My dad died a few days ago after a brief illness..He was 86 but sharp as a tack.My mom has care issues and some dementia issues and will be coming to live with me and I will have power of attorney for financial stuff etc..I've taken a family medical leave-if approved I hope..Anyways, it's very ovewhelming..My dad was very organized..I know this a "vague" question, but what do i need to make sure I do?? The death certificates aren't available for a week and many things require that..Looking for pointers to guide me in the right direction so I don't forget to do something..Thanks, jan

I am sorry to hear about the death of your father, my condolences.

You will need at least 15 death certificates if not more depending on debts, life insurance, pensions etc. Attorney contact a attorney who either did his will or another one well versed in Estates etc.

Most important take care of you don't stress yourself out take it one day at a time. I have a friend and co-worker during tax season who is an Attorney that deals with these type of things he used to have an informative website let me see if I can find it and I will post the link.

{{{HUGS}}} to you and your Mom as you embark on this new change in your life

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~ Christine ~
Grammie to Trinity Lorayne Jean Keens Born June 9, 2011 Loving my awesome guitar picking 100% Country Boy boyfriend Kenny !
RIP Daddy~ 01/24/1930-06/01/2007 I miss you !
Dont Think you Can .. know you can ~ Jeff Hardy

I don't have a good answer to your question but I just wanted to say I'm sorry about your dad. You have my sympathies.

My dad died in 2007 and there was a mountain of stuff my mom and oldest brother had to go through. Mom and Dad had everything in a trust which I guess made it easier but it seems like every time I talk to my mom, she's dealing with another insurance company about one thing or another. Dad had lots of policies to protect mom but there is also a lot of work involved in managing it all.

I would try to make sure you know of all his accounts, pension, SS benefits, IRAs, CDs savings, insurance policies. I think my dad had a life insurance policy from every group he ever belonged to! lol Best of luck to you and again, I'm sorry for your loss.

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Cecilia

"We must love them both--those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject. For both have labored in the search for truth, and both have helped us in the finding of it."
Saint Thomas Aquinas

The funeral home can get you the death certificates. They're not free, so I wouldn't get any more than you really need. Often you can just show the original, but don't need to turn it over. You'll want to qualify as the executor of his will (if he left one and named you) or administrator of his estate (if he died without one). You should call the court in the jurisdiction in which he lived. Hopefully he left his papers in good shape for you so you won't have to search through a bunch of stuff.

My condolences on your loss. I hope it goes well with your mother.

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Reading is Fundamental.

First, I offer my sympathies to you and your family.

I did a google search and found this article:

Steps you must take when someone dies - MSN Money


I would strongly suggest buying folders, and a small file box just for all the paperwork and things you will have. This way you can keep it all in one spot.

Also, I encourage, and urge you, to take time for yourself. You will now be the caregiver for your Mom, and it will be stressful. Been there, done that. Take a break from time to time. Go out alone, or with a friend just to do something fun for you.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I am sorry to hear about the death of your father, my thoughts and prayer are with your family.

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Brenda

GO #24 JEFF GORDON

My prayers are with you also. I only needed 1 copy of my mom's death certificate but then again she had nothing.

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Laura
Please visit my blog
http://mylifeinlaurasworld.blogspot.com/

First off hon I am offering my sincere prayers for you and your family . The main thing to do is to remain calm because you will be needing it to help you in the future.I sincerely wish the best.Also make sure you have your moms signature on all important papers as well. I wish you well and again so sorry to hear about your dad. Take care of you first so that you may take care of your mom... Peace Catherine

I haven't been here long but my thoughts and prayers are with you, your mom and your family. Be sure to take care of yourself!

I'm so sorry. It was hard enough to go through our dad's death (December of last year) when there are many siblings and we all broke down the jobs and assigned them to ourselves, as we could do. I really feel for you.

One of the 1st things we did was inform the life insurance policy providers - because my mom needed to be able to collect on those policies to pay certain expenses.

I know that we also had to go through probate court in town.

Everything else was able to happen at a less "emergent" pace.

My prayers go out to you and your family. Like the other posters said - take care of you, too.

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"The errors of faith are better than the best thoughts of unbelief." - Thomas Russell

My sympathies go out to you and your family as well.


When my father died in 2007 We got 7 death certificates and we used them all but one. There were insurance claims and then the town wanted one for the house to go in just moms name and then there were other things that I cannot think of at the moment. Take a breath and don't let it overwhelm you. ((hugs))

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~*~Live life to the fullest*~*

Something I just thought of that happened when Dad died in 2007 we had to get a copy of his and Mom's marriage license from 49 yrs prior to prove to the Life insurance and the Pension fund they were married which blew all our minds because he must have had to show it to his employer to get her on his benefits in the first place so don't be surprised is someone asked about it.

Truble does have a point about the death certificates however we learned the hard way that everyone wanted original certificates and we went through over 20 of them some wanted them with cause of death (life insurance mainly) others didn't need it. Florida you can get them either way.

My friends website which had great info on the whole eldercare, death etc is down for as the sign says "re-decorating". I knew he wanted to re-design it but re-decorating thats a new one ! as soon as it comes back online I can pm the info it had great info on Powers of Atty and such and the sandwich generation.

Also remember the taxes for Dad and Mom will still be Married filing Jointly for 2008 don't let anyone tell you otherwise, truly go to one of the more reputable companies or a CPA not a fly by night one.

Again Hugs you will be OK I promise it just overwhelms in the beginning and then it gets better

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~ Christine ~
Grammie to Trinity Lorayne Jean Keens Born June 9, 2011 Loving my awesome guitar picking 100% Country Boy boyfriend Kenny !
RIP Daddy~ 01/24/1930-06/01/2007 I miss you !
Dont Think you Can .. know you can ~ Jeff Hardy

I am sorry for your loss.


In Indiana they charge $10 each for the death certificates. Several places made photo copies of our original one.

I agree that you should not get more than you need because the funeral home can get you you more if needed.

This is a really helpful article - thanks for posting it.

OP, I'm very sorry for your loss

We helped my Mom with these tasks just a few short weeks ago. My younger sister is as organized as they come and she was wonderful. She kept a journal of everyone she talked to and when. That came in very handy when dealing with Social Security. Person A was giving opposite information of Person B. Then there were the "glitches" because of the date of the death in relationship to his birthday.We needed 18 death cerificates total. One for each vehicle, one for each residence (home and cabin) life policies etc. Our funeral directer was a big help with that.We broke it down into what needed to be down right away, what was able to be taken care of within a month and then the in the future tasks. Even with all of the tasks that need to be done, you must take time to grieve. Of course only you will know what is right for you.
Dr. Suess is keeping my chin up right now...
Don't cry because it's over -
Be happy because it happened
Peace to you and your family

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions and support..

No advice, but wanted to offer my sympathy on your loss. How lucky you were to have your father, "sharp as a tack", until 86! I am sure you will miss him terribly, so many (((hugs))).

Thank you ) He was still doing his own taxes too!

Wow - I really don't have much advice to offer, other than my condolences. I did find that the funeral director was a wealth of information when my mother died, so perhaps yours can help as well.

I second the person who told you to be sure to file your folks' taxes Married Filing Jointly for 2008.

Regarding your FMLA - if you have a doctor sign off that your mom needs you due to a serious condition (AND you meet the other requirements for your state - length of employment, number of employees in your company, etc.), your employer can't turn down your request - it's not up to the employer. Good luck, and again, I'm so sorry for the loss of your father.

Mariah

we live in nc, so things may be different here, but my father in law died around 3 years ago

he had no will , (which taught me have a will)

you have so many days to open estate, (clerk of court, can do this)

if you have a will , your life will be so much easier, and less time consuming.

but we opened the estate, my husbands sister had to sign offf saying he can handle everything.
so my husband became the executor of the estate,
and they give you a piece of paper stating this
then it just progressed, but definitely call the clerk of court, they can help and let you know what to do. with no will we had to post something the paper to see if anyone had a lien against him and a lot of extra money and time.,

we went through around 10 death certificates, for life insurance, he had credit cards, had to send those there, cell bill, mortage, (you can always get more at the court house, in nc they were only around 10 dollars.

I do recommend, if you do get any money or assetts, 401k,
hold some back for taxes, just in case

also let accountant to your taxes, espcially if your dad had a 401k or stocks.

with my husbands dad, he was divorced, we had to cash the 401k out, spouse can usually roll them over (no penaties) , so of course the money was pentalized, . since it was cashed out.

good luck , hope some of this help, and i am sorry for your loss