Losing a loved one can be a painful experience regardless of when it happens, and several things will need to take place once you start looking at funeral homes in Phoenix, AZ. From planning the services, to making sure that accounts are closed down to prevent future billing, can all take a significant amount of time to get completed. And with every single one of these services and events, there will be documentation required for the process, so here are some starting places.
Assets
The first thing you will need to do is gather information on what kinds of assets the individual had. Here are just a few to look for:
- Bonds or stocks: These will generally be in certificates, and you will need to locate the original to do a transfer.
- Beneficiaries: If the individual had payable on death accounts, you would require documentation for this.
- Deeds: If there’s real estate involved, you will need a copy and not the original statement depending on where you live.
- Titles: When it comes to boats or automobiles, you will need original titles.
- Insurance: If there was a policy in place, you might need the original documentation, depending on the company.
- Accounts: You will also need to gather brokerage accounts, IRAs, and bank account information.
Business Matters
If the deceased had a business, there also need to be documentation required, including:
Licenses: Any state or local licenses will be required.
Titles: If any business owned vehicles or boats, you might need original documentation.
Accounts: Retirement accounts, brokerage, or bank accounts for the last few months may be needed.
Partnership documents: Copies of the shareholder’s agreement, LLC certificates, or other things such as partnership agreements will need to be provided.
Bills
After the individual has passed on, multiple bills need to be addressed to prevent future costs.
- funeral expenses
- loans or credit cards
- mortgages
- phone bills
- utility bills
Contracts
If the individual had any pre-existing contracts such as prenuptial or leases, these would also need to be addressed. We recommend always getting between 10 and three dozen copies of the death certificate depending on the individual and how involved they were with outside agencies.
Planning Documents
If there were an estate in place, you would need to require any last will and testaments for transfer.
Community Minded
There’s no doubt that depending on how deeply involved an individual was between bills and running a business; there may be a large amount of documentation to have to go through. Thompson Funeral Chapel works hard to meet the needs of all our clients as they’re going through the process of loss and planning.
We pride ourselves on offering compassionate care that can be seen in our understanding of the intricacies that go into creating a genuinely memorial event for our clients’ loved ones. If you have started looking at funeral homes in Phoenix, AZ, we would love to help you through the process, so give us a call today if you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment.
