If you’re worried about your spouse’s well-being, specifically how they’ll be able to carry on without you financially at your passing, you need to create an action plan and get organized. It’s crucial to focus on the financial planning for a surviving spouse.

As you prepare for the inevitable, having an action plan for your surviving spouse is critical to make sure they are able to maintain a lifestyle free of financial concern.

While you may be financially savvy and have been able to manage your finances successfully to this point, you may have concerns your spouse can do the same.

This is an emotional topic, but building the necessary action steps to take the financial stress and concern from you and your spouse’s plate should be the priority.

In this guide, you’ll be able to accomplish the following:

The 5 Documents You Need to Gather & Why
The Information You Need to Gather & Why
The Contact List You Need to Gather & Why

This is simply meant as a guide, and while it may not be all-encompassing, it should provide you with a practical and actionable plan you can start implementing now.

Getting Organized

If you haven’t yet done so, and you’re concerned about your spouse’s ability to live on at your passing, your first step should be to get organized. If you’ve managed the finances to this point, you’re likely aware that it can be an exhausting list.

Having your spouse do this at your passing can quickly overwhelm, especially when paired with the inevitable grief that will come.

Documentation Gathering

Financial planning for your surviving spouse will go much smoother with a good start for your spouse.

Many of the things mentioned here are standard, but we’ll explain why you should have them and what they’re used for. We’ll also explain why you should consider a digital copy of each of the following (scanned and uploaded to a secure electronic storage site).

Death Certificate
Marriage Certificate
Durable Power of Attorney
Health Care Directive
Last Will & Testament
Additional forms of Government-Issued Identification

Death Certificate

What You’ll Need it For: This is likely to go without saying, but these forms generate at the passing of an individual. If you’re planning ahead, this form will not yet be in your possession.

But their importance cannot be understated. You will need this for things that may be standard, such as:

Financial Institutions (Banks & Investment firms)
Insurance Companies
Government Agencies
Probate Court
Real Estate & Property Transactions
Credit Card Closure

However, you may also need a death certificate for things that may not seem common. For example, you may need a death certificate for other services, such as:

Social Media Account Closure
Streaming Service Cancellation (Netflix, Amazon, etc.)
Email Service Closure

Of note, many funeral homes will supply these forms. You could see a wide array of forms offered, from 5 to 25. Depending on how complex someone’s account holdings are, you may need to order additional copies.

But some companies will accept a digital copy of a death certificate. It’s a good idea to take inventory of this.

Marriage Certificate

What You’ll Need it for: You may need this for a bevy of things, such as, but not limited to, Social Security Survivor benefits, Pension Survivor Claims, and Retirement Account Transfers.

While it’s a near certainty you’ll need it for Social Security benefits, there could be other reasons to have it, which may not be required. These could include:

ambiguous insurance claims
jointly held property that will be in the surviving spouse’s name only
employer health insurance benefits or COBRA benefits
bank accounts.

While proof of marriage may not be required for everything, having this certificate will provide you the necessary evidence when needed.

*If applicable, it may be just as important to have a copy of a Divorce Decree. For similar reasons as mentioned above.

A birth certificate, passport, driver’s license and Social Security card are also things you should consider keeping on hand. While none may necessarily be required, some organizations may require more than one form of identification.

Durable Power of Attorney

What You’ll Need it For: A durable power of attorney is likely to come in handy for financial and legal matters. This form will allow a specifically designated person (aka the “agent” or “attorney-in-fact” to act on behalf of another (the principal).

The agent may be able to take on the following responsibilities (assuming it is outlined in the document):

Make financial decisions on your behalf
Oversee your financial plan
Make decisions on insurance policies
File your tax returns
Sign off on real estate or personal property transactions
Keep record of your financial affairs

It should go without saying that this person should be trustworthy and have your best interest at heart at all times.

If you don’t have this form or document, it could be left up to a court to decide these matters for you.

Lastly, you should be aware if you have a springing Power of Attorney, or an immediate one. A springing POA takes effect at the onset of a mental or physical incapacitation, while an immediate POA takes effect immediately.

Healthcare Directive

What You’ll Need it For: A Healthcare Directive will generally include 2 important documents:

Healthcare Power of Attorney
Living Will

A Healthcare Power of Attorney is different from a durable POA. This appoints a person who will make medical decisions on your behalf, assuming you are unable to do so.

While it’s certainly common for individuals (especially spouses) to name a spouse as both a durable and healthcare POA, it is not required.

A living will specify your wishes about life-sustaining measures in specific scenarios. This will allow you to have your wishes honored in the event you are facing a precarious health scenario.

If you remember the Terri Schiavo case and the ensuing legal battle, this is a way to help alleviate loved ones from making this decision on your behalf.

Last Will & Testament

Upon your passing, you will not be able to control how your estate is distributed outside of this document, so making sure your up-to-date wishes are reflected here is vital. This document will do the following:

Clarify your wishes and designate beneficiaries of certain possessions
Appoint an executor to manage the estate
Offer any special instructions such as family heirlooms
May provide alternate beneficiaries or designate a guardian for a minor child in your care
Speeds up the probate process
Offers Estate Tax planning, such as a charitable donation that may bypass taxation
Reduce family conflict

The more complex your estate, the more detailed this document should be, even if everything’s meant to be left to a spouse.

Additional Documents You May Need

There are a few documents worth keeping, or that may be applicable to your situation. Those include backup forms of government-issued ID, such as a passport, birth certificate, Social Security card, or driver’s license.

If you’re a veteran, your DD-214 Form (aka your Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) is also worth having with these forms. This will allow for certain veteran benefits and alternate forms of ID if needed.

Information You Will Need & Why

When it comes to the specific information you’ll need to gather, it’s a good idea to have your net worth & cash flow accessible when financial planning for your surviving spouse. That can be done by breaking out the accounts into the following categories:

Financial Accounts
Insurance Policies
Tax Documents
Digital Accounts & Subscriptions

Financial Accounts

For most retirees, they do not have a singular institution they use for all their financial accounts. For example, they may bank at a particular financial institution, but have their retirement accounts elsewhere.

Therefore, organizing this is paramount. You may notice financial accounts such as:

Bank Accounts (checking, savings, money market, CDs)
Investment Accounts (stock holdings, brokerage accounts)
Retirement Accounts (401(k), Traditional or Roth IRA, 457 Plan)
Pensions/Annuities
Credit Cards
Loans (Mortgages, Car Loans, Personal Loans)

Each of these accounts should have the following as well:

Account Number
Institution Name & Contact Number
Online Log In (if applicable)
Beneficiary designation (for retirement and/or insurance policies)
Current Account Balances & Policy Values

It’s possible to have this information stored on one page. For example, my team and I generate this beneficiary report form for our clients with their insurance & financial accounts that we complete on their behalf.

This information can provide the information necessary for a spouse who is not as keen on the financial picture to stay well informed.

Insurance Policies

Additionally, you and your spouse may share insurance policies. These policies could include the following:

Life Insurance
Health Insurance (Medicare Supplement Plans)
Disability Insurance (if still working)
Long-Term Care Insurance
Auto, Homeowner Umbrella Insurance

To complicate matters, sometimes each of these insurances are held with different insurers. If that’s the case, it’s worth making sure each of these are updated with the organizational tool mentioned above, or one like it, and added to the list.

Tax Documents

Filing a tax return each year requires the gathering of the necessary tax forms prior to the upcoming tax year deadline.

While it’s commonly on April 15th, you should see many financial institutions mail (or upload to your online account) the necessary tax form to be filed with the IRS. For surviving spouses, these forms can be overwhelming, and may generate in some years, but not others.

It’s a good idea to review your recent tax returns and the forms that have been generated. For a list of common tax forms, check out this link to find common tax forms your institution should provide and see if any are applicable in your situation.

Digital Accounts & Subscriptions

One of the things that is so often overlooked is the digital security of online logins. It can be a quite tedious task to mark down each specific account username and password, especially with how frequently they require change (which, in our opinion, is a good thing).

When you add in 2-factor authentication (again, a very good thing for security), it can create serious problems for a spouse to log in to an online account. Having a strategy to combat this can save time and energy.

You can check all the boxes when financial planning for your surviving spouse, but if he/she cannot access important portals, it can create confusion & worry.

By implementing a master password account manager, you can help track these passwords in a secure way. Below are some examples (but please note: this is not a recommendation to utilize any of these specific products):

LastPass
Dashlane
Bitwarden
NordPass

You should utilize a password sharing service that best suits the needs of you and your spouse.

When it comes to subscriptions and ongoing bills, it’s a great idea to have account numbers and passwords, but also a cash flow spreadsheet for monthly, recurring payments.

While some of these will be drafted automatically, it’s still a good idea in terms of both budgeting and organizing for your surviving spouse.

There are also good budgeting tools out there you could consider. There are some online budgets that link automatically to bank accounts, while others can be done manually on Excel.

Again, these online budgets are not a recommendation, but you could consider the following:

YNAB (You Need a Budget)
EveryDollar
HoneyDue
eMoney

Some of these could require a subscription fee, so finding an option that’s best suitable for your surviving spouse should be the priority.

The List of Contacts You Should Have

When the inevitable day of your passing comes, your spouse should have all the resources they need to make sure the finances are covered.

It should be noted that there are professionals who can help with the ongoing financial planning for your surviving spouse.

Reliance on other people in your life and the professionals who have helped you both is a thing you should be taking advantage of.

For some, they have a child or children who can help assist at this time. But with children having busy schedules of their own, organization on the front end would make their lives easier.

As discussed earlier in this post, gathering the necessary documentation and necessary information such as your account and policy numbers will help speed up the process, but having a list of contacts should also make the process a smooth one.

Here is a list of individuals you should consider having:

While this list is not all-encompassing, some of the professionals on here should help facilitate discussions on who else you should be contacting.

Get Started on the Financial Planning for your Surviving Spouse

One of the greatest gifts a spouse can leave a surviving spouse is the ability to grieve without necessary strain or anxiety. Financial worry consistently ranks as one of the main concerns of couples while living.

The passing of the spouse who handled the finances can create a whole new level of anxiety for the survivor.

These organizational steps should put both you and your spouse at ease knowing that your spouse’s financial future is secure.

If you or your spouse haven’t made a plan to get organized yet, my team and I would love to see if we can be a fit.

Schedule a time and we can introduce ourselves and turn your financial uncertainty into a secure plan that ensures peace of mind for you and your spouse.

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