Caregivers Article


Losing a Spouse or Parent

You may be overwhelmed with grief right now. You may want to leave the administrative matters for a later day. But there are notifications and legal steps that should not be postponed.

  • Make funeral and burial arrangements.
  • Obtain several copies of the death certificate.
  • Gather relevant documents, such as the will, insurance policies, trusts, and stock, bank account and annuity statements.
  • Contact the Social Security Administration (if the deceased was an eligible recipient).
  • Send a notification and death certificate to the director of health services (if the deceased was a AHCCCS recipient) within 90 days after the death.
  • Notify any life insurance companies of the death.
  • Contact the trustee of any trust and/or the attorney who prepared it.
  • Contact the executor of the will and/or the attorney who prepared it.
  • Call the administrator of the decedent’s pension plan.
  • Notify the decedent’s banks and financial institutions.
  • Contact credit card companies.
  • Be sure that insurance or Medicare claims have been processed before paying any medical bills.

Comments:

QUESTIONS

  • How do I begin to file probate if there is no will?
  • My Mom is disabled, she should be doing physical therapy but she refuses to help herself and wont let us help her, she ignores her health completely and sits around all day drinking and taking her prescription pills and is in and out of the hospital, she's becoming a danger to herself and refuses to see it. what are the laws to putting her into a rehab or nursing home.
  • I have Durable Power of Attorney for my mother who is in a nursing home. Does this obligate me for her debts?
  • I live in another state, mother lives in AZ. are all POA's from state to state? Do I need to get a POA from AZ for her?
  • My boyfriend's grandmother moved in with us about a year ago. We go on vacation in NY every year. She wants to stay here alone. Her doctor said she was no longer able to live alone.I don't want her to stay here alone:. My boyfriend is her POA and he is okay with her staying here while we are gone. My question is if anything happens to her while we are away., such as a fall, fire, break in anything really are we liable? What are the laws on this and where can I find information on my legal responsibility?
  • I have conservatorship and guardianship for my dad. I am the trustee of my dad`s trust. how do I get him out of the court system?
  • Can a person file a order of protection on a live in caregiver and we believe they did this to put the lady I care for in a nursing she is so stressed out over this its causing alot of problems witb her health what can we do to stop this
  • My father in law, who lives in Mesa, has asked me to be his power of attorney. I live in Oregon. Can I use Arizona's form to do this, and will it be valid even though I don't live in the same state?
  • why can`t a 73yr. old mother/caretaker of a 41yr. old adult, receive extra income besides her & his soc, sec.?
  • I want to request a change in power of attorney from my sister to myself. My father is in a nursing home, and i do not feel my sister is capable of making good decisions for our father. Do you know what form I would fill out to request this change in Power of Attorney?

STORIES

LegalLEARN

FIND LEGAL HELP

  • Please select your county of residence below.

    County:
     

OTHER LEGAL RESOURCES

  • State Bar of Arizona
    www.azbar.org
  • Maricopa County Bar
    www.maricopabar.org
    Referral number 602-257-4434
  • Pima County Bar
    www.pimacountybar.org
    Referral number 520-623-4625
  • National Domestic Violence Hotline
    800-799-7233
  • Bankruptcy Court Self Help Center
    866-553-0893
  • Certified Legal Document Preparer Program
    Link

ORGANIZATIONS

RELATED ARTICLES

Care Alternatives

Hiring Help in the Home

Compassion Fatigue

Home Care Providers Required to Provide Information

LINKS

Arizona Office of the Attorney General

Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS)

Arizona Department of Economic Security

Social Security Administration

Medicare On-line

See More...