Financial Planning When Someone Dies - What to Do and Who to Go To By Tracy Rice

A death in the state of Oklahoma leads the decedent's estate into the probate process and a filing of estate taxes. According to the website of the Oklahoma state government there are three tax forms that need to be completed. Completion of these forms begins with the 35 page Form 454 and it's 14 schedules ranging from Real Estate (Schedule A-1) to Oil, Gas and Minerals (Schedule A-2) to Intangible Personal Property (Schedule C-1).

Have I lost you yet?

We've only begun to scratch the surface of Oklahoma's estate tax process. Form 454 is 35 pages with 14 schedules and it is just the first of three forms to complete. There are estate exemptions for heirs that change depending on the year the person dies.

You have other concerns

When someone dies it's often hard to know what to do and who to go to first. There are so many things that need to be considered when someone close has died such as financial planning, estate conservation and taxation issues, but when we are in mourning these tasks can be the straw that breaks the camels back. When it's a close family member, we face the difficult tasks of saying goodbye by making final arrangements like the funeral and notifying others of our loss. Facing the loss of a loved one is hard enough without having to worry about their failure to plan their estate and their finances, but unfortunately it's the reality that many people face.

The questions of, "What to do and who to go to?" arise quickly at a time when we're probably not ready to cope with the legal or financial concerns of the deceased person's estate. We may look for someone we can go to, but who can help us when someone dies and their finances are in disarray?

Seek Out Professional Help

A professional financial planner, experienced in estate conservation and tax legislation, is your answer. In Oklahoma for example, the level of complexity regarding financial concerns depends entirely on how well the deceased planned his or her estate. When someone dies and no estate or financial planning has been completed, getting a financial planner to look through the finances is a sensible first step. This will solve your problem of what to do and who to go to, because a financial planner will be able to assist you in organizing and managing your loved ones assets and finances.

There are several categories of financial concerns and they include:

Bills

Life Insurance

Continuing a Business

Notify Employer or Pension Benefits Manager

Social Security

Credit Cards

The number of financial considerations alone can be overwhelming. If your loved one hasn't planned ahead these financial concerns then professional help is crucial for completing this process correctly. To these we can also add tax concerns that might cost heirs a lot of money and reduce the value of the estate. If the deceased made financial and estate plans during their lifetime, there will probably be returns to be filed and some tax due but, if the financial and estate planning has to take place after death then, the reality is that there might be substantial taxes due.

Tracy Rice writes article for Estate-and-Probate.com. The site is devoted to providing families with the help and resources they need in the days and weeks after a loved one's death. Estate taxes are tricky and best handled by professionals.