Notifications

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There are number of people and organizations you will want to notify about the death, and some of these notifications are time-sensitive. For example, you typically have up to 30 days after the death to notify the court and present any will.

If you are using EstateExec, the software will calculate due dates in relation to the date of death you specify on the Decedent tab, and show the relevant tasks and due dates on the Tasks tab.

Typical Notifications

While not a complete list, here is a good starting point for some of the notifications you may want to make over time:

  • Banks
  • Brokerage accounts
  • Businesses and partnerships
  • Close friends and family
  • County probate court
  • Credit card companies
  • Credit reporting agencies
  • Creditors
  • Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
  • Extended circle of acquaintances
  • Employer & any pension providers
  • Heirs
  • IRAs and other beneficiary accounts
  • Insurance companies
  • Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
  • Landlord
  • Lawyer
  • Leasing companies
  • Medical providers
  • Membership organizations
  • Newspaper and other subscriptions
  • Post office
  • Service providers
  • Social Security Administration (SSA)
  • Trustees
  • Utility companies
  • Veterans Affairs (VA)
  • Voter registry

Some notifications may be made informally, while others require specific contact methods, ranging from phone calls to notarized letters to public notifications. If you are using EstateExec, it will provide you with due dates and contact methods for many of these official notifications.

Discount $$:  EstateExec users can access significant discounts on expedited notification mailings and shipping in general (see Task: Notify heirs).

Caution

While the above list may be useful, it's best to make notifications in the manner and time outlined by EstateExec's automatically constructed tasks in the Tasks tab, or as outlined in the general Timeline documentation. For example, many states have strict rules about creditor notification timelines, and failure to follow these statutes can result in the estate owing money that it otherwise would not have ... or in the executor becoming personally responsible for certain estate debts!

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