• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Our Promise to You During COVID-19/Coronavirus
    • Home
    • Our Firm
      • About Our Firm
      • Attorney and Staff Profiles
      • Speaker Connection
    • Services
      • Asset Protection & Business Planning
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Services
      • Estate Planning Services
      • Financial Planning Assistance
      • Incapacity Planning
      • IRA & Retirement Planning
      • Legacy Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Probate
      • SECURE Act
      • Special Needs Planning
      • Wills & Trusts
    • Elder Law
      • Coping with Alzheimer’s
      • Guardianship and Conservatorship
      • Medicaid Crisis Planning
      • Medicaid Planning
    • Seminars
    • Webinars
    • Resources
      • Elder Law Resources
        • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
        • Elder Law Reports
      • Estate Planning Resources
        • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
        • Estate Planning Articles
        • Estate Planning Definitions
        • Estate Planning Reports
          • Advanced Estate Planning
          • Basic Estate Planning
          • Estate Planning for Niches
          • Trust Administration
        • Estate Planning Worksheet
        • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Free Consultation
      • Free Estate Planning Seminars
      • Frequently Asked Questions
        • Estate Planning FAQs
        • Trust Administration & Probate FAQs
      • Newsletters
      • Our Client Care Program
      • Pre Consultation Form
      • Professional Resources
        • Educational Alerts
    • Reviews
      • Our Reviews
      • Review Us
    • Contact Us
    • Blog

    McGee Law Firm

    Your Resource for Estate Planning, Elder Law and Medicaid / VA Planning

    Call Us Today 817-899-3286
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    Attend a Free Seminar
    Attend a Free Webinar
    Estate Planning Webinar
    Nursing Home Webinar
    Home / Estate Planning / Services / Trust Administration & Probate / Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will

    Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will

    Upon the death of a loved one, great emotional sadness sets in as family and friends support each other during this time of loss. After finding a firm emotional foundation, it is time to address the task of administering the estate set up by the deceased.

    Included below is a brief list of the actions which you or your Personal Representative and Trustee should take immediately upon death. (Many of these actions may similarly be required in the event of incapacity). This is not intended as an exhaustive or detailed explanation of all actions which should be taken. Rather, it is for use as a checklist to help the appointed representatives step in and handle as expeditiously as possible those items which demand immediate attention.

    1. Consider advising any surviving family member who is alone to telephone a friend who can share the next few hours. Shock and trauma due to the death of a relative can take unexpected forms.
    2. Notify a funeral director and clergy, and make an appointment to discuss funeral arrangements. Request several copies of decedent’s death certificate, which you’ll need for his or her employer, life insurance companies, and/or decedent’s attorney for legal procedures.
    3. Contact by phone and notify the immediate family, close friends, business colleagues and employer.
    4. Arrange for care for members of the immediate family, including appropriate child care, having people at the decedent’s house, etc.
    5. Locate the decedent’s important papers. Gather as many of the decedent’s papers as possible, and continue to do so for the next few weeks.
    6. Contact our office for a consultation or notify the attorney who will be handling the decedent’s affairs. Make an appointment immediately because a tax return may be due within nine (9) months of death. This meeting is important to review decedent’s estate planning documents and to discuss state and federal death taxes that may be payable. The attorney will also determine the extent to which it is necessary or advisable to open a probate estate. (In the event of incapacity, the attorney may suggest additional steps which should be taken for estate planning purposes, particularly if death is imminent.)
    7. Telephone decedent’s employee benefits office with the following information: name, Social Security number, date of death (or incapacity); whether the death (or incapacity) was due to accident or illness; and your name and address. The company can begin to process benefits immediately.
    8. If decedent was eligible for Medicare, notify the local program office and provide the same information as in Step # 7.
    9. Notify life, accident or disability insurers of decedent’s death or disability. Give the same information as in Step # 7, and ask what further information is needed to begin processing your claim. Ask which payment option decedent had elected, and select another option if you would so prefer. If there is no payment option, you will be paid in a lump sum.
    10. Notify the decedent’s Social Security office of the death. Claims may be expedited if a surviving family member goes in person to the nearest office to investigate making a claim for survivor’s benefits. Look for the address under U.S. Government in the phone book.
    11. If you need emergency cash before insurance claims are paid, a cash advance may be available from life insurance benefits to which you are entitled.
    12. If decedent was ever in the military service, notify the Veterans’ Administration. Surviving relatives may be eligible for death or disability benefits.
    13. Record in a small ledger all money you or the immediate family spends. These figures may be needed for tax returns.
    14. Remember that a surviving family member may be in a highly emotional state. Therefore, they should avoid entering contracts for anything, and avoid spending or lending large sums of money. For our clients, consult the section of the Portfolio entitled “Other Documents” before proceeding further.
    15. DO NOT CHANGE THE TITLE OF ANY ASSETS! This can create unnecessary problems for you. Please contact our office for a consultation before you start this process.

    Primary Sidebar

    FREE ESTATE PLANNING WORKSHEET

    There's a lot that goes into setting up a comprehensive estate plan, but with our FREE worksheet, you'll be one step closer to getting yourself and your family on the path to a secure and happy future.
    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Follow us

    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube

    TESTIMONIALS

    -Rebecca Javins
    Client Review
    September 2, 2020
        

    I am so glad I was fortunate enough to be referred to Brandon McGee. He listened to my needs and developed an estate plan that is comprehensive and addresses all my needs and concerns. I highly recommend him and his firm. I sleep much better now knowing everything is in place.

    default image
    -Rebecca Javins

    Fort Worth Address

    Fort Worth
    810 W. 10th Street
    Fort Worth, TX 76102
    United States (US)
    Phone: (817) 899-3286
    See Larger mapGet Directions

    Fort Worth Map

    map

    Southlake Address

    Southlake
    101 River Oaks Dr., Ste. 110
    Southlake, Texas 76092
    United States (US)
    Phone: (817) 899-3286
    See Larger mapGet Directions

    Footer

    • Advantages of Working With our Firm
    • About the American Academy
    • Disclaimer
    • Sitemap
    • Contact Us

    Connect to Us

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    footer logo

    © 2021 McGee Law Firm
    All Rights Reserved