By imagining a partnered retiree with family, in this article – published in two parts – HUGH SELBY shows how better preparation and communication can make the tasks for the survivor and offspring easier to manage when the time comes. 

We all die. We all miss friends and family who aren’t around any more. We could all do a bit better to prepare for the inevitable, both as those bound to depart, and those who get on with their lives after we shuffle off.

What follows is an example of a format that any reader might adapt to their situation. The facts are fictitious. It is not exhaustive, but it does reveal how many tasks there are.

Useful information is given by Services Australia. Their advice is well organised, and easy to follow. 

For example, if you get a Centrelink payment, ask the funeral home if they are a registered Centrepay business, because then you can use Centrepay to help pay for funeral costs.

This first article covers:

• Death declared, organ donation, body pick up and services by funeral director, getting the death certificate;
• Paying accounts; and,
• Is it necessary to get Probate on my Estate? 

I will cover in part two: 

• Transferring bank accounts, and superannuation;
• Dealing with the ATO;
• What to do with the survivor’s Enduring Power of Attorney that covers both property and health decisions; and,
• Tiresome, but necessary, odds and ends. 

Death declared, organ donation, body pick up and services by funeral director, getting the death certificate

I am registered as an organ/body donor (know your registration number) for any/specified organ of my body that can be used. Being old is not an exclusion. But it is important that my body is quickly collected so that any useful bits can be taken out and quickly given to patients who need them, or the body prepared for research at my chosen university.

If I die at home then phone the police on the emergency number 000, tell them that I am an organ/body donor, and request that their doctor and ambulance attend asap to have my body, death declared, taken to the correct hospital/university for prompt attention.

After the organ donation the receiving hospital can then phone the chosen funeral directors (know the phone number) who will come and collect my corpse and follow the agreed upon arrangements (see below). 

If the relative dies at home, and there is no organ or body donation, then phone the police on their general number 131444 and ask for them to attend with their on-call doctor to declare the relative dead. This is necessary before the funeral directors can collect the body.

By the way, if I am wearing one of those nifty smart watches that monitors everything, it will tell the doctor when the end event took place.

If I die in a hospital/hospice/nursing home they will have a doctor declare me dead and arrange for any organ or body donation. After that, either the hospital or you contact the chosen funeral directors as above.

My choice is (add in the funeral directors, phone and email) because they offer what I want (which is set out here and covers, according to my/your/our wishes, such matters as burial or cremation, notices, body preparation, choice of coffin/urn, flowers, funeral or memorial services, wake, stone masonry, etcetera).

Who do you tell that I’m dead? There are people who should be told, but the list gets smaller year by year. Using the contacts list on my mobile phone/laptop computer, email these people as a bcc list: add in the names.

What do you tell them? Tell them that I’m dead, that I liked and respected them, and they made my life more worthwhile. For all of that I am thankful. I wish them a happy life. 

Then tell them what, if any, arrangements there are for a funeral or memorial service, any speeches, any wake, and what generous people are to do by way of flowers or donations etcetera.

Do you want to place any death notice in the media? Just because other people do, it doesn’t follow that you should. I’d rather you spent the money on better food at the wake.

You will need a death certificate and multiple certified true copies for all sorts of inquiries and actions. In the ACT you’ll find what you need to know and do here. Assume, everything going smoothly, that it will take about one month to get the death certificate. Then have a number of copies certified by a JP at your local library as true copies.

Paying accounts

Where are my passwords that you need? I have sent you the access passwords so that you can access my mobile phone, my computer, my devices, My Gov, bank and super accounts etcetera. 

Is there a home safe or a safe deposit box/envelope with a bank, solicitor or family member? The following papers are stored (eg, wills, house/apartment title deeds, birth/marriage certificates, investment notes). To get access do as follows (list the details).

What do you do about utility accounts that need to be paid? The gas, water, electricity, internet and mobile phone are on “direct debit”. Check that there are sufficient funds in the relevant bank account to meet payments until you are ready to change the name of the account holder.

My phone account? Cancel the monthly account for my mobile phone with (the provider, listing the account number).

What accounts need to be paid by you? Some accounts, such as annual property rates and quarterly strata levies, annual home and car insurances, annual memberships (motoring bodies, clubs, etcetera) are sent to my email/postal address. These can be paid by Bpay or bank transfer, even over the phone using (the survivor’s) credit/debit card. Once you have a death certificate you can change the name and contact details on these accounts.

What, if anything, can be sold off or donated quickly because there will be no further use for it? You can start by taking my better clothes to the Salvos or Vinnies.

Is it necessary to get probate on my estate? 

A dead person’s property is the estate that they leave. A will sets out how the now dead person wants their property to go to others. The will names one or more people, often relatives, but it can also be the Public Trustee or a solicitor, to manage that process. These people are called “executors”. Before they can distribute the estate they must get a grant of probate from the Supreme Court.

However, when two people hold property in joint names, when one dies the other gets that property. This is the principle of survivorship. If a couple have all their property in joint names then there is no estate to transfer, and no need to apply for probate, because at the moment of death the survivor becomes the sole owner.

The following example imagines a couple who had everything in joint names.

My and survivor’s wills are stored at (know where). However, when one of us dies the other gets everything. This is because we have only joint bank accounts (so either of us could deposit and withdraw), superannuation (with survivor shown as the beneficiary of my funds when I die), and jointly owned house/apartment, and jointly owned car. (There are no companies, trusts, or shares etcetera.) 

If I die in a retirement home then there is likely to be a refund of part of the entrance fee. This will go into our joint/survivor’s bank account.

This should mean that once you have my death certificate you can go ahead and change the names of all the accounts so that they have just survivor as the account/membership holder. 

You can also change the title deed for the house/apartment to show the survivor as sole owner. You’ll need to contact the Land Titles Office in the ACT. They will need a copy of my death certificate. If there is a mortgage on the home you will need to contact the lender, too.

Note: Many relationships have separate financial and property arrangements. In those cases the estate will go through probate. It’s possible to do it yourself, but why not “shop around” to see how much it will cost to have an experienced person in a law firm or the Public Trustee take the stress away?

Note: when the survivor dies you will have to get probate from the Supreme Court as executors of their estate to allow you to distribute everything as set out in their will. Engage a solicitor or the Public Trustee to do that for you. It will take some months.

The ACT Supreme Court sets out the Probate procedure and the fees on its website here. The court fee is based on the total value of the estate. 

Former barrister Hugh Selby’s free podcasts on “Witness Essentials” and “Advocacy in court: preparation and performance” can be heard on the best known podcast sites.