Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do account numbers really matter? If I tell Fidelity my parent died and give them the SSN surely they will just close out all of the related accounts?

It's more an issue with a spouse who isn't closing things out and still needs access. But even with others, I'd rather have the means to confirm rather than knowing/trusting that all the accounts have been found and accounted for.

Aren't you not supposed to access a decedent's accounts unless you are named on the account? I guess maybe if you needed statements for their final tax return you might need this? I also thought Fina called institutions locked accounts pretty quickly after they learn about the death of the account holder.

Seems like you could also get the account information from a tax transcript too no? I think all of my accounts that send me 1099s list the account number on them.

My spouse is named on accounts that they have no idea exist, what the password, what bank/brokerage things are at unless I write it all down for them. If I died, they would be grieving too and thinking less clearly about it all.

My father did this at my request for his 70th birthday and it was a godsend when he passed away suddenly a few years later. My mother was consumed by grief and was no help, but we needed to keep things going so she would continue to receive his pension and could pay the bills. He printed out the excel sheet and emailed it as well, which made a difficult situation much easier.

My employer held a seminar on elder care and end of life issues that walked through their recommendations, which sparked my request for him to prep the documents. We kept the paper copy in our safe with passports and SS cards.

Anonymous wrote:My Dad had a binder and it was an absolutely godsend during a very stressful time (he passes suddenly). He just had a printout of every account with the account number and a number to call, all the utilities under his name. Beneficieries had been decided in the will. We went page by page, called every place, sent the death certificate, and when we got to the last page, we were done.

My mom did too. I have one as well. It has a copy of recent statements, passwords, important phone numbers. It is much bigger than my mom’s was because we are a young family - but should I die my husband should have what he needs.

Also, lessons learned- cancel credit cards first. That way automatic payments stop and you won’t have to rush so much on other things.

Anonymous wrote:Coming from the previous thread where someone had prepared a death binder...how do you have things organized? Recently watched a friend go through this with the death of a parent and while I thought we were well organized I think there is a lot more we can do. Has anyone used one of the commercial binders/set ups? or do you have another good way to ensure you have all the necessary information where it's needed and easy for folks to access in the event of your untimely demise?

We just got a Next Of Kin box and will be organizing things over the winter.

I do. I’m 59 with teenage children and wanted to make things easy for DH in case something happens to me first. I made DH do the same thing. It’s not in a formal binder but I keep a hard copy in my file cabinet and update it every 4-6 months as needed. It includes:
- Last will and testament and trust
- Excel spreadsheet of all my passwords
- Word Document with all bank accounts and account numbers, loans and mortgages with account numbers, insurance policies, credit cards, utility account numbers, services that are on autopay etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do account numbers really matter? If I tell Fidelity my parent died and give them the SSN surely they will just close out all of the related accounts?

It's more an issue with a spouse who isn't closing things out and still needs access. But even with others, I'd rather have the means to confirm rather than knowing/trusting that all the accounts have been found and accounted for.

Aren't you not supposed to access a decedent's accounts unless you are named on the account? I guess maybe if you needed statements for their final tax return you might need this? I also thought Fina called institutions locked accounts pretty quickly after they learn about the death of the account holder.

Seems like you could also get the account information from a tax transcript too no? I think all of my accounts that send me 1099s list the account number on them.

Only the PR of an estate can get a transcript.

So you have to wait until an estate is opened and wait for the IRS to process your transcript request. All the while being in the dark and possibly needing funds to pay final debts and expenses.

I was thinking you could just log on to their IRS account and pull the transcript from there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do account numbers really matter? If I tell Fidelity my parent died and give them the SSN surely they will just close out all of the related accounts?

It's more an issue with a spouse who isn't closing things out and still needs access. But even with others, I'd rather have the means to confirm rather than knowing/trusting that all the accounts have been found and accounted for.

Aren't you not supposed to access a decedent's accounts unless you are named on the account? I guess maybe if you needed statements for their final tax return you might need this? I also thought Fina called institutions locked accounts pretty quickly after they learn about the death of the account holder.

Seems like you could also get the account information from a tax transcript too no? I think all of my accounts that send me 1099s list the account number on them.

Only the PR of an estate can get a transcript.

So you have to wait until an estate is opened and wait for the IRS to process your transcript request. All the while being in the dark and possibly needing funds to pay final debts and expenses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do account numbers really matter? If I tell Fidelity my parent died and give them the SSN surely they will just close out all of the related accounts?

It's more an issue with a spouse who isn't closing things out and still needs access. But even with others, I'd rather have the means to confirm rather than knowing/trusting that all the accounts have been found and accounted for.

Aren't you not supposed to access a decedent's accounts unless you are named on the account? I guess maybe if you needed statements for their final tax return you might need this? I also thought Fina called institutions locked accounts pretty quickly after they learn about the death of the account holder.

Seems like you could also get the account information from a tax transcript too no? I think all of my accounts that send me 1099s list the account number on them.

Anonymous wrote:Yes but it's a thumb drive

Please please please create a hard copy. I have had so many USB drives become unreadable and you can't count on whoever has do deal with your aftermath being able to access digital files that make have been created some time ago.

Thank you for raising this issue. I have it on my list do do for myself this summer and I need to get past the intention and just do it. My younger sister is visiting soon and I want to let her know where to find my information. (I am 59.)

After going through a few unexpected elderly deaths in my twenties I demanded my parents put something together for me in the event they died unexpectedly. We call it the Hit by the Bus List. They have a notebook with all their information but I am not their executor so I have no idea what it entails.

Anonymous wrote:Do account numbers really matter? If I tell Fidelity my parent died and give them the SSN surely they will just close out all of the related accounts?

It's more an issue with a spouse who isn't closing things out and still needs access. But even with others, I'd rather have the means to confirm rather than knowing/trusting that all the accounts have been found and accounted for.

Do account numbers really matter? If I tell Fidelity my parent died and give them the SSN surely they will just close out all of the related accounts?

We're working on this now with my parents. AARP has a helpful and free set of docs: ambar.org/aarpforms

I have one for my mom with dementia. It includes printouts of all of her assets and contact information for various entities. She apparently has an accidental death policy I didn’t even know about (slim to none chance that will be the way she goes). I have everything ready to go. After my dad died it was a challenge so we set hers up to assist eventually.

I have one of my own as well for me son. I’m divorced and I want to make sure he knows where everything is just in case.