THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2022 WINTER | FROM Page 7 A Checklist of What to Do When a Loved One Dies Dear Savvy Senior, What steps need to be taken after a loved one dies? My 71-year-old uncle, who’s divorced with no children, has terminal cancer. He’s asked me to take care of his aff airs so I would like to fi nd out what I need to do after he passes away. Unsure Nephew Dear Unsure, I’m very sorry to hear about your uncle. The death of a loved of can bring about a host of different tasks and responsibilities. Here’s a list of some things you can do now, and after his death, that can help keep a sad event from becoming even more diffi cult. Before Death Occurs There are several tasks you can do now while your uncle is still living that will make things easier for you after he dies. For starters, fi nd out where he keeps all his important papers like his trust and/or will (also make sure it’s updated), birth certifi cate, Social Security information, life-insurance policies, military discharge papers, fi nancial documents, key or combination to a safe deposit box or a home safe. Also make a list of his digital assets (including usernames and passwords) like his email account, online banking accounts, social media accounts, etc. If your uncle doesn’t have an advanced directive, help him make one (see CaringInfo.org for free state-specifi c forms and instructions). An advanced directive includes a living will that specifies his end-of-life medical treatments and appoints a health-care proxy to make medical decisions if he becomes incapacitated. In addition, you should also make a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order. Your uncle’s doctor can help you with this. You should also pre-arrange his funeral, memorial service, and burial or cremation. Immediately After Death Once your uncle dies, you’ll need to get a legal pronouncement of death. If no doctor is present, you’ll need to contact someone to do this. If he dies at home under hospice care, call the hospice nurse, who can declare his death and help facilitate the transport of the body. If he dies at home without hospice care, call your uncle’s doctor. You’ll then need to call the funeral home, mortuary or crematorium to pick up the body. If your uncle is an organ or tissue donor, contact the funeral home or the county coroner immediately. Within a Few Days If funeral plans were not pre-arranged, you’ll need to make arrangements and prepare an obituary. If your uncle was in the military or belonged to a fraternal or religious group, you should contact those organizations too, because they may have burial benefi ts or conduct funeral services. You should also notify family members, close friends and his employer if he was still working, and make sure his home is secured. Up to 10 Days After Death To wind down your uncle’s fi - nancial aff airs, you’ll need to get multiple copies of his death certifi cate, which are typically ordered by the funeral home. If you’re the executor of your uncle’s estate, take his will to the appropriate county or city offi ce to have it accepted for probate. And open a bank account for your uncle’s estate to pay bills, including taxes, funeral costs, etc. You also need to contact your uncle’s estate attorney if he has one; tax preparer to see if estate or fi nal income taxes should be fi led; fi nancial advisor for information on financial holdings; life insurance agent to get claim forms; his bank to locate and close accounts; and Social Security, the VA (if he’s a veteran) and other agencies that provided benefi ts in order to stop payments. You should also cancel his credit cards, delete or memorialize his social media accounts and, if relevant, stop household services like utilities, mail, etc. His home and personal belonging will also need to be dealt with in the coming weeks. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. drills to exercise its storm preparedness and response, including running snow-fighting equipment and simulating storm cleanup activities. The MBTA’s fleet of snowfi ghting vehicles includes two jet engine-powered snow blowers capable of generating 3,000 lbs. of thrust. With the ability to change direction on a subway line, each unit can be pre-deployed anywhere on the subway system as well as within subway yards. Additional jet engine-powered snow blowers have been modifi ed to be attached to heavy equipment and are capable of being deployed Page 17 on roadways and subway rails as needed. Snow plows are also installed on a several dozen Red and Orange Line cars, allowing them to clear snow from rails while continuing to operate passenger service. The MBTA also utilizes third rail anti-icing systems. Deployed on Red, Orange, and Blue Line Heavy Rail vehicles, the anti-icing system is a pre-treatment process applied in advance of snow or icy weather that prevents ice build-up on the third rail. This year, the MBTA also installed 25 gas-powered hot-air blowers at critical rail switches. With specifi c locations known to be prone to commercial power outages, the MBTA has also invested in mobile generators that can be pre-deployed during instances of extreme weather conditions. System-wide tree trimming also continues to take place along Commuter Rail and subway right-of-way areas to mitigate the potential for fallen tree limbs on tracks and overhead wires. Real-time monitoring at critical Commuter Rail interlockings will also continue this year, including switch heaters, third rail heaters, and trip heaters. For more information, visit mbta.com/winter, or connect with the T on Twitter @ MBTA and @MBTA_CR, Facebook /TheMBTA, or Instagram @theMBTA. From all of us at Carpenito Real Estate... 335 Central Street, Saugus, MA 01906 (781) 233-7300 View all our listings at: CarpenitoRealEstate.com
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