What goes on a checklist for settling an estate?

How does a family work through an estate settlement checklist?

A family works through it in two stretches, the first weeks and the next months, one step at a time. Each step has its own guide, and the order can change to suit the family.

The June's Help estate settlement checklist

1. Order the death certificates, and keep a count of who has asked for one.
2. Tell Social Security and the other government offices on USAGov's list.
3. Collect the mail in one place, and photograph the official letters.
4. Tell the banks, card companies and insurers, and write down each call.
5. Make a list of accounts and bills from the statements and the mail.
6. Tell the three credit bureaus, and watch for any odd activity on the person's name.
7. Start a list of bills and spending, with who paid each one.
8. Look for money in the official places: unclaimed property and the life insurance policy locator.
9. Stop or forward the mail, and cut the junk mail.
10. After asking the lawyer about the house and the car, close the accounts and subscriptions that are no longer needed, one company at a time.
11. Write down every question for a lawyer, so the visit is short.
12. Ask a lawyer about the court and legal steps, and keep their answers with the rest.

See also: Checklist after someone dies: the first week (2026), How do I track estate bills and expenses?

What belongs in the first weeks?

The first weeks are for the steps that other steps lean on: the certificates, the people to tell and the mail. A family can do them in any order, and a few can be done in parallel by different relatives.

• Order certified copies of the death certificate, and keep a count of who asked for one.
• Tell Social Security, and ask the funeral home whether it has already done so.
• Make a list of everyone to tell, and mark each one when they have been told.
• Pick one place for the mail, and photograph any official letter on the day it arrives.
• Write a short note on each call: the date, the name of the person who helped, and what happens next.
• Write the questions for a lawyer as they come up.

See also: Checklist after someone dies: the first week (2026), How do I keep a call log for an estate?

What belongs in the next months?

The next months are for money, bills and closing things down. They go more slowly than the first weeks, because most steps now wait on a reply from a company or an office.

• Tell the credit bureaus, and read the statements for charges nobody expected.
• Close or change the cards, phone, utilities and subscriptions, one company at a time.
• Search the Texas Comptroller's unclaimed property pages and the life insurance policy locator, and mark each one searched.
• Keep the list of bills and spending up to date, with who paid.
• Follow up on the replies that have not arrived, using the notes from each call.
• Take the notes, the list of accounts and the questions to the lawyer.

See also: How do I search Texas unclaimed property after a death?, Which accounts do I cancel after a death?

Which steps on the checklist are for a lawyer?

The court and legal steps are for a lawyer: ask a lawyer. This page does not explain them, and nothing on the checklist depends on guessing at them.

TexasLawHelp and the Texas courts' self-help pages are the places to start looking for legal help. They say what a family can do on its own and where to find a lawyer.

How can a family share the checklist?

A shared note or spreadsheet works, with one name beside each step. A relative who lives far away can take the steps that need a phone, such as the calls to companies and the credit bureaus, and a relative near the house takes the mail and the papers.

Weekly, one person reads the list aloud on a call and updates it. The list shows what is done, what is waiting and who has it.

See also: How to share the work of an estate with family

What does June's Help do with an estate settlement checklist?

June's Help asks three Yes, No or Not sure questions, then shows the Texas steps as a plan to tick off. The person who signed up marks a step done with "Mark done" and can undo it, and Today shows what is next. The steps for the court are marked as ones to take with a lawyer.

It also gives the family places to look for money, official links the family marks as searched. "Tell everyone" keeps a list of who has been told, for banks, credit card companies, utilities, phone and internet providers, pensions, Social Security, the motor vehicle office and the credit bureaus. The family adds bills and spending to a list with who paid and the totals. June reads a letter from a bank, a life insurer, a pension or Social Security in plain words.

A lawyer takes the court and legal steps. June doesn't replace your lawyer. She keeps your letters and dates ready to show one.