I have a terminally ill relative for whom I am the executor and sole beneficiary. I have a full breakdown of all of his financial accounts, where they're held, how to access them, who to contact, how much is in each one, etc.
What I don't know is what do I actually do after he dies? Can I just walk into his bank, for example, with a copy of the death certificate and close out his account? What about his Vanguard retirement account?
He also owns two individual stocks for which he holds the certificates - they aren't with a brokerage. What do I need to do to get them into my name and be able to sell them?
He does have another retirement account held with a money manager and I've already been in touch with that person. Once my relative dies, I'll call that guy and I'm sure he'll walk me through what I need there.
I am named as beneficiary on all accounts that can have a beneficiary. Everything else is left to me in the will.
And what about the will? Do I call the lawyer who prepared it?
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Fortunately, I've never had to deal with any of this before.
having done this three times and about to embark on the 4th i can tell you that requirementa will vary from institution to institution. aome random thoughts for you:
- i would notify the lawyer who prepared the will and, hopefully, a trust. my understanding is that in most, maybe all, states, a trust means the estate avoids probate. if there is no trust then you may have to go thru probate. the lawyer can advise you.
- make a list of of who to notify. insurance, ultilities, friends, family. easiest way is to go through the mail. my first time doing this i was surprised at how many notifications (non family or friends) there were.
assuming there is a trust....
- the trust most likely has the SS# of the creator. upon his death you'll need to get a new TIN assigned to it as the trust is its own legal entity now. final tax returns for the now deceased person as well as federal and potentially state death taxes will need to be paid.
- some institutions may require an original death certificate but most will accept a photocopy. offer photocopies first, originals can be expensive.
- most will want to see the pages that create the trust as well as the signature page. this is usually the first (Declaration page) and last pages of the trust.
- most will want to see all or part of the will.
- there were 5-beneficiaries in one of the trusts i handled. in that case i opened a bank account under the new TIN for the trust. all of the revenue from selling shares, stocks, bomds, the house, cars and other assets were funneled into this account and checks were then written to the beneficiaries. consider doing the same even though you are the sole beneficiary. i would avoid mingling the inherited $ with your own until all taxes are paid and the estate closed.
- the most difficult time i had with one trust was paying off medical providers (another reason for creating a new bank account). well, not paying them per se but identifying them. the deceased person's medical insurance company (too young for medicare) compounded the problem by allowing medical providers 18-mos from the date of service to file a claim. it took me 18-mos waiting for claims from medical providers i had not identified (you don't know what you don't know) before i could make final disbursements.
- i hired a CPA for the taxes and assigning a new TIN to the trust and other matters. i also had an attorney familiar with the trust on an as-needed basis to answer questions that came up.
- if the deceased was receiving SS, railroad or military pension the funeral home handling the burial or cremation should make notification of death to those agencies. expect to make a refund to one or more of them.
- retirement accounts and life insurance are usually not placed within the trust and have their own POD or beneficiary lists. all that is usually needed is a death cert (copies).
- some institutions may want your signature on forms and some of those may want a medallion signature guarantee. your bank may be able to help with that.
keep good records, copies of everything for at least the remainder of the calendar year in which the trust is
settled + 10-years (advice from both my cpa and atty).
good luck.