When a family member or other loved one dies and you are the designated person to arrange various matters regarding the death, this can be a very difficult process. While you are still grieving, other matters continue and in addition to arranging the funeral, there are also other things that need to be arranged in the field of finances, insurance and inheritance. The checklist below can help you with this.
Checklist of matters to be arranged after the death of a loved one
- Immediately after death
- A few days after death
- Death: checklist informing authorities and arranging matters
- Having a declaration of inheritance drawn up, with or without a power of attorney
- Informing the bank or banks
- Informing the employer or benefits agency
- Informing the health insurer
- Applying for a death benefit
- Handling the costs of the funeral
- Possible cancellation of subscriptions and memberships
Immediately after death
Within the first day or days after a death, there are a number of things that you must arrange immediately. You should then consider at least the following things:
- Consult a doctor for a declaration of death.
- Check whether there is a funeral insurance policy, life insurance policy or capital insurance policy.
- Contact a funeral director/funeral director
- Check whether the deceased has left a will or codicil.
A few days after death
Once the most important matters regarding the funeral or cremation have been arranged, other administrative matters must be dealt with. If you are the right person to do this (possibly together with other family members), there are a number of things that you should not overlook. In any case, these are the following:
Death: checklist informing authorities and arranging matters
- Having a declaration of inheritance drawn up, with or without a power of attorney.
- Informing the bank or banks.
- Informing the employer or benefits agency.
- Informing the health insurer.
- Applying for a death benefit.
- Handling the costs of the funeral.
- Possible cancellation of subscriptions and memberships
Having a declaration of inheritance drawn up, with or without a power of attorney
Many people leave a will or codicil, but not everyone does this. By means of a declaration of inheritance, a notary explains whether or not this was the case with the deceased and who the possible heirs are and for what part of the inheritance. This usually also mentions who has power of attorney to arrange the inheritance. If you later go to a bank to unblock an account, you will need this declaration of inheritance. This also applies to the collection of insurance payments, benefits and tax refunds. To obtain such a statement you must make an appointment with a notary.
Informing the bank or banks
The bank where the deceased had an account does not automatically receive a death notice. They must be informed by the next of kin. Even when there is a loan or credit, some administrative matters must be dealt with. For this you need personal data, account numbers, a death certificate, a declaration of inheritance and a written explanation. A bank can guide you in this process, after all, they have to deal with such a situation every week.
Informing the employer or benefits agency
If your loved one dies while he or she is still employed by a boss, he or she will of course be informed immediately. However, if he or she is retired, the benefits agency must still be informed and the pension must be terminated. To do this, all you need to do is send a death certificate by post, supplemented with a written explanation.
Informing the health insurer
If, as a result of a death, a policy covering several family members must be changed, it is sufficient to inform the insurance company of this by post. Always state the policy number.
Applying for a death benefit
If the funeral director reports the death to the municipality, he will receive an application form for this. This can then be used to apply for a death benefit from the Social Insurance Bank in the region. For people who cannot claim ANW benefits, social assistance benefits can sometimes be applied for.
Handling the costs of the funeral
The costs of a funeral in the Netherlands are often prohibitive. You should then quickly think of an amount of between 4,000 and 6,000 euros. If there are special wishes, it can be even more expensive. Most people have taken out funeral insurance or life insurance for this purpose. If the deceased is a member of a funeral insurance policy, matters may have been arranged regarding the advance of the costs of the funeral. It is therefore important to check whether this is the case.
Possible cancellation of subscriptions and memberships
To avoid hassle with unpaid bills and reminders and not to saddle subsequent residents of the house with late mail, it may be useful to cancel as many subscriptions and memberships as possible. You can do this, for example, based on incoming mail. For example, you can return newsletters with a short message that the resident of this address has passed away. If you have access to the deceased’s email, you can also dig into it to see if there are any memberships or subscriptions that you can cancel.