Losing a Loved One
A guide to help you with nal preparations
and decision making
Our Sincere Condolences
No one can ever truly be prepared for the death of a loved one – or the
number of decisions and responsibilities that follow.
At Allstate, we are committed to being there for you during this difcult time.
We have compiled this guide to help you manage the wide range of decisions
and emotions you will likely experience in the coming months. From funeral
arrangements, to practical and nancial matters, to grief support. We are
here to help you. Call us if you have any questions.
“Only people who are capable of loving
strongly can also suffer great sorrow,
but this same necessity of loving serves
to counteract their grief and heals them
”.
— Leo Tolstoy
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The First Days: Funeral and
Memorial Services
Planning the funeral and memorial services are among the rst priorities you will
have to tend to upon the death of a loved one. You may have already discussed
some of the arrangements beforehand – and that will only help lessen the burden
of decision-making during the rst few days of loss.
Determine what you can afford. Depending on your location, an average
funeral can cost between $6,000 - $10,000 or more. Ask someone you trust for
advice – and then be rm about what you are willing to pay. This way, you will be
able to plan a dignied funeral within your budget.
Enlist the help of a close friend or family member to help you make funeral
arrangements, including the type and elements of the service
(e.g. wake, religious, cremation).
Contact the funeral director or memorial society.
If applicable, authorize immediate donation of body parts if the deceased
has a signed organ donor card.
Contact medical school for body bequests, if applicable.
Provide an obituary or paid death notice to local papers and any other
appropriate publications.
3
Week One: Family and Household Matters
Although it is an overwhelming time, don’t neglect family and household matters,
especially if you will be away from home.
Notify relatives, friends and employers.
Identify and address immediate property matters, such as
mortgage, rent and utilities.
Retain all incoming mail and sort it out at a later date.
This prevents the loss of bills and checks in the potential confusion
immediately following your loss.
If you will be away:
Arrange for mail pickup and cancel newspaper delivery.
Cancel appointments and home health services, such as
meal deliveries, aides or volunteers.
Hire a house sitter or put timers on lights and TVs.
4
Week One: Legal & Financial Responsibilities
Contact your attorney or executor (named in the will) as soon as possible to help
explain the terms of the will and le the will in probate court. You will also want to
contact your accountant or nancial professional to begin to address important
nancial matters, such as changing the name on any jointly held accounts.
Obtain certied copies of the death
certicate (10-15 copies) to use for
notifying state agencies, creditors,
banks or other organizations.
Locate all important documents
needed to settle the estate, including:
will or living trust; deeds; titles;
licenses; insurance policies; nancial
records; tax returns; identication
papers; disability claims; and military
certicates.
Notify the deceased’s employer.
They can arrange for benets
due to the beneciaries if he or
she participated in any company
insurance, retirement or pension plans.
Notify Social Security of death and
le for any death or survivor benets
that may apply: 800-772-1213.
Notify all insurance companies
including life insurance, home
mortgage insurance, accident
insurance, auto loan or other credit
insurance, worker’s compensation
and union insurance to review policies
and beneciaries, if necessary. The
individual companies will send claims
forms and instructions if there is a
death-related benet.
Investigate possible sources of
benets through social or fraternal
organizations, unions, mortgage
companies and credit cards.
Contact the U.S. Department
of Veteran Affairs for benets,
if the deceased was a veteran:
800-827-1000.
5
Within The First Month
Aer the funeral and initial consultation with your legal and nancial professionals,
you should address other important issues.
Send the deceased’s medical
claims to insurance carriers.
Change the billing name with
utilities, phone, cable TV, garbage
collection and any other home
service providers, if applicable.
Change names on credit card
accounts if they were jointly held.
You may be required to supply each
card issuer with a copy of the death
certicate. If all the credit cards
were in the deceased’s name,
apply for your own.
File a change of beneciary
form if the deceased was the
beneciary on your insurance
policies, retirement accounts
and/or investments.
Open a checking account in
your own name if you don’t
already have one.
Contact the state Department
of Motor Vehicles to change
vehicle registrations.
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Aer The First Month
Re-title any jointly held real estate
or other property, especially if you
wish to sell it later.
Talk to your insurance agent
about any changes on home and
auto coverage. You may need to
re-evaluate your insurance needs.
If there is a business, work with
your attorney to determine what
decisions need to be made about
the future of the business.
Consult with your attorney about
updating your own will.
Review old records and les,
including at least 13 months
of cancelled checks, for any
additional assets, benets
or obligations.
Ask your nancial professional
to help prepare a net worth
statement and make a list
of income and expenses.
Contact airlines to apply for
transfer of frequent yer miles
to primary beneciary (unless
otherwise assigned in the will).
At this point, you may now be ready to handle longer-term issues with
your legal and nancial professionals.
7
Aer The Third Month
Aer The Sixth Month
Compose a monthly budget that you can follow at least until you’ve become
comfortable with managing the money available to you in your new situation.
Consult your accountant or tax advisor about your tax returns and gather
any information the advisor may need.
Begin planning for your nancial future by reviewing your assets and liabilities.
Consult with your local Allstate Agency to research changes and investments
you may want to make.
8
Aer The First Year
During the process of grieving the death of a loved one, you are likely to experience a
heightened sense of vulnerability. You may be living alone for the rst time in a long
time – and not accustomed to managing life and money on your own.
To help you maintain a sense of personal and nancial security, you may consider
waiting a full year before making any major decisions. According to grief experts,
it takes at least a year before you are emotionally prepared to make important,
life-altering decisions. Even then, you should approach them with caution and
seek professional guidance.
These important decisions may include the following:
Paying off the mortgage Moving to a new location
Making new investments Remarrying
9
You may receive:
Demands for repayment of
loans that don’t exist
Unsolicited COD merchandise
False overdue notices
Don’t tell strangers that you are alone:
Refer to the deceased as “not
available” rather than “deceased”
when someone calls
Mark incoming mail with “no
longer at this address.”
Families who have lost a loved one are prime targets for fraud. It is best to turn any
unusual requests over to your executor, attorney or other professional advisor.
Protect Yourself Against Fraud
Survivor Resources
Aer the death of a loved one, it can be reassuring to know that you have people
and resources you can turn to for assistance and comfort. The following list suggests
several resources and guidelines you may not have thought of in your effort to
re-establish a feeling of normalcy.
Support Groups
Grief support groups are benecial in helping you to share your feelings with others.
These groups provide a safe environment to talk about your grief, oen at no charge.
When seeking a counselor or grief support group, ask:
An excellent national grief support network is the Widowed Persons Service,
a nonprot program of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
Widowed Persons Service provides free counseling, grief support and referrals
through trained widowed volunteers. Contact them at 888-OUR-AARP
(888-687-2277) or www.aarp.org.
Your funeral home
Your place of worship
Family and friends
Your employer’s Employee
Assistance Program
Military service ofces
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Your Allstate Agency is
here for you.
We are committed to helping you manage the challenges of losing a loved
one. Our team is experienced in dealing with the tough decisions – and the
wide range of emotions that go along with them.
Reading Materials
Public libraries, religious institutions and grief support groups oen have
books under the topics of death, widowhood or bereavement. These
resources may also have materials on topics that may be of assistance to
you, such as health, housing, insurance and nance. You can also search
online using keywords to nd the websites, chat forums and other online
resources that best suit your needs.
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“Time is a physician that heals grief.”
— Diphilus
©2016 Allstate Insurance Company. allstate.com
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