Deliberate Steps

The following is a summary of an article by Miriam Goodman from nextavenue.org:

If you have been chosen to be the executor/executrix, you may need to get a tax ID number for the estate.  Contact the IRS or go to their website.  This is why it is so helpful if you know in advance that you will have this responsibility.  Hopefully, if you have had the conversation where you learned that you will be responsible, you know where the bank accounts and credit cards are located, whether or not the funeral is prepaid, where the burial plot is located, and the names of the lawyer and investment personsfinancial manager

You will also need a number of death certificates to satisfy the paperwork for banks, insurance companies and the like.  People have told me they needed 30 copies while others only needed 10.  You have to know your situation so you don’t have to wait for additional certificates if needed.  I didn’t know one needs a death certificate to have mail forwarded.  Makes sense, though.

The executor needs to check bank statements quickly so that any automatic deposits and withdrawals can be stopped. 

Another step, and they are not in any particular order, is to notify Social Security and to remember to ask for the lump sum survivors benefit which is given to help with funeral expenses.  Don’t get excited—it’s a drop in the bucket but a drop here and a drop there can add up to a puddle.

If it is applicable, notify the Veterans Administration, too.

And remember, the executor is doing all of the above while he is in mourning.  It’s a sad time yet one that is filled with paperwork and details. 

You can read more about this in Scott Taylor Smith’s When Someone Dies: the Practical Guide to the Logistics of Death.

If you found this blog helpful, let me know.