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Originally Posted by Sliver
Sorry to hear that, man.
Get all his login and password information. Trying to close accounts and get into devices without it can be a real time waster when you're just trying to get stuff done later on.
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And do not cancel their cell phone in case that's how their two factor authentication goes through.
I dealt with someone who lost all theirs and their parents tax info when the father passed away (He used to file for all of them). It's on a laptop, encrypted and no one knows the password. They had his cell phone which allowed them access to his number and email so they could reset and get into certain accounts (yeah, yeah. Ignore the TOU legality of it for a second). But man was she stressed when I was the third contact to advise how to do the T1 Final with no access to previous years tax information. She was just as sad at what invaluable information (pictures etc.) that might be on that laptop that might be lost forever.
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Originally Posted by flamesfever
Sorry for what you are going through. Some of the things that come to mind that may help you are:
1. Prepare a list of your dad's important information like his DOB, SIN no., Alberta Health Card no., Credit Card nos., Passport no., marriage date, name of parents,
2. Try to get enough information from him so you can help write an obituary that he would want
3. Make a list of his monthly bills, and where they are paid e.g. deducted from bank account, credit card, cash
4. Find out where he wants all his personal items to go (part of will?)
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Make sure that you don't just confirm a will is in place, but it has been updated recently (within the last 3-5 years). I'm dealing with situations where the will was done nearly 3 decades ago. All the trustees are dead, the kids of the trustees are dead and the next level have their affairs being dealt within a POA scenario.
Also, look for the purchase agreements of any properties and make copies of that for the costs required on deemed disposition transactions or documentation of when the asset was willed to the individual for the ACB. Worst case, scenario, upon death you can try and obtain a copy of the land titles for around $30-50(?) to see if the registered value upon sale/transfer is on it, but that information is not always there.
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Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse
Without getting into all the details, my dad is going down the route of palliative care, leaving my elderly mother.
From an legal and administrative point of view, what needs / should be done?
- Wills / POA are in place for them (~done 6 yrs ago)
- Property is held jointly by then, so I believe joint survivorship applies to banks accounts and real estate. Car registration is being revised.
- I know a final T1 tax return will need to be done at some point.
Is there anything else that would make the future easier? I anticipate updating their wills once he passes.
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Sorry to hear. One thing I'd advise that often gets overlooked, just keep visiting and bringing up happy memories in the conversations about them. Have every conversation possible, get in some extra visits if you can, so if something happens, there are no regrets.
"I was busy and planned to see him in a few weeks and they passed away a few days before I was supposed to go" is one that really bothers some people. You don't have to visit all the time. Just make sure that after every visit, there is nothing lacking that would cause regret if that was the last visit with them. One person I know keeps taking their mom to see the dad. "She's angry at him, but I make her go. It's better she's angry without regret, than stay home and have regret for not visiting him."
Administratively, also make sure to figure out what needs to be done so that the tax affairs can be completed on the T1 Final so that you don't need to also file T3 GRE returns. Many people don't realize that final returns/estate returns are much more complicated than yearly returns due to special rules for death. Less costs by filing a T1 final only vs filing both T1 final and T3s plus being able to wrap up the tax affairs by filing for a clearance certificate immediately after the T1Final is complete and closing that chapter (cannot do that if there will be T3) is also important to some.
Another thing to consider is simplifying the administration of things if possible. Online banking, ensuring that people recognize and will chat with you, asking for guidance from others for tips and tricks on managing basically two households AND a third scenario, how to stay mentally and emotionally healthy, when to throw money at the situation to resolve it etc.
"How about we choose to let the government collect a few hundred to a few thousand dollars extra in taxes so that you can close this chapter and grieve vs spending a difficult emotional time digging through boxes to look for tax information?"