A Guide to the Many Business, Legal and
Financial Decisions that Come After a Death
We recommend that you contact an attorney concerning the many obligations you now face concerning your loved one's estate. If the deceased wrote had a Will it will need to be probated. This is the legal procedure for the orderly distribution of assets. Typically probating a Will is a simple process unless the Will is contested or the deceased had numerous holdings. There is usually a specified time within which a Will must be probated, so this is one of the first things you should check. If there is no Will, the deceased's estate will be settled according to Hawaii State laws.
Contact the Social Security Administration:
300 Ala Moana Blvd Honolulu, HI 96850 Phone: 1-800-772-1213 Website: http://www.ssa.gov
to stop any payments and to determine any survivor benefits. A surviving spouse may be eligible for a lump sum burial allowance.
If the deceased was a Veteran, a benefit may be available depending whether or not the death was from a service related cause. If the deceased was receiving a Veteran's disability pension, contact the Department of Veteran's Affairs Regional Office at 800-827-1000. Be prepared to provide the deceased person's name, rank, serial number, branch of service and discharge date if available.
For additional information visit the Regional Office website:
http://www.vba.va.gov/ro/honolulu/index.htm
The family may be eligible for survivor’s benefits if the deceased was receiving full pension from the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations at the time of death. To find out, contact your local District Office.
Hawaii District Office
State Office Building 75 Aupuni St., Room 108 Hilo, HI 96720 Tel. (808) 974-6464
West Hawaii District Office
P.O. Box 49 Kealakekua, HI 96750 Tel. (808) 322-4808
Maui District Office
State Office Building, #2 2264 Aupuni St. Wailuku, HI 96793 Tel. (808) 243-5322
Kauai District Office
3060 Eiwa St., Room 202 Lihue, HI 96766 Tel. (808) 274-3351
Certified copies of the death certificate are usually required for insurance, insured loans, stocks or bonds in joint ownership and for real property joint ownership. Some institutions may take a photocopy. Certified copies of the death certificate are available through the Health Department in the county where the death occurred. For more information visit:
http://hawaii.gov/health/vital-records/vital-records/vital_records.html
or call the Health Department at (808) 586-4539 or (808) 586-4542.
An original Death Certificate will likely be needed and copies of Birth and Marriage Certificates may be necessary before claims can be made for life insurance proceeds. Life Insurance Policies, even though premiums have not been paid for a number of years, may still be in effect through an automatic agreement stated in the policy.
Check for coverage at the place of employment, health and accident coverage. Also be sure to check with all credit card companies regarding possible policies on the account. Call the agent for each or write to the headquarters for the appropriate forms for claims. Make sure you keep a written log of who you spoke with and when so that you can track the claims easier. For fire insurance, remove the name of the deceased from the policies.
Any organizations that the deceased belonged to such as unions, fraternal orders, or an automobile club may provide an insurance policy or a death benefit. Call or write to the organization’s headquarters to find out and request the necessary forms for filing a claim.
The legal representative of the estate should the transfer of ownership of any vehicles registered solely to the deceased to the estate as soon as possible. Jointly owned personal property usually passes automatically by law to the surviving owner. Consult your attorney to be sure.
Contact all companies where the deceased had accounts payable to advise them of the death and find out if the loan, service contract or credit card accounts are life insured. If so, they are paid in full automatically when a client dies. Otherwise all bills must be paid on the due date so review, cancelled checks, bank statements or contact the provider whether or not a bill has been paid.
Take a certified death certificate to the County Tax Assessor's Office where the property is owned.
For joint accounts, notify the bank of the deceased’s death and transfer all money accounts to your name. If you have a joint safety deposit box, remove the deceased's name. f any accounts are in the deceased’s name only, ask the bank what you need to do and request the necessary paperwork.
Contact your broker or write to the stock company and ask about their procedure for transferring stocks into your name or removing the deceased's name if jointly-owned.
Contact the Office of the City/County Clerk and request the form necessary to cancel the deceased’s voter registration.