You will need this for the death certificate, Probate Court fillings, the location determines the probate court that has juristiction, legally establishes 'date of death value' which is the financial date of asset value etc, triggers legals deadlines as it starts from the date of death, needed to stop social benefits, payments, insurance, medical billing, to help prevent fraud,
We recommend you keep this to a smaller circle at first to allow yourself some time to yourself too.
A Pronouncement of Death is the official confirmation, by a licensed medical professional, that a person has died.
Make sure these are correct, check passports or ID's as getting these right are important for official documentation and can be expensive to correct
These can take 7–14 days Small/simple estate (1–2 bank accounts, one house): 5–7 copies Medium estate (multiple bank accounts, investments, insurance): 8–12 copies Large/complex estate (multiple properties, businesses, many accounts): 12–20+ copies Most states charge $5–$25 per copy depending on location. Top Tip: Ordering extras later is often slower & some institutions insist on seeing certified originals
Resonable cost of looking after the pet at home or at a service e.g. kennels falls under the responsibility of the exector and can usually be recovered from the estate
When someone dies, the home becomes part of the estate, and the executor becomes legally responsible for, so taking photos taken before anything is touched or moved can serve as evidence that nothing was stolen.
Possible places to look for the will; in the house of the deceased, if a known attorney was used check with their office, saftey deposit boxes, with an accountant, state will registry, on their computer
Check county property records, check the mail at the house, check the deceased’s bank records for morgage payments, check credit reports. List them here.
List them here.
List them here.
Do not turn off or wipe the deceased's cell phone immediately; it is often required for Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) to access bank and email accounts.
Look for metal backups or paper lists of 12-24 words. Without these, cryptocurrency is often irretrievable.
The probate court requires a full asset value, removing valuables without record could be seen as 'hiding' valuble assets.
