My Loved One Just Passed – What Do I Do?
Losing someone is one of the most emotionally difficult experiences that we can have. It doesn’t matter the age –the loss of an elderly parent or grandparent is a life altering event, as is the horrible loss of a young adult. Even so, there are necessary steps that must be taken to prevent complications in an already difficult time.
Obtain Copies of the Death Certificate
In order to become personal representative of the estate, to gain access to bank accounts, and to be able to handle and distribute assets, you must have a death certificate. Generally, these are provided by the funeral home. Oftentimes, companies will need the certified death certificate to allow you access to and control over assets. As such, we generally recommend that you obtain enough copies to send to each company in which the decedent had assets.
Find Out if Your Loved One Had an Estate Plan
A Will is an instruction guide to who they wanted to act as Personal Representative, and who they wanted to inherit from the estate. As such, it is pertinent to obtain the estate planning documents. Oftentimes, the estate plan also includes instructions for their disposition of remains.
If your loved one died without preparing estate planning documents, it is important to discuss the impacts of this with an attorney. Likewise, if your loved one prepared their own estate planning documents you will want to have the documents reviewed closely to ensure that they are legally valid. Too many times clients have brought Wills prepared by their frugal father who unknowingly failed to abide by the requirements of Washington, therefore ultimately dying without a valid Will.
Contact an Estate Attorney
Experiencing the grief of your loved one’s passing can be challenging enough. When you layer your responsibilities, duties, and potential challenges of estate administration, this can quickly become overwhelming. Having an experienced estate planning attorney on your side can help make things go much more smoothly at this difficult time.
