Securing Accounts and Preventing Fraud

• Protect Credit and Identity: Notify the three major credit bureaus to flag the decedent’s credit file as “Deceased: Do Not Issue Credit” to prevent post-mortem identity theft:

  • Equifax: 1–800–685–1111
  • Experian: 1–888–397–3742
  • TransUnion: 1–800–888–4213

  Request a copy of the decedent’s credit report to identify all active lending accounts.

• Close Credit and Charge Accounts: Cancel all credit cards where the decedent was the primary account holder. Check recent bank statements to identify and stop recurring automatic subscriptions linked to those cards. Joint account holders remain responsible for outstanding balances.

• Manage Bank Accounts: Banks freeze individual accounts once notified of a death. Withdrawing from a deceased person’s individual account without authority—using a debit card or a surviving power of attorney, which dies with the principal—is conversion of estate property and exposes you personally, even when the money goes to funeral costs. Get authority first. Most states provide a fast route for modest estates: a small-estate affidavit (thresholds commonly run $50,000 to $200,000, and $208,850 in California) lets a successor collect the funds without opening probate, and several states separately authorize a bank to release a limited amount for funeral expenses. Joint owners and designated PODs beneficiaries need none of this.

  • POD Accounts: Present a certified death certificate and government-issued identification to the bank to transfer the funds directly to the named beneficiary.
  • Joint Accounts: Provide the death certificate to remove the decedent’s name and transition ownership to the surviving co-owner.
  • Individual Accounts without POD: The executor must present Letters Testamentary and tax identification numbers to establish an estate bank account and transfer the funds.
• Forward Mail: Submit a USPS Change of Address form accompanied by Letters Testamentary or Administration to redirect the decedent’s mail to the executor or trustee’s address.
• Cancel or Transfer Services: Terminate utilities, mobile phone contracts, internet services, memberships, and subscriptions. Cell phone carriers generally waive early termination fees upon receipt of a death certificate. Before cancellation, back up any digital photos, contacts, or messages.