Loss of a Loved One

One of the most difficult experiences in life is to lose someone you love. You will deal with many emotional issues. At the same time, you may be faced with financial concerns.

Getting a handle on the legal and financial issues surrounding the death of a loved one can contribute to your emotional healing. The more you understand about these issues, the more enabled you'll be to take the steps that are right for you and your family.

• What to Do If You're the Surviving Spouse
• What to Do If You're the Executor
• Taking Control of Your Finances
• Maximizing Your Inheritance

What to Do If You're the Surviving Spouse

To help you settle your spouse's estate and honor his or her wishes, there are key issues to consider and important information to collect.

Steps to Consider

• Make sure you are ready emotionally to proceed and make important decisions.
• Consult with professional advisors knowledgeable about estate settlement and inheritance matters to help you review legal documents and your own personal situation.
• Collect all your spouse's important legal and financial information.
• Address your immediate financial needs to ensure that they are met during the settlement of your spouse's estate.

Fidelity Solutions

• Refer to Understanding the Legal Process of Inheriting Accounts to help you understand important details of dealing with an estate.
• Refer to the Surviving Spouse Checklist to guide you in gathering the information you will need.

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What to Do If You're the Executor

If you have been designated as an executor, you will be charged with settling the deceased's estate, which can be a time-consuming and complicated process.

You may wish to hire an attorney who is knowledgeable about estate administration and is familiar with the probate laws of the state of the deceased's primary residence. The attorney can help you understand your responsibilities as an executor as you work through the following steps:

Steps to Consider

• Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS to identify the decedent's estate accounts during the account transfer and estate settlement process.
• Petition the Probate Court to validate the deceased's will and certify the executor (of personal representative) named in the will. If the deceased died without a will, the court will appoint an administrator.
• Publish a "notice of probate" in local newspapers to give creditors and beneficiaries public notice of the decedent's death and the appointment of the personal representative.

Fidelity Solutions

• Refer to the Executor's Checklist to help you understand many of your responsibilities as the executor of someone's estate.

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Taking Control of Your Finances

You may need to make important financial decisions that can impact your current taxes and future assets. To help you with these decisions on your inherited assets, you will want to settle the estate, organize your records, and assess the resources available to you to build on for the future.

Steps to Consider

• Organize all the legal and financial documents you have collected for easy reference.
• Begin transferring assets to yourself and/or designated beneficiaries. Note that this process may take several weeks to complete.
• Assess your changed financial situation, specifically your net worth – the difference between your assets and your liabilities – to help you determine new goals and financial plans.

Fidelity Solutions

• Refer to the Inheritor's Checklist to help you address many of the details with settling your loved one's estate.
• Refer to the Refer to Assets Passed Through Probate and Assets Passed Outside Probate to better understand the type of property transfers that could or could not pass on to heirs without significant delays.
• Refer to the Organize Your Records as a helpful checklist of all the legal and financial records you may need to collect.
• Refer to the Understand Benefits to help you identify all the financial benefits you may be entitled to you from your spouse's employer, the government or the military.

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Maximizing Your Inheritance

Whether you've been managing your household finances for years or you have never touched a checkbook, you may need help understanding tax implications, retirement income planning and how to make the most of inherited IRA or Keogh assets.

Steps to Consider

• Understand the tax implications of withdrawing from your inherited assets and how your income tax situation could change.
• Determine if all your assets, including those you may have inherited, can cover your financial needs throughout all of your retirement years by creating a retirement income plan.
• Determine how you can make the most of inherited IRA or Keogh assets.

Fidelity Solutions

• Visit Your Retirement Years Overview for Fidelity's easy-to-use tools and links to resources that can help you create a plan to support your retirement.
• If you need one-on-one investment guidance, call 1-800-FIDELITY for a complimentary portfolio review or to create a retirement income plan with an experienced Fidelity representative.
• Attend helpful seminars at a Fidelity Investor Center, including Retirement Income Planning and Strategies for Estate Planning.

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• Important Estate Planning Information
  Information provided is general and educational in nature. It is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, legal or tax advice. Fidelity does not provide legal or tax advice. Laws of a specific state or laws relevant to a particular situation may affect the applicability, accuracy, or completeness of this information. Federal and state laws and regulations are complex and are subject to change. Fidelity makes no warranties with regard to the information or results obtained by its use. Fidelity disclaims any liability arising our of your use of, or reliance on, the information. Consult an attorney or tax advisor regarding your specific legal or tax situation.