 | Shanna Parrish-Taylor is the Director of Nursing at Vintage Place Assisted Living. She is a RN with 9 years long term care experience, experience in critical care as well as hospice setting. Shanna is currently working on her master’s degree towards obtaining her ANRP. For more information on Shanna or Vintage Place please call 620-231-4554.
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Senior Living
2012-04-20 11:11:38
Organizing finances after a death
A: Absolutely. Your mom is in a situation that is very common. In many households, one person handles all of the financial affairs. Here is a checklist that will help you get things in a better place.
1. Find debt and assets
Make a master list of significant assets like bank and brokerage accounts, retirement plans, insurance policies, real estate, items in safe deposit boxes and debts like credit card accounts and loans.
2. Collect insurance
If your mom is the beneficiary of a life insurance policy, file a claim for benefits. Do this as soon as possible as the process may take time and you will want to make sure that she has enough cash on hand to handle immediate needs.
3. Apply for benefits
Also at the top of the to-do list is helping your parent apply for Social Security benefits. Contact the Social Security Administration for information about survivor’s benefits. Investigate other benefits to which she may be entitled, including pension, veterans, or employment-related payouts.
4. Change title to jointly owned assets
If your parents owned property together, she should change the title document to show that he or she now owns the property alone. This will make it easier to manage the property and for you to wrap up your surviving parent’s affairs when the time comes. Check title documents for real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, and other significant assets to see whether you need to update ownership records.
5. Update will and trusts
If your mom has a will or living trust, she should review it and change it, if necessary, to reflect her current life circumstances and wishes.
6. Take steps to avoid probate court
Evaluate whether any part of the estate will be subject to probate when she dies. Simple probate avoidance methods could save a bundle of time and money -- for example, your mom might name pay-on-death beneficiaries for a bank or brokerage accounts that were jointly owned.
7. Update insurance policies
If your father is still named as a beneficiary on insurance policies, those policies will need to be modified, cashed out, or canceled, depending on your parent’s current needs and wishes.
8. Make a health care directive
Now is the time to prepare a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care. These documents set out health care wishes and name a trusted person to oversee her care and make medical decisions, if that becomes necessary.
9. Make a financial power of attorney
This document lets your parent name someone to handle financial matters if he or she ever becomes incapacitated and unable to take care of things alone. Without this, loved ones would most likely have to go to court to get the authority.
10. Organize
Do what you can to help your mom set up a good filing system to keep track of all the information mentioned above and other related information.
