Financial
Planning
What To Do When a Spouse Dies
In the first days after the death . . .
- Try to find instructions for the funeral. They may be in a will or
a separate letter.
- Order a dozen certified copies of the Death Certificate from the
County Clerk's Office.
- Have someone stay at home during the funeral. Burglars read obituaries
to learn when a house will be unoccupied.
Within the first two weeks. . .
- Have your attorney review the will and file it in probate court.
- Collect the documents needed to claim death benefits and value the
estate. These include bank, employee benefit and brokerage statements,
your marriage certificate and both of your birth certificates.
- Apply for death benefits. Call your insurance agent, your spouse's
employer and your local Social Security Office.
Within the first month . . .
- Keep a record of your cash flow.
- As insurance and other benefits come in set aside the money in short-term
C.D.'s or money market funds.
Within the first six months . . .
- Review your own will and change beneficiary designations on insurance
policies or retirement plans that name your spouse. Also, change names
on joint billing accounts or credit cards.
- If you are an executor or administrator of the estate, notify creditors
and satisfy debts.
- Check bills and refer suspicious claims to your lawyer.
Between six months and one year . . .
- File any taxes the estate owes. File Federal estate taxes within
nine months of the death if the estate is larger than noted below*. You
must also pay the estate income taxes due April 15th every year the
estate is open.
- Start to plan for your future. Begin to make decisions that you have
postponed including whether to sell your home and how to invest your
inheritance.
* The estate tax exemption is $2 million in 2006 through 2008 and will increase to $3,500,000 in 2009.
