What to Do When a Loved One Dies: Taking Charge at a Difficult Time

by Steven D. Price

Overview

At some point in everyone’s life, everyone will be placed in the position of dealing with the death of a loved one. Arranging all the necessary details at such a difficult time can prove overwhelming. However, help is now at hand in this guide that covers all the essential aspects:

• Ways to avoid probate and other estate problems while you’re still alive through gifts and trusts
• Pre-funeral formalities, such as when the loved one dies in another state or country
• Selecting a funeral parlor and working with its director and clergy with regard to the funeral service
• Disposition of the remains, whether burial or cremation
• Probating the will or marshalling the assets if the deceased died intestate
• Survivor benefits and other financial and tax matters
• Mourning and grief therapy

Drawing from the counsel of funeral directors, clergy, attorneys, estate planners, and psychologists and with references to Web sites and other sources of further information, this book provides straightforward and reassuring advice that is both practical and comforting at this difficult time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781628732672
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	11/15/2009
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	412 KB

About the Author

Steven D. Price is the author or editor of more than forty books, including the bestselling The Whole Horse Catalog, the prize-winning The American Quarter Horse, The Quotable Horse Lover, and All the King’s Horses: The Story of the Budweiser Clydesdales. He lives in New York City, rides whenever and wherever he can, and numbers Don Burt among the finest horsemen he’s known.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: You Step Forward xiii

1 The Death 1

2 The Funeral Home 11

3 The Service 29

4 Grief Counseling and Therapy 45

5 Housekeeping 63

6 Probate: An Overview 77

7 The Probate Process 87

8 Estate Planning 103

Appendixes

A A Checklist 123

B Funeral Practices 127

C A Sample Basic Will 135

D Small Estate Affidavit 141

E The Primary Provision of a Living Trust 145

F A Bouquet of Quotations 149

G Glossary 161

H For Further Information 171