Dealing with Death continued

"More than we fear death, we fear life." Anthony Esolen.

I tend to agree with the above statement; that we fear living all out, fully and outrageously alive. When we learned of Dwane's diagnosis at Mayo Clinic, he was more stunned and saddened than I (because I knew something was amiss), and on the drive home we discussed it, and we decided that we would treat it like Randy Pausch presents in The Last Lecture. We have done the things we wanted to do while Dwane was still able to do them: go to Italy to see his daughter and family, go to the seacoast, go to Sagamore. I am so glad we did these things, but we also need to prepare for the inevitable death. More things to do when someone dies:

Bank accounts: Check to see if the accounts are joint ownership or if you need Power of Attorney to access funds upon death.

Notify employee benefits.

Notify the state/country office for inheritance tax (lawyers often do this.)

Keep a record of activities and all money spent, as this may be a time of confusion.

Bills still need to be paid, but it may be better to pay them from the estate to lessen inheritance tax. An income tax return will need to be filed in the U.S. for the final year, and an estate tax return will need to be filed.

Credit cards: cancel them immediately.

Evaluate surviving spouse life insurance: Make any changes on beneficiaries, employee benefits, IRA's.

Changes in ownership registration: Autos, stocks, bonds, investments, residences, boats, savings and checking accounts, charge accounts and safe deposit boxes may need to have beneficiaries/names changed.

Have available: certified copy of death certificate, notarized Affidavit of Domicile, completed Stock Power Form with signature guarantee to change registration, and a copy of any trust documents. All of these may be needed to re-title assets.

I hope these suggestions of what to remember when someone dies will be helpful as one deals with the stress and adjustment of the loss.