Obtain the Trust, Will and Durable Power of Attorney-Healthcare Documents.

Review these documents to ascertain last wishes of deceased. Determine who has been named as the executor of the estate (the person or people charged with settling the deceased's affairs), named beneficiaries (who receives assets from deceased after estate settles), medical wishes (burial specifics, cremation, donation of body parts, etc.), named guardianship (person to care for children under age 18) and custodianship (person to hold assets for beneficiary children under age 18).

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Call the funeral home.

Arrangements need to be made for the body and all the services/actions. Provide the deed to the grave plot or purchase one and provide all the details surrounding the deceased's last wishes (i.e. burial, cremation, etc.). Determine with the funeral home all the other instructions regarding the deceased: services, viewing times, etc. Also include instructions for charitable donations, flowers, and food that family and friends may wish to contribute.

Write the obituary.

The funeral director will assist you in placing this information into the local newspaper. Take the time to write out all your thoughts about how you want your loved one to be remembered. Please note education, military service, career achievements, community awards, acts of kindness, family survivors, etc.

Obtain the Death Certificate.

Please get at least 10 copies of this document. This document will be essential for the transfer of assets from the deceased to the named beneficiaries. The funeral director can provide copies of this document.

Obtain the Surrogate Court Certificates.

The executor, as named in the will/trust, must go to the county clerk (area of the court that handles legal probate issues) with copy of the will/trust and obtain these certificates. This document is necessary for the transfer of assets from the deceased to the named beneficiaries.

Contact the Deceased's Employer.

Call the human resources department where your loved one worked and obtain a "benefits summary" and distribution forms. You are looking for any life insurance coverage, accrued sick/vacation pay, accident insurance, retirement plan (401(k),403(b),457, Ira, Roth-Ira, SEP (Simple Defined Benefit), Defined Contribution in the Company Plan, etc.) and/or flexible spending accounts. With the help of human resources, determine all the benefits that will be coming in to the estate from the deceased. Also, check prior employers as it is not uncommon for there to be previous retirement accounts and/or pension plans that exist and one needs to contact them and request these monies also be transferred to the estate. The executor is responsible for this work and may be entitled to payment for settling the estate.

Contact the Social Security Administration.

Call the local office and stop any payments being made to the deceased. If applicable, social security payments may be entitled to children under the age of 18 for loss of parent and the surviving parent may also receive social security payments. Ask them for all details and benefits available.

Contact all the investment companies.

All assets need their ownership transferred over to the appropriate named beneficiary and each investment company will have their own forms/requirements for executing this transfer. Where applicable, contact the life insurance company, mutual funds company, brokerage accounts and retirement accounts (work and individual-IRA). Also contact any institutions holding annuities, real-estate investments, partnerships, banks with open accounts or certificates of deposits (CD's), stock certificates, U.S. savings bonds, 529 college plans etc. One source to discover the deceased's assets is to review prior tax returns that may have reported taxable earnings from these sources. If there is no spouse beneficiary, then the account titles will be changed to "estate of the deceased's name" until the estate settles and a final distribution can be made. If there is a spouse beneficiary, all assets will be switched to the surviving spouse (joint name ownership will be removed).

Contact your Attorney.

An estate-planning attorney may be needed to assist in the settlement of the deceased's financial affairs. This is known as the probate process and it may be necessary even will a current will in effect. The law permits an unlimited amount of assets to transfer from the deceased spouse to the living spouse with no taxation/legal action (assuming all assets were left to surviving spouse) yet different states have different requirements. Ask an attorney if they are required.

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Contact your Tax Accountant.

There may be tax issues related to the deceased and the executor needs to know this so appropriate action may be taken. Tax issues may be: individual quarterly estimated income taxes due, individual tax payments due from prior years, estate tax payments due based on estate valuation, taxation issues to the beneficiary when receiving certain assets from the estate etc.

Contact your Financial Advisor.

The best source of financial information (assets/liabilities/income) and proper procedures to follow in settling an estate may be this person. If your loved one had a financial planner, call them. They can be a resource to assist in valuing the estate assets as of date of death (this is necessary since beneficiary's inherit their asset at stepped-up basis valuation as of date of death).

Pay the Bills.

It is the duty of the executor to pay all expenses. Retrieving the mail is therefore necessary and opening an account at the bank to track these expenses for the tax accountant is also necessary.

Contact the Post Office.

If the executor does not reside at the deceased's address, a change of address form is recommended to re-direct all mail to the executor's address. This will allow for the timely payment of all bills and expenses that are outstanding.