Family Estate Planning Attorney in Indianapolis, Indiana
What are the common issues families face immediately after a loved one dies and how can you prevent them?
What are the common issues families face immediately after a loved one dies and how can you prevent them?
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Absolutely. So, one of the most common
issues immediately after somebody has
passed away is the personal
representative or maybe even one of the
adult children has is calling and say,
“What do I do next? The bank accounts
have been frozen and that was the
account that was supposed to pay for the
funeral burial.” So one of the things
that we do in estate planning is to make
sure that we have a smooth and as the
least amount of stress to our family
members in that administration by
adequate planning and that’s making sure
that the right things are funded at the
right time. So when we do whether it’s a
a will-based plan or a trust based plan,
we make sure that the trust or the
estate is properly funded. So we have
immediate funds to take care of these
things. So we have funds to take care of
the funeral home and burial that we have
funds to take care of if there’s real
estate that we have funds for the
utilities, for the property taxes, and
the homeowners insurance. So those are
our immediate needs that we take care of
and we plan for so that’s not a stressor
for the family and usually that is that
is our first question is how are we
going to take care of the funeral bill.
We’ve had more than one family where
somebody has to put it on their credit
card. We are racing to the courts to get
things properly opened quickly so we can
access those bank accounts so we can get
somebody paid back because they now have
almost a $12,000 bill on their credit
card.
Indianapolis, IN estate planning attorney Jessica Williams talks about the common issues families face immediately after a loved one dies and how can you prevent them. She explains that one of the most frequent challenges following a person’s death is that family members or the personal representative discover that bank accounts have been frozen. These accounts are often intended to cover immediate expenses, such as funeral and burial costs, leaving surviving relatives uncertain about how to proceed.
She also reveals that estate planning plays a critical role in avoiding this problem. By ensuring that an estate or trust is properly funded in advance, funds remain available to cover urgent obligations. This includes funeral expenses, as well as ongoing financial responsibilities such as real estate maintenance, utilities, property taxes, and homeowners insurance.
Without proper planning, families may be forced to use personal resources, sometimes charging significant amounts—such as funeral costs—to credit cards. In such cases, attorneys often must act quickly, petitioning the court to open the estate and gain access to accounts so reimbursement can occur. Comprehensive estate planning minimizes these stresses by preparing for immediate needs, ensuring that family members are not left scrambling during an already difficult time.
