📋 Here's Everything You Need to Do When a Loved One Dies (AARP Article)

[SummerOnTheWay1]

FROM THE ARTICLE.

Here's Everything You Need to Do When a Loved One Dies.

Practical steps you need to take in the early days.

By Leanne Potts, AARP. Updated May 07, 2026.

When people die, they leave behind a life that must be legally and administratively closed out. The funeral must be planned, bank accounts closed, pets placed in new homes, final bills paid.

When someone you love dies, the job of handling those personal and legal details may fall to you. It’s a stressful, bureaucratic task that can take months to several years to complete, all while you are grieving.

USE LINK BELOW TO READ ARTICLE.

https://www.aarp.org/family-relationships/when-loved-one-dies-checklist/

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[Sunday 8/2/26]

Stop by when you can to let us know your thoughts on this article & topic.

Maybe READ what others members have posted.

Members Gail, Serene and myself (Nicole) have left comments.

We would luv to hear from YOU!!!

Grief & Loss Team ‌‌‌‌‌‌🤗‌‌‌‌‌‌

[GailL1]

Not sure if I would cancel homeowners or auto insurance - change them maybe - they still need to be protected for the estate of for their sale.  Same thing about cancelling all the utilities - some need to be left on for protection of the property - don’t want those pipes to freeze.  

Cancel voters registration at the registrars office with copy of death certificate.

SSA, if on any of these benefits, will claw back their last payment if issued after their date of death.  Then the executor or ALL of the direct heirs have to fill out a SSA Form 1724 - F4 - Claim for Amount Due in the case of a Deceased Beneficiary”

Then there is the SSA-8 - Application for Lump Sum Death Benefit”  The $ 255 for deceased wage earners or those self-employed”

Any credit cards that of joint ownership will have to be cancelled and if the account is in good standing, the card should be issued only to the remaining person.

In many states the executor has to post a notice to creditors that the person has deceased - this use to be done in the local paper - don’t know how they do it now since so many small papers have dissolved.  Anyway I always opened a PO Box for this purpose since you have to give a contact address - and the PO Box at least kept down the address of the deceased person for privacy purposed. 

The executor has to open up an estate IRS account - they issue you a tax number and once the executor has filed the last tax return for the deceased, all asset accounts can be c hanged over to the “estate of” with the use of this number for filing the estate tax return until everything is settled.  Like money from  banks accounts and investment accounts have to disbursed according to the Will, home and other types of real property are sold - etc,  so while the funds are waiting to be divided up any interest or earnings or losses are then filed under the estate account.

If the person had been on Medicaid Long Term Care and the state has an Estate Recovery clause then all that has to be worked out since there will be a lien placed on the property of the deceased to recover these Medicaid funds.  

It is a process - and one that the responsible person has to be an organized as possible once they have all the items identified - what they had and what they owed - they go from there.    

I have done this for several different people - some relatives, some friends - it does help if you are appointed as the executor that people share or at least familiarize you on what they do have and where they keep their records.  For many of these people I was their POA before I was their executor so I knew a lot about them. 

One person wanted to make a donation to a perpetual care organization that took care of a very old family cemetery - that one was difficult - I finally talked to a neighbor of the cemetery and asked her to get me the name of the maintenance people when they showed up - she got it off their truck and from there I traced down who was the payer for them to do this and finally found the perpetual bank account and the person that took care of it to make the donation.  That one was hard.

Then there was another who left a few hundred dollars to a relative - a relative that they had not seen in a long time and had no contact info on and nobody else in the family did either - but finally traced him down by one of the family saying he use to work for a big box store and was there for a long time - well by talking to a few folks that were long time workers at the store - low and behold, somebody was still in contact with him and he still worked for the chain.

Other than the locator problems, none were really that difficult logistically - but that was then and we are now in the now with all the AI and AI is not as helpful when trying to muddle thru stuff life this.  Thank goodness we can still read and research it ourselves.  

All in all not a bad article but there are still holes as anything that involves humans does - none of us live in a box - we are all unique in our own way.

But Who Gets The Parrot?  They live Forever???  Be sure that they are assigned in your will if you have one.  

[SereneSeagull]

@GailL1   Great sleuthing skills!!

One great way to track people down you need to get a hold of is through the online search databases many county’s have for public records.  County Clerk’s office, as well as the  Property Appraiser.  Many times these places have public search databases.  A Newspaper’s archive search as well with the person’s name can sometimes bring results.

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[Thursday 6/11/26]

Thanks for your input @SereneSeagull  , ALWAYS "appreciated"

Luv,

Nicole 🤗🤗🤗 (Grief Forum)

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[Wednesday 6/10/26]

Thanks for your input dear Gail @GailL1 , ALWAYS "appreciated".

Luv,

Nicole 🤗🤗🤗 (Grief Forum)

[SummerOnTheWay1]

I am so glad AARP Published this article.

One section really hit home with me at age 68, living alone & in another state from my only family. I passed this info onto my daughter. You just DONOT think about this while still alive.

➡️[*** Secure the property!

If the deceased person lived alone, lock up their home and vehicle. Ask a friend or relative to water the plants, get the mail and throw out any food in the refrigerator. If there are valuables in the home, such as jewelry or cash, lock them up. “You have to watch out for valuable personal effects walking out,” Harbison says. Enlist a friend or neighbor to keep an eye on the home during the funeral or memorial service until locks, alarm codes, and smart‑home access are updated or disabled to ward off a potential burglary.