What to Do When Someone Dies: An Executor's Checklist

Death certificates: how many, and why

Almost every institution you deal with will ask for a certified death certificate, issued by the state or county vital records office, not a photocopy. The funeral home usually orders the first batch for you. There is no right number, so count: one for each bank and brokerage, each life insurer, each retirement plan or pension, the county recorder for each piece of real estate, the probate court, and the car title office. Add a few for surprises.

Some places look at the certificate and hand it back; many keep it. Ordering extra at the start is usually quicker than going back to vital records later, when you may need to prove your relationship or your appointment as executor.

Securing the home and the mail

An empty home is a target, and relatives sometimes take things in good faith that the will leaves to someone else. Lock up, gather every spare key, and consider changing the locks if many people have keys. Take photos of the rooms and any valuables. Keep the heat on in winter and the utilities running.

Call the homeowners and car insurers. Some policies limit coverage when a home is left vacant, so tell them about the death and ask what they need from you.

The mail is your best map of the person's finances: bank and brokerage statements, insurance renewals, pension letters, tax forms and bills. Collect it regularly. Once you are appointed, you can ask the post office to forward it to you.

Finding the will

Look in the person's desk and files, a home safe, and with the lawyer who drafted it. In some places a will can be deposited with the probate court for safekeeping, so ask there too. The court generally needs the original, not a copy. If there is a safe deposit box and you can't get in, ask the bank and the probate court how to open it to search for a will.

The will names the executor. If there is no will, the court appoints an administrator, usually a close family member, under the state's rules. Also look for a living trust: assets in a trust are handled by the trustee, not through probate.

Probate, or not

Probate is the court process that confirms the will, appoints the executor and supervises paying debts and distributing what is left. Whether you need it depends on what the person owned and how it was titled:

• Skips probate: life insurance, retirement accounts and payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts with a living named beneficiary; property owned jointly with a right of survivorship; assets in a living trust.
• Usually needs probate: anything in the person's name alone with no beneficiary, such as a house, a car, or an individual bank account.

Every state has a simpler procedure for small estates, often a small estate affidavit or a summary administration. The dollar limits, waiting periods and what counts toward the limit differ widely, so check with the probate court in the county where the person lived. A state's estate or inheritance tax can apply whether or not there is probate.

Social Security

Social Security asks to be told as soon as possible. You cannot report a death online; call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or visit a local office. Funeral homes can report deaths electronically, so ask whether yours already did.

Return the payment for the month of death. Benefits are paid for the previous month, so the person is not entitled to the payment for the month they died. Social Security's own example: if the person died in July, the benefit paid in August must be returned. If it was direct-deposited, ask the bank to send it back; if it was a check, don't cash it.

A one-time $255 lump-sum death payment can go to a surviving spouse who lived with the person, or, if there is none, to a child eligible for benefits on their record. Someone not already getting benefits must apply within 2 years. Ask about survivors benefits at the same time.

Banks and the account freeze

Once a bank learns of the death, accounts in the person's name alone are generally frozen. Automatic payments may bounce, so list the bills drawn from those accounts. The bank releases the money to the executor once you show letters from the probate court (or a small estate affidavit, where your state allows one) and a death certificate. You then move it into the estate account.

Joint accounts with a right of survivorship pass to the surviving owner, and payable-on-death accounts to the named beneficiary, usually just with a death certificate. Those assets are outside the will, but they can still count for estate or inheritance tax.

In New Jersey, banks can release only up to 50% of the person's funds until the Division of Taxation issues a tax waiver, and only to the executor, administrator or a joint owner. See the New Jersey waiver guide.

The estate's EIN and bank account

The estate is a separate taxpayer. IRS Publication 559 says the first thing a personal representative should do is apply for an EIN for the estate. It is free online and usually issued immediately. Don't use the person's Social Security number for estate income received after the death.

Then file Form 56 to tell the IRS you are acting for the person and the estate; Publication 559 says to file it as soon as you have the information, including the EIN.

Open an estate checking account with the EIN, your letters and a death certificate. Deposit everything that comes in and pay every estate expense from it. A clean record makes the accounting and the tax returns far easier, and keeps you from being accused of mixing funds.

Inventory and date-of-death values

List every asset and its value on the date of death: account statements as of that date, an appraisal for real estate and valuable items, and a valuation for any business. Many probate courts require a formal inventory, and every estate or inheritance tax return is built on these numbers.

Why it matters to the heirs: the step-up in basis. Inherited property generally takes a tax basis equal to its fair market value at death (26 U.S.C. §1014). If your mother bought stock for $20,000 and it was worth $100,000 when she died, your basis is $100,000, and selling it for that amount produces no capital gain. Without a documented date-of-death value, an heir may struggle to prove that basis years later. In community property states, both halves of a married couple's community property usually get the new basis at the first death. Traditional IRAs and 401(k)s do not get a step-up; withdrawals are taxed as income.

Debts and creditor notice

The person's debts are paid from the estate, not by the family. Most states let the executor give formal notice to creditors, often by publishing it in a local newspaper and writing to known creditors, which starts a deadline for claims. The deadline and the method vary by state, so ask the probate court or your lawyer.

Be careful about order. Federal law makes an executor who pays other debts before a federal claim, such as unpaid income tax, personally liable, up to the amount paid (31 U.S.C. §3713), and states set their own priority for funeral costs, expenses of administration, taxes and other debts. If the estate may not cover everything, get advice before paying anyone.

Final Form 1040 and Form 1041

Final Form 1040. The person's last income tax return covers January 1 to the date of death. It is due at the same time it would have been due had they lived: April 15 of the year after death. A surviving spouse can usually file a joint return for that year. If a refund is due, Form 1310 may be needed, but not for a joint return by the surviving spouse, or when a court-appointed representative attaches the court certificate. See IRS Publication 559.

Form 1041. Income the estate earns after the death, such as interest, dividends, rent or a gain on selling the house, belongs to the estate. Form 1041 is required for any tax year in which the estate has gross income of $600 or more. A calendar-year estate files by April 15; a fiscal-year estate files by the 15th day of the 4th month after its year ends. Form 7004 gives an automatic 5½-month extension (Form 1041 instructions).

Federal Form 706 and portability

For deaths in 2026, federal estate tax applies only if the estate is worth more than $15,000,000, so very few estates owe it. Form 706 is due 9 months after the date of death (an automatic 6-month extension to file is available on Form 4768).

If the person was married, consider filing Form 706 even when no tax is due. It lets the surviving spouse keep the unused exemption (portability), which can matter if the survivor's estate grows. Estates that were not otherwise required to file can elect portability late, up to the fifth anniversary of the death, under Rev. Proc. 2022-32. See the Form 706 guide.

State estate and inheritance tax returns

17 jurisdictions have their own estate or inheritance tax, with thresholds far below the federal one. The state that counts is where the person lived, plus any state where they owned real estate. The heirs' own states don't matter. For how inheritance tax works in each state, see inheritance tax by state.

Every other state has no estate or inheritance tax return. Estimate the tax with the estate tax calculator or the inheritance tax calculator.

Inherited retirement accounts

IRAs and 401(k)s go to the named beneficiaries, who deal with the plan directly. The executor's job is mostly to make sure each beneficiary knows. For owners who died after 2019, most beneficiaries other than a spouse must empty the account by the end of the 10th year after the death, and if the owner had already started required distributions, yearly withdrawals are required too. A spouse, a minor child, a disabled or chronically ill person, and anyone not more than 10 years younger than the owner have more flexible options. See IRS Publication 590-B.

Distributing and closing the estate

Distribute only after the debts, expenses and taxes are paid or fully provided for, and any required state tax waivers or releases are in hand. Keep a reserve for the final tax returns and closing costs. Give each beneficiary a written accounting and get a signed receipt (and, where your state uses them, a release) for what they receive.

To close, file the last Form 1041 and mark it final, close the estate bank account, and file whatever the probate court requires to discharge you as executor. Keep the estate records for several years in case of questions from the IRS, the state or a beneficiary.

Getting professional help

Many executors handle a simple estate themselves. Get a probate lawyer or a CPA if the estate owes estate or inheritance tax, owns a business or property in more than one state, may not cover its debts, or if family members disagree. Each state guide explains that state's tax and, where a state return is due, how to get a flat-fee quote from a preparer:

• Connecticut
• District of Columbia
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Kentucky
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Nebraska
• New Jersey
• New York
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Washington

For every other state, see the state-by-state guide.