Financially Speaking: What You Need to Gather When Your Spouse Dies
What You Need to Gather When Your Spouse Dies
By LouAnn Schulfer, AWMA®, AIF®
Accredited Wealth Management Advisor®
Accredited Investment Fiduciary®
Losing your spouse is losing your best friend, your soul mate and also, your financial partner. From a financial aspect, it’s as if you have a business and you’ve just lost your only business partner. This is one of the most devastating times of our life. In this highly emotional time, the least of which you want to do is deal with the stress of remembering all that needs to be tended to financially, so here is a basic guide that I recommend you keep as a reference to help you get organized.
Gather important documents. After the funeral, it is important to gather the things that were in your spouse’s name so that you can transfer those items into your name and take care of your financial obligations.
· Birth certificate
· Death certificates – obtain multiple copies (10 – 25), as originals will be asked for
· Marriage certificate
· Wills or trust documents
· Social security numbers (yours and your spouses)
· Life Insurance Policies
· Other Insurance Policies (home, auto, etc.)
· Pension information
· Military discharge papers
· A list of investment accounts, retirement accounts, and copies of the most recent statements
· Deeds to real estate
· Titles to vehicles
· Mortgage information
· Bank statements
· Credit card statements
· Social Security and Medicare information
· Tax returns
· Recurring bills and subscriptions (utilities, etc.)
Keep records of all bills paid, including funeral and other final expenses.
Obtain valuations of assets where appropriate (consult your estate planning expert for advice on this).
Who you need to contact:
· Your financial advisor, to change account titles, transfer IRA’s and make adjustments to accounts if necessary, including accounts that your spouse had been receiving income from
· Life insurance agent, to file the claim
· Your CPA, to arrange for a final tax return and estate tax return, if applicable
· Your attorney, if trust documents need to be amended or there are other legal matters to take care of
· Your spouse’s employer, if currently employed. Inquire about:
o Unpaid wages
o In force life insurance provided by employer
o accrued and unused vacation
o retirement plans
o deferred compensation plans
o unpaid medical reimbursements
o other employer benefits
· Former employers, to inquire whether there was a pension. You may be entitled to receive spousal benefits
· Social Security Office and Medicare
· Health Insurance Company, notify them that you no longer need to pay premiums on your spouse
· Pension provider if spouse was receiving a pension OR has pensions from former employers
· Memberships: contact clubs at which your spouse was a member to cancel memberships
· Online account providers for profiles such as facebook, linked-in and other social media sites
· Digital service providers for contracts or subscriptions such as cell phone, satellite radio, music streaming, online news and magazines, fitness monitoring, credit monitoring services and others that your spouse may have used but you no longer need.
Ask for help. Anyone who has lost a spouse can tell you how devastating and upside down the world seems for quite some time. Ask for help from family members or a close friend whom you trust. Seek advice from qualified professionals, as they will be able to assess your situation from an objective standpoint, and have worked with numerous others in the same situation. Remember, you are not alone.
LouAnn Schulfer is co-owner of Schulfer & Associates, LLC Financial Professionals and can be reached at (715) 343-9600 orlouann.schulfer@lpl.com. Visit www.SchulferAndAssociates.com blog.
Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC.