for friends and family to call the funeral home to find out more on the funeral arrangement such as the date and time of any viewings, church funerals, burials, and treatment of flower arrangements and preferences regarding charitable donations.
Write up an obituary. Write out information on your loved one’s education, career, surviving family, military service, notable achievements, etc. to help assist the funeral director in drafting information for the obituaries in local newspapers.
Get certified death certificates. You can typically obtain death certificates from the funeral director or from the County Assessor/Recorder’s Office. Request at least 10 certified copies. In San Diego County, Certified Death Certificates are $12 for each copy. See the attached forms for obtaining Certified Death Certificates by mail and in person.
Review Will and/or Trust. Search for your loved one’s original will. This will often times be kept at the drafting attorney’s office or in a fire proof safe or safety deposit box. Hopefully, your loved one kept the document at home in a fire proof safe or with the drafting attorney since the safety deposit box could be “frozen” at death which could make it difficult to obtain. After a death, the original will should be lodged with the Probate Court in the region where the person was a resident. After you have located the will and/or trust, the next step is to take these documents to an attorney.
Call an attorney. You may or may not need the help of an attorney for a probate or trust administration. It is best however to consult with an attorney to best make that determination. There are many steps in a trust administration that if not done or done improperly, could lead to legal liability for the successor trustee or executor.
Contact current and former employers. Contact current and former employer human resource departments and ask them to fax or mail you a benefits summary for life insurance, accident insurance, profit sharing plans, retirement plans, flexible spending plans, etc. Former employers may have pension or annuity benefits listing beneficiaries.
Contact the Social Security Administration. Contact the local Social Security Office and notify them of the death. You can find an office at www.ssa.gov. If your loved one was covered under Social Security, his or her spouse may be eligible for a lump-sum death benefit. Spouses must have been married for 9 months or longer before the death, unless the spouse’s death was the result of an accident or military service.
Contact life insurance and annuity providers. Obtain any policies for life insurance or annuities and notify the carriers of the death to process the claims.
Access safety deposit box. In order to access the safety deposit box, you will need to be listed as a signatory on the box and have the key. Most banks will not allow you access without these two requirements being met. It is also possible to obtain an Order from the Probate Court to gain access to the box.
Call the accountant. The executor/executrix of the estate will need to know what taxes, if any, are due to the IRS and State. The accountant (if the decedent had one) should be called as soon as possible to make sure that any estate tax that is due is paid within 9 months of the date of death as required by Federal law. The estate may need to file a separate tax return and a 706 tax return may be necessary in a larger estate.
Pay any bills that are outstanding. Make sure to open a bank account for the estate if you are the executor or a trust bank account if your loved one had a trust and you are the trustee. Transfer liquid funds from assets in the estate or trust to the new bank account to pay things like funeral expenses, utility bills, credit card payments, mortgages or any other debts your loved one had. The executor or trustee needs to make sure these payments are made and that records of all expenses are kept up-to-date. This will be important information that should be shared with the accountant for the filing of tax returns.
Notify the post office. If you are the trustee or executor of the estate, you need to contact the post office to forward any future mail to your address. You may need to cancel certain utilities and subscriptions as well.
Re-title any joint tenancy accounts. Make sure to re-title any accounts that were in joint tenancy to the survivor’s name only. The bank or other financial institution will likely request a certified copy of the death certificate and that you fill out their appropriate form to make the change. If the joint tenancy asset is real estate, an Affidavit of Death of Joint Tenant along with a Certified Death Certificate will need to be recorded at the County Assessor’s Office.
About Brenda Geiger, J.D.
Brenda is a Trusts & Estates Attorney with her primary office located in Carlsbad, California (she also has satellite offices in Costa Mesa and La Jolla). Brenda graduated from the University of San Diego School of Law where she served as an Editor on the San Diego International Law Journal and published a scholarly article in the Law Journal. Brenda is also a published author of many articles and 3 books on estate planning. The most recent book was released in June of 2009 entitled “Safeguarding the Nest” available at www.SafeguardTheNest.com. Her passion is helping families protect their children and keeping families out of the court process at incapacity and death. On a more personal note, Brenda is married to Len, the CEO of the San Diego based web hosting company WebIntellects, Inc. and they have two small children, Lenny and Taylor. They also have two dogs, Starsky and Semper (their lovable German Shepherds).
For more free articles and reports, go to www.SmartMomLawyer.com. To request a special planning meeting with Brenda, call (760) 448-2220 or email us at info@SmartMomLawyer.com.
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 13 Practical Steps You Need to Take When a Loved One Dies
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