Page 9 - Fox Funeral Home Planning Guide

When a Loved One Passes
We know it takes time to grieve and that the period immediately after a loved one’s death is a highly emotional one. Seeking professional guidance can help navigate some of the critical next steps your family may need to take. While working with a funeral director to make funeral arrangements, the following items can be helpful in figuring out the next course of action.
Notify All Your Advisors
The first step is to notify the person’s circle of advisors—financial advisor, attorney, accountant, and insurance agent. Those are the individuals whose guidance will help you get through this time of grief and paperwork.
Gather the Documents
Pre-planning and having a central repository for all legal and other important documents, including the last will and testament, is crucial when organizing these documents. One of the most important things is to gather multiple copies, probably about a dozen, of the death certificate. You’ll need this in order to execute the will, collect on insurance policies, change ownership of investment accounts and joint property, as well as to formally notify banks, credit card companies, and employers.
Additionally, you will need all the documentation that goes along with those accounts, including Social Security numbers, birth certificates, marriage licenses, divorce decrees, bank and retirement account statements, and military discharge papers.
Check the mortgage documents to determine if the home is covered by an insurance provider that will pay it off in the event of the mortgage holder’s death.
I often counsel clients to be careful about which documents, like wills and insurance policies, they keep in their safety deposit box. Upon being notified of the death of an account holder, the bank may seal the box, preventing family
Barry P. Mitchell Jr., CRPC®, CRPS®, CAP® Founder and Managing Director barrymitchell@nxtprivate.com
members from accessing it until the estate is settled.
Address Immediate Financial Needs
It’s important that the surviving individual have unfettered access to at least six months of living expenses in addition to cash on hand to cover funeral expenses and other immediate needs.
Apply for Benefits
Apply for all the benefits to which you are entitled. Apply to Social Security for survivor benefits. Check with the decedent’s former employer about company-provided life insurance, healthcare coverage, including eligibility for COBRA, and any deferred compensation that may be due.
Settle the Estate
Probate can take a long time, particularly if there is no estate plan or the will is in dispute. Work with your attorney and/or financial advisor to work through the details. In addition, you can work with a professional to prepare the decedent’s final tax return and estate tax filing, if applicable.
Don’t Make Any Immediate Changes
I caution clients in this situation to avoid making any major decisions like moving to a new home or making changes to their long-term financial plan for a good six months, or possibly as long as a year, afterward.
Update Your Own Plan
And now that, with the help of your advisors, you waded through the sea of paperwork that goes along with a loved one’s death, take the steps to get your own financial affairs in order. Now’s the time to name your beneficiaries and update your own will and estate plan. Make sure you have a living will or medical power of attorney in place.
Finally, continue working with your financial advisor to plan and prepare for your own financial future as well as that of your family. Please reach out to us if we can help you in any way.
500 Mamaroneck Ave, Suite 501 Harrison, NY 10528
t. 914.431.5256 | f. 914.431.5267
Barry Mitchell is the Founder and Managing Director of Next Level Private, an independent investment advisory firm offering a full range of financial services and headquartered in Harrison, NY.
John J. Fox Funeral Home, Inc. - Page 9