After the passing of a loved one, there are many steps to take. Some of them are legal, many of them are not. But the honest truth is that it takes a lot of time and doesn't always make a lot of sense. There are the first arrangements to make, contacting companies (often multiple times), and then executing your loved one's wishes. Each institution has different form(s) that they want to be filled out.
Sometimes they lose the forms, or they won't give you ANY information. It can be quite frustrating...and of course, some-times the family doesn't like what you are doing, or that the process isn't fast enough. To try and ease the burden we have created a checklist for people to use as a guide to help keep them on track with the process. While it doesn't have every scenario, it has a lot of the big "check-list" items.
If you review the list and think... "that is a lot for my family to take on..." you always have
the option of hiring a professional fiduciary to take on that responsibility. Fiduciaries are sometimes called to act when there are no surviving family members to take on the role of executor and/or trustee. But, in times of family dispute, or extreme grief, the assistance of a professional can ease the burden and allow for the process to move more smoothly. Consider talking with a professional about how they might help with your estate when you are gone.