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The Guide

A Survivor's Checklist

What to do when a loved one dies — the documents to find first, and the calls to make in the month that follows.

A hand checking items off a printed checklist

Immediately following the death

Locate your loved one's important documents:

  • Will/Trust
  • Birth certificate
  • Social Security card
  • Marriage license
  • Military discharge papers (DD214)
  • Deed to burial property
  • Copy of funeral prearrangements
  • Life insurance papers

Within one month of the death

  • File claims with life insurance companies.
  • Contact the Social Security Administration and other government offices that were making payments to the decedent. Inquire about eligibility for spousal benefits.
  • Notify the registrar of voters.
  • Cancel the deceased's prescriptions.
  • Cancel all social media accounts and retain pictures if need be.
  • Contact the department of motor vehicles to cancel the driver's license and transfer titles to registered vehicles.
  • If the deceased was a veteran, inquire about benefits from the VA.
  • Contact the deceased's employer. Inquire about company benefits such as 401(k), pension…
  • Check for life insurance benefits available through credit cards or loans.
  • File any outstanding claims for health insurance.
  • Obtain the deceased's outstanding bills.
  • Advise all creditors in writing that the death occurred.
  • Update beneficiaries on your life insurance policies.
  • Locate the paperwork necessary for the settlement of their estate:
    • Trust information
    • Real estate deeds and titles
    • Stock certificates
    • Loan paperwork
    • Bank accounts
    • Retirement accounts

Keep going

Put it somewhere your people can actually find it.

TrustLoKR keeps these documents secure, organized, and shared with the trusted contacts who will need them.

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