For estates in Texas
Where to find official help after a death in Texas
This page is one part of What June's Help does.
The short answer
Official help after a death in Texas comes from court, legal-aid and agency pages: TexasLawHelp for the legal steps, the state health department for death certificate copies, Social Security for benefits and ClaimItTexas for unclaimed money. June's Help (juneshelp.com), an AI estate assistant, lists them in one place.
For the legal steps, see TexasLawHelp and the Texas courts' self-help pages. June's Help does not explain the law, and these are official, court and legal-aid pages that a family opens itself. The only official pages that come from June's Help are the ones that the reading of a letter links.
Which section of this page fits which paper?
Each section fits a kind of paper or question. A family can follow the steps below and go to the section that matches the paper or question in front of it.
The June's Help checklist for finding official help
- Name the paper or question in front of the family: a letter, a copy of the death certificate, a benefit, an account or a call.
- For a letter from a court, or about a legal matter, open the sections on where the legal steps can be found and where a lawyer or legal aid can be found.
- For a letter from Social Security, or a question about benefits, open the section on agencies and benefits.
- For certified copies of the death certificate, open the section on where a death certificate can be ordered, and read what that page asks a family to have ready.
- For a letter about an account or a life insurance policy, or a question about unclaimed money, open the section on money in a person's name and search each place by name.
- For mail that keeps arriving, or a call or a letter that looks odd, open the section on scams and junk mail.
- If someone needs to talk with a person in crisis, call or text 988.
Where can the legal steps be found?
For the legal steps, see TexasLawHelp and the Texas courts' self-help pages. A lawyer can tell a family which steps apply to the estate.
A court notice is a kind of letter that June's Help does not explain. The page gives the sender and the dates printed on the letter, and says who can explain it.
Where can a lawyer or free legal help be found?
These pages help find a lawyer, a referral service or legal aid. When a letter is marked for a lawyer, its reading links pages like these.
- TexasLawHelp Legal Help Directory Find legal aid organizations serving an area, by county and topic., legal-aid page, opens in a new tab
- USAGov Find a lawyer for affordable legal aid Programs and organizations that give free legal advice and may help find a free or low-cost attorney., official page, opens in a new tab
- Legal Services Corporation I Need Legal Help Search by address or city for legal aid near you., legal-aid page, opens in a new tab
- State Bar of Texas Certified Lawyer Referral Services in Texas Referral programs run by local bar associations and other non-profit public service organizations., official page, opens in a new tab
- State Bar of Texas Find A Lawyer Search by topic, county, board certification and fee options., official page, opens in a new tab
Where can help with agencies and benefits be found?
These pages cover reporting a death to government agencies and the benefits for family members. A letter from Social Security is one of the kinds that June's Help reads in plain words, and the reading can link the official Social Security pages that go with it.
Whether Social Security has already been told is a question for the funeral home, and Social Security's page says how a death is reported. The article on who to tell after a death has the questions to ask.
- USAGov Dealing with the death of a loved one Report a death to government agencies, get a death certificate, and find survivor benefits., official page, opens in a new tab
- Social Security Administration What to do when someone dies When and how to report a death, and the benefits Social Security describes for family members., official page, opens in a new tab
- Social Security Administration Survivor benefits Where Social Security explains its survivor benefits., official page, opens in a new tab
Where can a death certificate be ordered?
In Texas the Department of State Health Services keeps death records for deaths filed in the state. These pages say how to order death certificate copies, including a certified copy:
What an order needs, what it costs and how long it takes are for those pages to say. A family can read them before ordering and write down what each office asks to have ready.
- Texas Department of State Health Services Death Records How to order a certified copy online, by mail or in person., official page, opens in a new tab
- USAGov How to get a certified copy of a death certificate Where to order, and when a photocopy may do instead of a certified copy., official page, opens in a new tab
See also: What papers to gather after someone dies
Where can money in a person's name be found?
These official places help look for unclaimed money and life insurance. The family searches each one itself.
ClaimItTexas is the Texas unclaimed property site of the Texas Comptroller, with a search by name. To find a life insurance policy, a family can also look through the person's mail, bank statements and files for a policy letter or a premium payment, and ask the person's insurance agent.
June's Help has no search of its own for unclaimed money or life insurance. It links these places and keeps a list of where the family has looked, with four statuses the family sets: To search, Searched, Claim filed and Done. June does not file or follow up a claim, and the office says whether anything is waiting. A letter from a life insurer or a bank can be added to June's Help, and its reading can link the official page that goes with it.
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Search for Unclaimed Property (ClaimItTexas) The Texas Comptroller's official unclaimed property site, with a search by name., official page, opens in a new tab
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners Learn How to Use the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator A free online tool for finding a deceased loved one's life insurance policies and annuity contracts., official page, opens in a new tab
- Texas Department of Insurance Life insurance Tips for finding a missing life insurance policy, and a link to the locator., official page, opens in a new tab
See also: What papers to gather after someone dies, Who to notify when someone dies: the full list
Where can a scam be reported, or junk mail be stopped?
These pages cover reporting a scam and cutting down the mail that keeps arriving. June's Help does not say whether a letter is real.
- Federal Trade Commission ReportFraud The federal government's website for reporting fraud, scams and bad business practices., official page, opens in a new tab
- Federal Trade Commission How To Stop Junk Mail Ways to cut down on unsolicited mail, including a list for mail addressed to someone who has died., official page, opens in a new tab
- United States Postal Service How to Stop or Forward Mail for the Deceased Options for mail that keeps arriving, from forwarding a single piece to the Deceased Do Not Contact List., official page, opens in a new tab
See also: Scams after a death: how to protect your family, What to do with a loved one's mail after a death
What does June's Help add to these pages?
No feature of June's Help sits behind the pages on this list. They are official, court, State Bar of Texas and legal-aid pages, and a family opens each one itself.
What June's Help adds is smaller. When a letter from a bank, a life insurer, a pension or Social Security is read, the reading can link the official page that goes with it, under "Forms and official pages". A letter of a kind that the reading does not explain is marked "For your lawyer", "For your accountant", "For the court's self-help center" or "For the office that sent it", with pages for finding that help.
Who can be called in a crisis?
If you are in crisis, call or text 988. In an emergency, call 911.
What else do people ask?
Does June's Help explain the legal steps after a death?
No. June's Help does not explain the law. For the legal steps, see TexasLawHelp and the Texas courts' self-help pages. A lawyer can tell a family which steps apply.
How to find a life insurance policy after someone dies?
A family can look through the person's mail, bank statements and files for a policy letter or a premium payment, and ask the person's insurance agent. The NAIC policy locator and the Texas Department of Insurance page are linked above, and ClaimItTexas covers unclaimed money. June's Help has no search of its own.
How can a family search Texas unclaimed property for a person who died?
ClaimItTexas, the Texas Comptroller's unclaimed property site, has a search by name. Its pages say what a claim needs, so a family can read them first and write down what to have ready. The family does the search and any claim itself.
Where can a family that cannot afford a lawyer look for legal aid?
The TexasLawHelp Legal Help Directory finds legal aid organizations by county and topic. USAGov lists programs that may help find a low-cost attorney, and the Legal Services Corporation page searches by address or city.
Which official pages can June's Help link from a letter?
For a letter from a bank, a life insurer, a pension or Social Security, the reading can link the official page that goes with it. For a letter of another kind, it links pages for finding a lawyer, an accountant or the court's self-help center, as the letter calls for.
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.
These are official, court and legal-aid pages, not pages of June's Help. When a letter from a bank, a life insurer, a pension or Social Security is read, the reading can link the official page that goes with it, so a family can read that page itself.
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.