First 90 Days
Who Has Authority After a Death? A Role-by-Role Guide
Learn what a surviving spouse, agent, beneficiary, trustee, and court-appointed personal representative can (and cannot)do after a death.
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First 90 Days
Digital Accounts After Death: Access, Preserve, Transfer, or Close
A careful guide to inventorying digital assets, preserving records, and using lawful provider processes after a spouse dies.
First 90 Days
How to Access a Safe-Deposit Box After a Spouse Dies
Confirm the lease, state-law procedure, authority, supervised-search limits, inventory, valuation, and insurance before accessing a safe-deposit box after death.
First 90 Days
What to Ask Your Late Spouse's Employer About Benefits
A call checklist covering final pay, group life insurance, retirement plans, health coverage, equity compensation, deadlines, and written follow-up.
First 90 Days
How to Audit Subscriptions and Recurring Payments After a Death
Find, classify, transfer, and cancel recurring payments after a spouse dies without lapsing insurance, utilities, loans, or services the household still needs.
First 90 Days
How to Keep a Decision Log After Your Spouse Dies
Use a decision log to track calls, deadlines, documents, authority, money, and follow-up while settling financial and estate matters after a spouse dies.
First 90 Days
How to Protect a Deceased Person’s Credit File
Learn how to add a deceased indicator, request the credit report, notify creditors, and preserve proof without confusing the process with a credit freeze.
First 90 Days
Joint Bank Accounts After a Death: Access and FDIC Rules
Learn what to verify before using or retitling a joint bank account after death, including ownership, payment access, estate claims, and FDIC coverage.
First 90 Days
How to Protect and Forward Mail After a Death
Secure incoming mail, follow USPS authorization rules, identify accounts and fraud, route estate correspondence, and reduce unwanted advertising safely.
First 90 Days
How to Report a Death to U.S. Government Agencies
Use this federal death-notification plan to stop improper payments, preserve survivor-benefit claims, update records, and document every agency response.
First 90 Days
How Many Certified Death Certificates Should You Order?
A practical method for deciding how many certified death certificates to order, tracking originals, and avoiding unnecessary fees or delays.
First 90 Days
Social Security’s $255 Lump-Sum Death Payment
Understand who may receive Social Security’s $255 lump-sum death payment, its two-year application limit, and why it is separate from survivor benefits.