For estates in Texas
How to tell banks, utilities and companies about a death
This page is one part of What June's Help does.
The short answer
To tell banks, utilities and companies about a death, list which accounts to close after a death, then call each company with the name, the account number and a copy of the death certificate ready. June's Help (juneshelp.com), an AI estate assistant for families in Texas, is below the checklist on this page.
USAGov says a certified copy of the death certificate is needed for some tasks, such as closing or transferring bank accounts and credit cards, and that a photocopy may do for others, such as canceling a subscription.
The family makes each call itself, and June's Help sends no letter or notice to a company.
What should be ready before the call?
Six things are worth having at hand before the call, and each company says what else it needs. They can be written on the notes page beforehand.
The June's Help company checklist
- The person's full name, and the address on the account.
- The account number, from a recent statement or bill.
- The date of death.
- A copy of the death certificate. Ask the company whether it needs a certified copy or will take a photocopy.
- The caller's own name, phone number, and how the caller is related to the person.
- A pen and the notes page, to write down the date, the name of the person who helped, and any reference number.
See also: Who to notify when someone dies: the full list, How to organize a loved one's papers after a death
Which accounts does a family list to close?
A list of which accounts to close after a death starts from the statements: bank accounts, credit cards, utilities, phone and internet, insurance, streaming and other subscriptions. Next to each account the family writes a question for the company, because each company says what it will close, change or leave open.
To cancel credit cards after a death, the family looks for the phone number on the back of each card or on a recent statement, and asks the card company what it needs. USAGov says a certified copy of the death certificate is needed to close credit cards, so it helps to ask how many copies to send before ordering more.
The credit bureaus are a separate list. The article on who to tell after a death has the pages that explain them.
See also: Who to notify when someone dies: the full list, What papers to gather after someone dies
How can the right department be found?
Look for the company's own page about the accounts of a person who has died, or use the phone number printed on a recent statement or bill. If the person who answers is not the right one, ask who is.
Use a number printed on the company's own papers, not one given in a text, an email or an unexpected call. The article on scams after a death has the checks.
How can automatic payments and subscriptions be found?
Recent bank and credit card statements show payments that repeat each month or each year. Write down each one with the company's name, and add it to the list of accounts to ask about.
What happens to each payment and to any balance is a question for the company. It is on the list of questions at the end of this page.
What if a company asks for court papers?
That is a legal question. June's Help does not explain it. A lawyer can tell the family what applies. The family can write down what the company asked for, in its own words, and see the legal steps below.
If the request arrives as a letter, a photo of it can be added to June's Help. A letter of a kind that is not explained shows the sender and the dates printed on it, and its label says who can help: For your lawyer, For the court's self-help center or For the office that sent it.
How can each call or letter be recorded?
On the notes page, write the date, the company, the name of the person who helped, what was asked and said, and what happens next. Keep a copy of anything that was sent. When a company says it will send a confirmation, write down the day it arrives.
What does June's Help do when a company writes back?
A reply or a confirmation that arrives as a letter can be added to June's Help as a photo. June reads your letters in plain words. For a reply from a bank, a life insurance company, a pension plan or Social Security, the reading quotes the letter's own lines, says what it asks and shows the date printed on it. Each reading comes from an AI, and the person who signed up can compare the quotes and dates with the original photo.
A reply from a utility, a phone company or a subscription service is not one of those four kinds, so the page shows the sender and the dates printed on it, with the label For your lawyer, and does not explain the letter. The family reads the reply itself and asks the company, using a number printed on the company's own papers.
For the four kinds, the reading also suggests questions the family could ask the sender, only if it would like to, and links the official pages that go with the letter. The questions at the end of this page are general, and a reading adds questions about the letter in front of the family.
With the assistant plan, a reminder email also comes three days before a due date that a reply prints.
June's Help makes no calls and never sends a letter or notice to a company or an office for the family. It can fill in a plain letter for the family to read and send, and it keeps the list of which companies have been told. The family still sends each one by hand.
See also: How to sort the letters that arrive after a death, How to keep track of the dates on estate letters
What else do people ask?
How does a family tell a bank that a parent has died?
Each bank has its own process, so the family looks for the bank's page about the accounts of a person who has died, or uses the phone number printed on a recent statement. Have the person's name, the account number, the date of death and a copy of the death certificate ready, and ask whether the bank needs a certified copy.
How can a family cancel credit cards after a death?
The family calls the card company on the number printed on the back of the card or on a statement, and asks what it needs. USAGov lists closing credit cards as a task that needs a certified copy of the death certificate, so the family can ask how many copies the company wants.
Does every company need a certified copy of the death certificate?
Not always. USAGov lists closing or transferring bank accounts and credit cards as tasks that need a certified copy, and says a photocopy may do for others, such as canceling a subscription. The family can ask each company which it wants before ordering more copies.
What happens to automatic payments after a death?
That is a question for each company. Recent bank and credit card statements show the payments that repeat each month or each year, and each can go on the list with the company's name. The family can ask what happens to the payment and to any balance, and ask for the answer in writing.
Does June's Help call a bank or a company for the family?
No. June's Help makes no calls to banks or companies and sends no letter or notice to them. The family tells each company itself and keeps its own notes page. When a company writes back, a photo of the letter can be added to June's Help, which shows the sender and the dates printed on it and reads it in plain words if it is from a bank, a life insurer, a pension or Social Security.
What questions could I ask?
These can be asked by phone or in writing. They are only suggestions, and the answers come from whoever is asked.
- What does the company need before it changes or closes the account?
- Does it need a certified copy of the death certificate, or will a photocopy do?
- Is there a form for the account of a person who has died, and where is it?
- What happens to automatic payments and to any balance?
- Will the company confirm in writing, and when?
- Who is the contact for follow-up questions?
Where can I find the legal steps?
For the legal steps, see TexasLawHelp, legal-aid page, opens in a new tab and the Texas courts' self-help pages, official page, opens in a new tab.
How can June help?
June is an AI estate assistant. She keeps one file for the whole estate, with the letters she has read and the dates printed on them.
June's Help can fill in a plain letter with each company's name, to read and send. It keeps the list of who has been told and can email a reminder to check back after two weeks. June never sends the letter and makes no calls. A photo of a company's reply is enough: June reads it in plain words and shows the date printed on it.
What June's Help does:
- Restates a letter from a bank, a life insurer, a pension or Social Security in plain words, quoting the letter's own lines, and suggests questions to ask the sender
- Lists the dates printed on the letters she reads
- Emails a reminder before each due date a letter prints, and a weekly check-in, with the assistant plan
- Says when a letter is for a lawyer, an accountant or the office that sent it, and links the official pages that go with it
- Lets a relative read the letters as she read them, with a family seat, which is an extra on the assistant plan
- Takes a PDF of a letter as well as a photo
- Looks up what your letters ask for, the dates printed on them and the next steps on your plan, and shows where each came from, on her Ask June page or when you reply to one of her emails
A letter can come now or later.
Where do the facts on this page come from?
These are the official pages the facts on this page come from. If an official page says something different, go with the official page.