Planning for estate & end of life arrangements will make a difficult time easier for your family. Get organized now with this free End-of-Life Checklist.
I am not sure where to start or what to include.
Starting with a basic: Order is not important. Gathering all the information
- Update the details every year
- The Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit (TOD), when properly recorded, permits the direct transfer of the described real property to the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries upon the death of the owner, thus avoiding Probate administration
- Details about the funeral arrangment
- Open a new bank account with only one name
- Get a death certificate - How to get one?
- Register with Social Security Administration
- Apply for social security survivor benefits - https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/
- Call insurance company <phone number/name> to arrange life insurance payout.
- Transfer properties
- Transfer accounts
- Is there a will? Who has it? Where is it?
- Lawyers information
- Name of the company
- Yearly premium
- Contact information
List all life insurance details.
- Type of life insurance? Term / Whole life?
- Name on the insurance
- Name of the company
- Yearly premium
- beneficiary
- What to do instructions?
List all important contact information
- Accountant
- Insurance Agents
- financial advisor
- schools (if you have kids).
- Doctors
- Trusted friends & family
- Household contractors - lawn service, AC cleaner, handyman
- Bank Manager
- PHone Number
- Reasons/how can they help
Keep photocopies of important documents with the binder & location of the originals
- Birth certificates
- Marriage Certificate
- Tax Documents (last 7 years).
- Passports
- ID Cards
This section contains a list of accounts, information that you need to pass to your family.
- List of monthly Bills & when to pay
- List of quarterly Bills & when to pay
- List of Yearly Bills & when to pay
- Example - Netflix, icloud etc.
List of Financial Accounts
- List of bank accounts. Approximate balance.
- Which to keep it open & which to close
- Where is it?
- Who has access?
- What's in it?
- List of credit cards that need to be closed.
- List of accounts & what needs to be done
- Types of 401k
- Where is the account?
- Keep it open or close?
- Where to transfer?
- List of accounts & what needs to be done
- Types of IRA
- Where is the account?
- Keep it open or close?
- Where to transfer?
- List 529 Accounts
- Instructions for what to do?
- Pay for the education
- Transfer all funds to their "Roth IRA" after 15 years from the last deposit.
Any Treasury, municipal or commercial bonds, that are not part of your retirement accounts
List of properties
- Address
- Deed information
- Parcel Number
- Mortgage information
- Bank Name
- Interest
- Monthly payment
- HOCL
- Property taxes details
- Direct link to the county property infomration page
- List other types of properties - Rental/vacation
- Deed
- parcel number
- Direct link to the county property information page
- Year
- Make
- Model
- Loan details
- Title info.
- where is the title?
- Registration & Insurance details
- Immigrated family usually has properties back home.
- List of people who can help & what kind of help to ask each person
Do's & don'ts
- What to do with insurance payouts?
- What to do with savings
- What to do with investments/retirement accounts
- What to do with business
- Keep $xx,xxxx amount into saving account for a yearly expense
- Put the rest of the money into the following funds
- 40% in VTI - https://investor.vanguard.com/etf/profile/VTI
- 40% in VOO - https://investor.vanguard.com/etf/profile/VOO
- 20% in bond ???
- Where will the money come from?
- Shortfall in cash?
- downsize or not?
- Example - move to a smaller house with a smaller property tax
- Which cars to sell & keep
- List of Major yearly expenses
- Property tax
- Health insurance
A lot of bank accounts/financial account has security questions in addition to passwords. You must list them with the passwords so that your surviving family can use the informatin to login to your accounts.
- List health details about each family member
- Family medical history - Your kids might need it one day
- https://www.fidsafe.com/ Secure, free document storage from Fidelity.
In the USA at least, if a person dies and leaves behind a bunch of debt, you and anyone else in your family does not pay it off. You let the debt die with that person
They will try and trick you, they will try and get you to pay the debt, but do not fall for it! It is not your responsibility.
Now, they can still take money from the person's estate (That could be the house, or similar). But you and others pay nothing. Now with shared debt, you will be responsible for the payment since it's a joint debt.
Always look into laws about debt when a person dies wherever you live, as each place may be different. Contact an estate attorney after a family member dies.
With student debt: If your parents or legal guardian, co-signed, no. They still owe the debt. Though some places will write them off, not wanting bad publicity.