Guides
Practical guides to help you handle estate, legal, and financial tasks after someone dies.
What Does an Executor Actually Do?
A practical guide to executor responsibilities after someone dies. Covers the full timeline of duties, how executors get paid, personal liability risks, and what to do if you want to decline the role.
Transferring Property and Vehicles After a Death
How to transfer a car title, real estate deed, and other property after someone dies, including when you can skip probate.
A Survivor's Guide to Benefits and Taxes After a Death
How to claim Social Security survivor benefits, file taxes for a deceased person, and collect life insurance, pension, and veterans benefits after a death.
Am I Responsible for a Deceased Person's Debt?
Who pays a deceased person's debts, when family members might be liable, and how to handle debt collectors. Covers co-signed loans, community property states, filial responsibility laws, and Medicaid estate recovery.
How to Get Death Certificates: Everything You Need to Know
A complete guide to ordering certified death certificates, including how many you need, what they cost, and where to get them.
How Probate Works (and When You Can Skip It)
A plain-language guide to the probate process: what it is, how long it takes, what it costs, and when you can avoid it entirely with small estate affidavits, living trusts, and other alternatives.
Handling an Estate Without a Will
What happens when someone dies without a will. How intestate succession works, who the court appoints to manage the estate, who inherits, and what it means for blended families, unmarried partners, and stepchildren.
Closing Financial Accounts After a Death: A Step-by-Step Guide
How to close or transfer bank accounts, investment accounts, credit cards, and loans after someone dies. Includes what documents you need and who is responsible for the debt.