What to do After Your Loved One Passes Away

There is nothing worse than losing a loved one. However, while you may wish to focus solely on healing at this time, the truth is, the estate administration process must be fulfilled. This is often overwhelming on grieving relatives, which is why we are here to help. Please read on and reach out to our experienced Maryland estate administration attorneys to learn more about estate administration and how we can help.

  1. The first thing you should do after your loved one passes away is inform all friends and family. From here, you will then make arrangements with a funeral home (or other end-of-life arrangements). This is perhaps the most difficult part of the process emotionally, however, the process only gets more complex legally afterwords. We do not say this to scare you, rather, we want you to understand that our firm can help, and is ready to do so honestly, swiftly, and with integrity.
  2. Once you have had the funeral, you must begin collecting various legal documents that are critical to the estate administration process, including all trusts, insurance policies, wills, and any other estate-related documentation ll other estate planning documents your loved one had prepared in his/her lifetime. Our firm can help you ensure that you obtain all the necessary documentation when the time comes.
  3. From here, you should contact your loved one’s insurance company and creditors to inform them of the death and to learn more about potential benefits. When you inform your loved one’s creditors of the death, you will also cancel all their cards. On a similar note, you should also cancel all your loved one’s subscriptions to magazines and other things of that nature.
  4. Now comes the heavy administration part of the process. As the administrator of the estate, you are responsible for paying off all your loved one’s remaining debts and taxes. You will most likely have additional responsibilities as well, which our firm will be more than happy to assist you with.
  5. Finally, it is time to distribute all of your loved one’s remaining assets to beneficiaries. Once you have done so and all other objectives are completed, you may close out the estate.

We understand how difficult it can be to lose a loved one, which is why we are here to provide you with sympathetic yet strong legal assistance in your time of need.

Contact our experienced Maryland firm

The attorneys at JDKatz have years of experience compassionately guiding clients in Maryland through the estate planning and administration process. Our firm also has experience with matters of elder law, business law, tax law, and litigation. For a legal team that will put your needs first, contact JDKatz today.

Contact JDKatz

If you require strong legal representation and guidance from an experienced legal team, JDKatz is ready to serve. Our firm has provided quality legal services to the residents of Maryland for decades. Contact JDKatz today to schedule a consultation.