How does the Official World Find Out That You're Dead?

[Hypno-Toad]

When a person dies, how do the various financial entities and other institutions they deal with learn of this? Who tells the cable company to stop my account? How does the power company learn of it? What about banks or credit card companies?

[One And Only Wanderers]

Originally Posted by Hypno-Toad

When a person dies, how do the various financial entities and other institutions they deal with learn of this? Who tells the cable company to stop my account? How does the power company learn of it? What about banks or credit card companies?

In the UK the banks find out when the executor of the estate applies for control of the account. I would assume it would also be the executor who would arrange for utilities/cable etc to be cancelled.

[RealityChuck]

This may not be in all banks, but when my ex-wife was a teller, they would go over the obituaries in the morning paper to see if any customers were mentioned. There are issues with safe deposit boxes in NY that makes it important -- there is no such thing as joint box holders, so if the owner of the box died, the box needed to be sealed as part of the estate. My ex-wife remembers one case where a woman cleaned out the box, and the next day her husband's obit appeared in the papers; she probably went to the bank as soon as he was declared dead.

In general, either the executor or a family member will notify the appropriate institutions.

[Hypno-Toad]

What if someone dies intestate or otherwise without an executor/executrix?

[snowthx]

Originally Posted by Hypno-Toad

What if someone dies intestate or otherwise without an executor/executrix?

Personal anecdote: I had to go thru this last year. When I called several of dad's services to cancel, they had me hold for a minute while they "looked it up". I assume there is a database somewhere that certain businesses may have access to which provides confirmation of death. I did not provide a death certificate, but they were able to confirm name and date of death. Maybe it was limited mainly to financial institutions and his health insurance.

For taking hold of a financial account, I needed to provide the death certificate, but for cancelling a service (e.g. mail order pharmacy), they were able to look it up somewhere.

[kunilou]

Ditto. When my father died I spent the next day making phone calls. When I got to Social Security, they already knew it. We hadn't even put his funeral notice in the newspaper yet.

[Hari Seldon]

I know someone who discovered they were dead when SS took the previous month's payment out of their bank account. It took quite a while to convince the SS administration that she was alive.

[AK84]

Originally Posted by Hari Seldon

I know someone who discovered they were dead when SS took the previous month's payment out of their bank account. It took quite a while to convince the SS administration that she was alive.

She should thank god she was not in India then

Originally Posted by Kunilou

Ditto. When my father died I spent the next day making phone calls. When I got to Social Security, they already knew it. We hadn't even put his funeral notice in the newspaper yet.

When my grandmother died, she literally had not left the Hospital when we started getting messages of termination (my mother was her designated emergency number).

Fortunately not all services were shut down, the gas, electricity, water in her house were left on even though they were in her name.Quite useful as her place was used to house out of town people for the funeral.

[Washoe]

Originally Posted by Hypno-Toad

What if someone dies intestate or otherwise without an executor/executrix?

The first time I heard that term I was about 15 years old. You can imagine my confusion until somebody explained to me what it actually meant.

[naita]

Originally Posted by Washoe

The first time I heard that term I was about 15 years old. You can imagine my confusion until somebody explained to me what it actually meant.

He died without his balls on?

[VOW]

When Daddy died, the first place Hubster and I went with a certified copy of the Death Certificate was the Social Security office.

The clerk was very kind. She made a copy of the DC and entered all the information into the computer.

The SS computer, apparently, is hooked directly into EVERYWHERE, because every single place we notified thereafter "already knew."

Including the military. Daddy was retired AF, and received a monthly retirement check.

After a few days of processing, both SS and the AF had removed the most recent check deposited into Daddy's checking account. The SS money was never seen again.

Daddy died on the 25th of the month. Eventually (as in 3-1/2 years later), my sister and I received the pro-rated amount of his final check.

Because of the almost instantaneous awareness of everybody once we notified Social Security, I think the number of certified copies of the death certificate normally requested from the mortuary should be cut back to only one or two. The times we did have to present a DC, a simple photocopy sufficed, because "everybody already knew."

The survivors typically tell the utility providers, the landlord, and the post office. Mail can be forwarded to the address of a survivor. Final bills for utilities can be sent to the survivor.


~VOW

[friedo]

Originally Posted by VOW

The SS computer, apparently, is hooked directly into EVERYWHERE, because every single place we notified thereafter "already knew."

The awesomely named SSA Death Master File is updated weekly, and pretty much every financial institution is a subscriber.

[spotthegerbil]

True story.

I worked for a life assurance/pension firm in death claims. One day this guy phoned up really distressed. They had found a policy when his mum died, and the sum assured on the policy was just about enough to cover about half the cost of the funeral. Otherwise, the family was pretty broke, and was toiling to pay the bills. The money worries were tearing this guy up, and he had never dealt with anythiing like this.

Well this was one of the old fashioned whole of life policies, where the policy has a sum assured, then every year you get a bonus, then a bonus on the sum assured plus the accrued bonus. She had this policy for decades, so instead of the few hundred pounds for the sum assured, he was going to get thousands. It wasn't going to make the family rich, but it would certainly pay the outstanding bills.

The thing was, I'm not allowed to give this information over the phone until I have proof of whoever is administering the estate. I really felt bad for this guy, and there was nothing I could do to make him feel any better. I really wanted to tell him of the death benefit figure that I had in front of me.

Sometimes data protection laws suck.

************************************

When my Dad died, knowing who to phone at the various banks etc meant we had my Dad's estate sorted in a day. I did the phone calls, and dictated lettersto my sister.

[md2000]

Originally Posted by Washoe

The first time I heard that term I was about 15 years old. You can imagine my confusion until somebody explained to me what it actually meant.

Originally Posted by naita

He died without his balls on?

"He died intestate..."

"Ohhh, sounds painful."

[Motorgirl]

When my mom died 3 years ago the funeral home filed the death certificate with the county and notified the Social Security Administration. Once that was done I found a couple of weeks later when calling various banks and utilities that they already knew.

[VOW]

Especially with older parents, it is crucial that the surviving children try to recall all the little bits and pieces they've absorbed over the years.

Daddy, as I mentioned above, was retired AF. Since my husband is retired Army, the two of them talked frequently about various military topics.

One topic was the SGLI, which converts to VGLI after retirement. (Soldiers' Group Life Insurance/Veterans' Group Life Insurance) The premiums are very modest, and most retirees generally continue the policy after retirement. Daddy mentioned something to Hubster along the lines of, "I've had it so long, the dividends complete pay for the premiums, so it costs me nothing."

My sister is the one who handled all the money business after Daddy died. I mentioned the VGLI. She knew nothing about it.

We were fortunate that my sister works in the insurance industry. She checked with a coworker who handles all government claims.

And yes, Daddy DID have a paid up VGLI policy.

We didn't need any verification. The Federal government already had the information. We just had to provide a copy of the DC, and show that we were his heirs.


~VOW

[Ferret Herder]

Originally Posted by Hari Seldon

I know someone who discovered they were dead when SS took the previous month's payment out of their bank account. It took quite a while to convince the SS administration that she was alive.

I had a patient who experienced this as well. Since they were declaring him to be dead, he asked for the death benefits or whatever it is that SS pays out after death, and apparently they require more paperwork to pay out than to declare someone dead. Fortunately after complaining to his state Representative (Rahm Emanuel, who went on to be White House Chief of Staff and now Mayor of Chicago), he got declared alive again.

But yeah, the SSDI (Social Security Death Index) is generally a good resource for this. I use it myself sometimes when trying to track down patients that have gone "missing."

[Hypno-Toad]

Originally Posted by friedo

The awesomely named SSA Death Master File is updated weekly, and pretty much every financial institution is a subscriber.

This was the kind of thing I was thinking of for the OP.

[svd678]

A small correction: SS doesn't take money from the previous month's payment back; the payments are in advance for the next month, so when someone dies SS wants what is left of the next month's income back. I think that is horrible. One is paid after the work is done, why not SS also at the end of the period, so that its yours (or estate) and not seized, a blow to the spouse.