Family Checklist

We offer this helpful list as a guide to personal and financial issues that may need to be addressed by family members. For a printable PDF version, click here.

1. Send acknowledgement cards for flowers, memorial donations, food, spiritual remembrances

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.