Family Checklist
We offer this helpful list as a guide to personal and financial issues that may need to be addressed by family members.
2. Transfer of real estate
• Apply for Widowed Person Exemption
• Apply for Homestead and Disabilities
3. Notify insurance companies and file claims
• Life insurance
• Medical, health, disability, travel, and accident insurance
• Retirement benefits and annuities
• Homeowners insurance
• Car insurance
• Change survivor's beneficiary
4. Apply for appropriate benefits
• Social Security survivors benefits
• Veterans burial and survivors benefits
• Pension benefits (contact spouse's place of employment)
• Workmen's compensation benefits
• Civil service benefits
• Railroad retirement benefits
5. Notify Stockbroker
• Change ownership of joint or solely-owned stock
• IRA and retirement accounts
• Transfer bonds
• Mutual or other funds
6. Notify bank
• Change all jointly held accounts
• Cancel direct deposit benefits payment
• Re-establish safe deposit box
• Re-establish all outstanding mortgages, personal notes, etc.
• Apply for credit life insurance which may exist on loans, credit cards and mortgages
• Certificate of Deposit (CD)
• Individual Retirement Account (IRA)
7. Notify credit bureaus
• TransUnion: P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022 / transunion.com
• Equifax: P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348 / equifax.com
• Experian: P.O. Box 9530, Allen, TX 75013 / experian.com
8. Notify Department of Motor Vehicles
• Transfer titles of all registered vehicles
• Cancel driver's license
• Cancel voter registration
9. Notify all credit card companies
• Apply for credit life insurance
• Cancel all individually held credit cards
• Change all jointly held accounts
10. Notify attorney, accountant, tax consultant
• If a will must be probated
• If your will needs to be revised
• For income tax purposes
11. Advanced planning
You may want to consider pre-arranging your funeral. It's a sensible, caring way to relieve your loved ones from the burden of having to make decisions during an emotionally difficult time.