Recently widowed
I’ve just filed with the SSA for survivor’s benefits. My husband passed in October. SSA has no W-2 from 2013, however he was employed (I have the pay stubs). I called the IRS and they said they may not be able to get a 2013 W-2 and that a Form 56 needs to be submitted with the death certificate for me to act on his behalf. We have wills that were drawn up about 25 years ago but never updated them.
A few questions:
Would our only wills still be valid? They reference who would be in charge of our money and who would be guardians of our sons. All 3 sons are in their 30’s.
Do I need a Fiduciary to fill out the form 56 and submit before I file taxes this year or submit it with the taxes?
Where do I get a Fiduciary?
What should be my next step?
Thank you!
Terry Says
So sorry about your loss, but your questions validate all my years of pleading for people to do financial planning IN ADVANCE!
So let me give a few general answers here and point you in a direction to get IMMEDIATE help you can trust.
Yes, your old wills are still valid. And if they were wills — as opposed to a revocable living trust— you’ll need an attorney to go through the probate process of changing title to any property not held in joint name and that did not come to you as a named beneficiary (think life insurance and IRAs).
That same attorney should create new estate planning documents for YOU, without delay, as soon as this probate is under way.
If you don’t have an estate planning attorney, in the Chicago area I recommend Kerry Peck. Feel free to use my name, or not.
https://www.peckritchey.com/kerry-peck/
Or ask at your local bank trust department for a recommendation.
As to SS, they use the top 35 years of earnings (formula-adjusted) to calculate benefits. So that missing year might not be worth the aggravation of getting it included. Instead go to MaximizeMySocialSecurity.com and pay to have them calculate the correct benefit. And you can adk them about the impact of that missing year.
One more thing. I think you would enjoy reading this book:
