After funerals at funeral homes in Everson, WA, the family of the deceased will need to take care of the final affairs of their loved one. This includes handling their estate (which will typically include a will or a revocable trust), taking care of their financial affairs, and handling administrative tasks.

 

However, the first thing that you need to do – enlist family members to help – is to hand-write and send thank-you notes or cards (these are available from the funeral home) to all the people who participated in the funeral (including pallbearers and clergy), to people who sent plants and flowers, to people who provided meals or other gifts during the funeral process, and to people who made memorial donations in the name of your loved one.

 

The next thing that you will need to do is to handle estate matters. If your loved one had a will or revocable trust, then whoever is named as executor or trustee will be responsible for take care of everything that is related to the estate.

 

The executor or trustee will be responsible for paying any outstanding debts, making claims for life insurance and other death benefits, distributing assets and property to named beneficiaries, and notifying the Social Security Administration (if the deceased was retired) of their loved one’s death.

 

The executor or trustee must also cancel credit cards, online shopping accounts. Additionally, they are responsible for managing all financial accounts, including transferring banking and investment accounts into their names, so that they can distribute financial assets according to their deceased loved one’s stated wishes.

 

If your loved one had property that was mortgaged or that has outstanding loans on it, the executor or trustee, if they want to keep the property, will have to get a new mortgage and loans in their name to pay off the property. If they choose not to keep the property, then they can sell it to pay off the balance of debt that is owed on the property.

 

None of these things can be done without certified copies of death certificates. When you meet with the funeral director to plan the funeral, they will ask you how many copies of the death certificate you will need.

 

If your loved one’s estate is not large, 15 or 20 copies of the death certificate should suffice. However, if your loved one’s estate is large and there are a lot of assets, you will need to get more copies of the death certificate.

 

If you request just a few copies of the death certificate but discover later that you need additional copies, contact the funeral director to request the additional number you need (there will be a small fee for each additional death certificate).

 

If your deceased loved one was working, you should have already notified their employer that they are deceased. However, be sure to contact the employer’s human resources department to see if there are related benefits available. These benefits might include outstanding pay, personal time off pay, 401(k) accounts, life insurance, and profit-sharing plans.

Finally, make sure you take care of your deceased loved one’s digital assets. These include things like social medial accounts and email accounts. It’s a good idea to hang on to your deceased loved one’s email accounts for a while, since they may have an account that receives messages about financial and other assets.

 

For information about planning funerals at funeral homes serving the area of Everson, WA, our compassionate and experienced team at Moles Farewell Tributes & Crematory – Bayview Chapel is here to help.