The death of a family member can be the most trying time in a person’s life. A great deal of uncertainty and fear accompanies a loved one’s death, and coping with the exhausting grief of losing someone you love is overwhelming. At the very same time, you are called upon to make several important and difficult decisions.
We at TFDA hope this information will help you get the necessities completed. We have tried to include as many important areas as possible, and would like to offer our prayers to you during this difficult time.
Here are some suggested initial steps that you probably will need to take to move the process along and allow yourself to move on with your life.
Decide on a funeral home and speak to the Funeral Director.
Your Texas funeral director is an excellent resource in this time of need. Many funeral homes offer an informational packet for bereaved family members, which contains useful guidance on preparing for the funeral.
Aside from performing traditional functions of setting up the time and location of the funeral ceremony, and taking care of your loved one’s preparations for the funeral, your funeral director also can inform you of the many options available for memorialization and can accommodate any technical needs you may have.
Please remember. Every family and their needs after a death are unique. Do not hesitate to tell your director exactly what you may need to celebrate the life of a loved one.
The funeral director will obtain the death certificate for you, of which you will need at least ten certified copies for creditors, insurance companies, and to gain access to safety deposit boxes. A death certificate is a legal document signed by a physician, coroner, or medical examiner attesting to your relative’s cause of death and other vital statistics of the decedent.
Remember, you’ll need a certified copy to access the decedent’s safe deposit boxes and to apply for benefits. You can obtain certified copies of the death certificate from the County/State Office of Vital Statistics.
Your funeral director may notify the Social Security Administration of your loved one’s death and help you file for social security benefits. Frequently, your funeral director may help out by placing an obituary about your loved one in the local paper and by ordering flowers for the service. There are numerous minor details that a funeral director will attend to, but these details mean a great deal to the surviving family member and friends after a death has occurred.
Gather your loved one’s important papers and advise your loved one’s attorney of the death.
Once a loved one passes away, you need to collect his or her important papers. These important papers run the gamut from certified copies of the death certificate, recent copies of federal tax returns, military discharge papers, a marriage license or marriage certificate (if applicable), a certified copy of a birth certificate, birth certificates of all dependent children, and other pertinent social security numbers.
If you do not have these items at hand already, you will need to know the decedent’s full legal name and address, social security number, birthplace and date of birth, father and mother’s full names, and veteran’s discharge paperwork.
These papers are needed for filing for various benefits that accrue on the death of a loved one.
Your attorney or estate planner will locate the will if you do not already have a copy. Frequently, family members have their wills stored in safe deposit boxes, which in many states are sealed upon the death ofan individual. For this reason, it is always advisable to keep your will in your attorney’s safe.
Contact the Social Security Administration
Social Security needs to be contacted and made aware of the death of your loved one. A funeral director can take care of this for you, but you will need to furnish your funeral director with the decedent’s social security number.
Family members may be entitled to social security death benefits if your loved one worked long enough to become eligible. The social security office will you know if you are eligible or not, but normally the benchmark requirement for benefits is a working history of at least 40 quarters.
While the benefits may not be sizeable, every little bit can help out in your time of need. A surviving spouse may qualify for a one-time death benefit, and may even be entitled to monthly social security benefits.
Family members should be careful to return social security checks sent to the deceased, as the recipient is no longer eligible for benefits after death. Cashing your loved one’s social security checks could constitute social security fraud, so it is a good idea to return them to the Social Security administration.
Contact all insurance companies and notify them of the policyholder’s death.
While it is terribly difficult to think about finances and filing for death benefits at a time when you have lost someone close, filing claims expeditiously will help ease the heavy financial burden soon to come. Insurance policies on your loved one will help take care of paying inheritance taxes, so this step is very important.
It is important to notify insurance companies that hold policies on your deceased relative and file claims for benefits as soon as possible. All of these policies are sources of possible death benefits, therefore you will need the policy numbers and/or your loved one’s social security number.
Your loved one may have several different types of insurance policies. Some of these policies may include life insurance, accident or casualty insurance, auto insurance, and certain types of group insurance provided by your loved one’s employer.
Contact the Veteran’s Administration if your relative was a member of the armed services.
The Veterans Administration dispenses survivors’ benefits and other burial benefits on the death of a former member of the armed services. The VA provides a wellspring of information on helping establish benefits for family survivors when an armed services member has died on active duty.Make sure to have your loved one’s social security number and his branch of service available for the VA. In order to move the benefits process along at the VA, they may need a certified copy of the death certificate, a marriage certificate, and birth certificates of all dependent children of the deceased.
Coping with Loss and Grief
The most important things to remember are not financial or legal, however. Those steps are simply a means of organizing the property, bills, and remains of the deceased. What is important here is the memory of your lost one as well as your health and emotional well-being after such a close loss. If you are having serious trouble coping in your day to day life, there is always help around the corner be it from family, friends, counseling, or even online websites and networks related to supporting those going through loss as well as how you personally can cope with grief and loss.
IF THERE IS A WILL –
Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away.
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).
Please realize, 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 you and/or the appointed representative to 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.