Estate Settlement Navigator

The weeks after a death are an administrative gauntlet run on zero sleep: 10–20 organizations each want an original certified death certificate, notify them in the wrong order and you invite clawbacks and deceased- identity theft, and real money (survivor benefits, life insurance, pension elections) quietly expires if nobody claims it on time. This skill turns grief brain into a checklist: the cascade order, the document math, the benefit windows, and the letters.

When to Use

• Someone died days or weeks ago and the family is starting the admin
• You are named executor / personal representative and don't know where to start
• Surviving spouse asking "what money am I entitled to?"
• Closing accounts: banks, credit cards, utilities, subscriptions, DMV
• Deciding whether probate / an attorney is actually needed
• Preparing the death certificate order at the funeral home (right now is the cheapest moment to order extra copies)

Don't use for: contested wills or litigation (attorney, immediately); tax advice on large/complex estates (CPA + estate attorney); any jurisdiction-specific legal question beyond the general maps here.

The Method

1. certificates — count the organizations (banks × each account holder, insurers, DMV, property, employer) → recommended certified-copy count (orgs + spares; originals, not photocopies) with cost estimate.
2. cascade --country us|uk — the ordered notification list with timing and the WHY for each slot: SSA first (stop payments before they must be clawed back), credit bureaus early (deceased identity theft is real), banks, insurers, employer benefits, utilities last.
3. benefits — survivor screening from ages: widow(er) gates (60, or 50 if disabled, or any age caring for child under 16), $255 lump-sum death benefit (2-year claim window), child benefits to 18/19, the "claim small one early, switch to big one at FRA/70" strategy, pension survivor-annuity and employer-plan flags.
4. timeline --date YYYY-MM-DD — dated milestones: first week, first month, months 2–6 (probate, titles, final bills), tax year items (final 1040, estate 1041 over $600 income, estate-tax only far above the ~$14M exemption).
5. letter --type close|claim|transfer — generates the notification letter an institution needs: deceased's details, certified copy enclosed, what you're asking for (close / pay beneficiary / transfer), and your executor/next-of-kin authority statement.

Run python3 scripts/estate_admin.py <cmd> --help for all flags.

Judgment Rules

• Order is money: Social Security before bank closures (a benefit paid for the month of death gets pulled back — from an account you already emptied, that's a mess). Bureaus before debt collectors circle.
• Small-estate bypass: assets with named beneficiaries, POD/TOD designations, and joint tenancy pass OUTSIDE probate. Only the remainder counts against the small-estate-affidavit threshold — often no probate court needed at all.
• Non-spouse retirement accounts: inherited-IRA rules (typically the 10-year payout under SECURE) — do not merge into your own IRA.
• Keep one bank account open (estate or joint) until final bills are paid; cancel autopays on the deceased's solo accounts early.
• UK: one "Tell Us Once" call covers DWP/HMRC/DVLA; Bereavement Support Payment must be claimed within 3 months for full backdating.

Common Pitfalls

1. Ordering 2 certificates "to start" — every bank wants its own original; reorder fees cost more than spares ordered at the funeral home.
2. Photocopies — almost every institution rejects them.
3. Not notifying credit bureaus — the deceased's identity gets used for loans for years; the file needs the deceased flag/freeze.
4. Missing the COBRA-like windows: employer group life claims, pension survivor elections, Bereavement Support Payment (UK, 3 months).
5. Rushing to close the joint household account before final utility bills and the funeral invoice clear.
6. Assuming probate is required — beneficiary designations usually transfer the majority of a normal estate directly.
7. Filing no final tax return — the deceased owes one for the year of death, and the estate another (1041) if it earns over $600.

Verification Checklist

• Certified-copy count ordered ≥ organizations + spares
• SSA notified; month-of-death payment returned, not clawed back
• All three credit bureaus have the deceased flag
• Every life-insurance policy claimed (search unknown ones: bank autopays, employer HR, old statements, state unclaimed property)
• Survivor benefits screened (spouse + each child)
• Small-estate vs probate decision made explicitly
• Final 1040 + estate 1041 calendar entries created
• Mail redirected; DMA "deceased, do not contact" submitted

One-Shot Recipe

Fresh loss, US, surviving spouse 61 with a 14-year-old child:

python3 scripts/estate_admin.py certificates --orgs 14
python3 scripts/estate_admin.py cascade --country us
python3 scripts/estate_admin.py benefits --spouse-age 61 --kids-under-16 1
python3 scripts/estate_admin.py timeline --date 2026-10-14
python3 scripts/estate_admin.py letter --type close --to "Card Bank" \
    --deceased "John M. Doe (SSN xxx-xx-1234)" --requester "Mary Doe, spouse"

References: references/cascade-and-documents.md (order, documents, US/UK maps), references/benefits-and-taxes.md (survivor math, probate bypass, final returns).