Are the formalities following a death really important?

It's natural to put off thinking about planning for the future, especially when it comes to such delicate matters as providing for your family after your death. However, recognizing the importance of doing so is crucial to ensuring financial, emotional, and practical stability for your loved ones in difficult times. Although the thought of mortality can be uncomfortable, prudence and foresight will help ease the burden that will fall on your loved ones.

Important arguments to consider for those reluctant to take the plunge:

1. Financial protection: Planning provides financial security for your loved ones by ensuring that the necessary resources are available to cover unavoidable expenses such as funerals, debts, or legal fees. Ignoring this can leave your loved ones facing considerable financial difficulties.

2. Preserving emotional well-being: The loss of a loved one is already an extremely difficult emotional ordeal. By making preventive decisions, you can offer your loved ones peace of mind, sparing them additional financial and administrative worries during an already difficult period.

3. Ensuring your wishes are respected: planning allows you to clearly express your wishes regarding your inheritance, child custody, funeral arrangements and so on. This ensures that your wishes are respected, and reduces the risk of family conflicts that could arise in the absence of explicit directives.

4. Avoid legal complications: Failure to plan ahead can lead to legal complications, family conflicts and delays in the distribution of assets. By being proactive, you simplify the estate process, reducing the stress and challenges your loved ones may face.

5. Responsibility to the family: By taking preventive measures, you demonstrate your responsibility to your family, and show your love and concern for them. Advance planning is an act of affection that can strengthen family ties by showing that you've taken steps to protect them, even in your absence.

Although planning for the afterlife may seem daunting, it's a crucial step in ensuring the well-being of your loved ones. By addressing these delicate aspects now, you're helping to create stable conditions for those you cherish most.

As a family lawyer and expert in death assistance in France, here is a summary of the three categories of administrative formalities required following the death of a loved one:

1. Funeral formalities :
– Declaration of death : The first step is to obtain a medical certificate of death issued by a doctor. This certificate must then be presented to the town hall for the official declaration of death.
– Choosing a funeral home Funeral arrangements: The next of kin must choose a mortician who will take charge of organizing the funeral. This includes choice of coffin, preparation of the body, ceremony, committal, and burial or cremation.
– Request for burial or cremation authorization Funeral services: Funeral directors are also responsible for requesting authorization for burial or cremation from the town hall of the place of death.

2. Property succession formalities :
– Appointment with the notary : Heirs must make an appointment with a notary. The notary plays an essential role in the settlement of the estate.
– Inventory of assets and liabilities The notary will draw up an inventory of the deceased's assets and debts. He will take into account real estate, bank accounts, life insurance policies, furniture, etc.
– Determining heirs and sharing assets The notary will help determine the legal heirs, establish the rights of each and proceed with the division of assets in accordance with legal provisions or the eventual will.

3. Formalities for notifying the organizations concerned :
– Notification of death to social security The next of kin must inform Social Security of the death of the deceased in order to terminate all rights and benefits.
– Notification to financial institutions Banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions must be informed of the death in order to freeze the accounts and take the necessary steps.
– Notification to public and private bodies Other organizations such as pension funds, employers, mutual insurance companies, etc. must also be notified.
– Contract and subscription management Cancellation of the deceased's contracts and subscriptions, such as electricity, gas, Internet, etc.

It is important to stress that the notary can play a central role in assisting with these procedures, by providing legal advice and ensuring that the succession formalities run smoothly. Relatives can also enlist the help of a specialist like Postumo to guide them through these often complex procedures.

Will my notary take care of all my formalities?

• The role of the notary in an estate :  

The notary identifies the heirs and contacts the various organizations with which the deceased was affiliated, as well as the establishments of which he was a client, with the sole aim of obtaining certain information or documents in order to draw up a complete balance sheet of his assets and thus be able to liquidate the estate.

He draws up the deeds required by the heirs (deed of notoriety, property certificate, etc.), carries out the mortgage and tax formalities linked to the death and, if necessary, divides up the assets.

However, it is up to the deceased's family to inform the various organizations of the death (employer, pension funds, social organizations, banks, service providers, etc.).

Finally, for other formalities, the heir can, thanks to the deeds drawn up by the notary, intervene in contracts or services linked to organizations (unblocking a bank account, intervening in the registration certificate of a motor vehicle, etc.).

• What is Postumo's role? 

Based on this principle, the role of surviving spouses, families, beneficiaries and even heirs is essential, as they must "legally" take care of the initial steps and all future formalities.

It's important to understand that time is of the essence here. Every month, pensions, rents, grants and expenses accumulate and will add to the deceased's debts in the estate.

This way, the Postumo solution complements the notary's work and avoids duplication.

What is the timetable for the steps to be taken after a death?

The steps involved are numerous, complex, time-consuming and challenging.

To help you understand the steps involved, we've listed them in "chronological" order.
A clarification that deserves to be addressed: Every approach is unique. Your personal situation is not that of your neighbor.

You will need :
Within 24 hours of death

• Have the death (if at home) certified by a doctor to obtain a death certificate.
• Declare the death at the town hall of the place of death (don't hesitate to ask for several copies of the death certificate, extracts of the deceased's birth certificate and updated family record book, if applicable).
• Check whether the deceased has registered on the national register of organ donation refusals.

Within 48 hours 

• Check whether a funeral insurance policy has been taken out. If so, contact the insurer to check the contract, particularly whether it stipulates any pre-established wishes.
• Contact funeral directors for a quote. Plan to ask for a quote to compare the cost of services.
• Think about the death notice and announcements if these are not included in the funeral insurance. Don't forget that announcements must be made and sent within a relatively short time.
• Inform the deceased's employees. 
• If necessary, contact your employer or Pôle emploi.
• Contact the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the event of death abroad.
• Make a request to access the Last Will and Testament file 
• Organize the funeral.

During the month, you should also contact :

• Bank(s)  
• The CPAM
• Insurance company(ies) (credit, car, home, etc.)
• Mutual(s)
• The notary to take charge of the estate (you'll need to ask him for a deed of notoriety) or to draw up a certificate of inheritance if the estate is less than €5,000 (town halls no longer issue certificates of inheritance).
• Pension fund(s)
• Retirement home or EHPAD
• Assistance services requested by the deceased
• The lessor, real estate agency, condominium manager or tenants 
• CAF
• Taxes
• The Chèque-Emploi Service Universel national center
• Suppliers
• Associations and foundations
• ANTS service (for vehicle registration certificates)
• Once again, the employer
• Appeal to the guardianship judge or family court judge

Within 4 months :

• Accept or renounce an estate

Within 6 months 

• Declare the estate
• Pay the estate

What's next? 
Unfortunately, the process doesn't stop there.
In many cases, the successor in title forgets about themselves when it comes to the formalities following the declaration of inheritance. This is often because they have been under pressure for a long time to regularize current affairs, and have made repeated reminders. It can also simply be a case of mourning. You want to turn the page and move on with your life.

It's easy to forget that, in certain cases, you can benefit from social assistance. To qualify, you need to provide proof of marital status, family situation and tax status. Unfortunately, the tax notice for the year of death does not reflect the loss of income you are (in some cases) suffering.

Do you have to meet deadlines?

It's important, even essential, to deal with the formalities and meet certain deadlines. These include funeral arrangements and estate settlement, whether or not you wish to accept the estate.

Here are some important formalities for which the deadline is important:

• Obtain a will or funeral contract to respect the deceased's last wishes. 
• Notify the banks to stop direct debits and reject cheques written after the death. 
• Claim the death benefit within 2 years, one month if you are a priority beneficiary. 
• Claim widow's/widower's allowance or survivor's pension
• Notify tenants or landlords
• Notify the deceased's employees or employer

Where can I find the deceased's administrative information?

It's a complicated, yet necessary step, which involves searching for certain information in the deceased's personal belongings.
If the latter was organized, you'll be able to retrieve some of the information. If this is not the case, you may be able to find certain information on the account statements, in particular anything concerning direct debits from organizations, associations, suppliers, etc.

Finally, if you can't find the bank's information, you'll need to contact the FICOBA file, which will in turn contact the financial institutions as part of a search. For insurance contracts, this will be AGIRA.

Supporting documents to be prepared
For each request, you will need to submit supporting documents. Sending a simple letter will not suffice. Your request will not be processed, and you will have to contact the organization again.

What you'll need:

• The death certificate issued by the doctor.
• The act of death issued by the town hall of the place of death is essential for most formalities. Ask for several copies when you register.
• A copy of the deceased's proof of identity (national identity card, passport, residence permit, driving license, family record book or birth certificate).
• A copy of your proof of identity (Identity Card, passport, residence permit)
• Family record book (the death of a spouse, parent or minor child must be recorded in the family record book).
• Birth and marriage certificates can be requested from the town hall
• Copy of marriage contract or PACS registration
• Copy of the change of matrimonial property regime ruling
• Copy of divorce or legal separation decree
• Copy of the inventory of fixtures and/or security deposit if the deceased was a tenant
• Contact details for the condominium manager, real estate agency, tenants, etc.
• Bank account and insurance references
• Social security numbers and, if applicable, CAF numbers
• Copy of legal guardianship or curatorship
• Supplier status statements for contract numbers, references, etc.
• Information or statements from pension funds
• The SIREN number of your business
• Tax documents 
• Certificate of registration

Finally, the notary may ask you to provide additional information, such as donations, judgments, property appraisals and company documents (articles of association, minutes of general meetings, etc.).

What is a CERFA form?
The term CERFA used to designate a public body (Centre d'enregistrement et de révision des formulaires administratifs). Today, the term refers to an administrative document that acts as a link between a request and the administration.
CERFA forms are numerous, as they concern a wide range of administrative services. These documents provide the administration with the information it needs to process the request. 
If you'd like to apply for a death benefit, sell a vehicle, declare the loss of an identity card or declare an inheritance, you'll need to complete a CERFA form and attach it to your application, otherwise the authorities won't be able to take it into account.
 
Where can I find the right form?
There are several ways to find a CERFA. First, you can request it from the relevant administration. Note that with digitization, CERFAs are now available online. You can find them on service-public.fr by entering either the form number or the word CERFA along with the name of the form you are looking for.
 
How do I fill in the information on the CERFA form?
The information requested by the authorities on CERFA forms requires your full attention. Errors can lead to problems, particularly with tax documents.

To help you with your application, the forms are usually accompanied by instructions. If this is not the case, you'll need to look for the CERFA notice concerned, as it is not always attached to the form.

Following a death, a doctor draws up a death certificate. This certificate enables the town hall in the place of death or residence of the deceased to draw up an act of death.

This act of death is essential for the many formalities that will follow your death. Insurers, banks, suppliers, tax authorities, social security, pension funds, employers, landlords... will all ask for it. You'll need lots of copies to be able to modify or cancel contracts, block accounts and unblock insurance policies.
As you can see, this document is a must.
Ask for several originals and certified copies.

How do I obtain an act of death?
Anyone can request an act of death. You don't have to be a member of the family.

Death occurred in France
To obtain this document, you can request it in person at the town hall of the place of death, or at the town hall of the deceased's last domicile. 
If you go to the counter, they will be able to issue it immediately.
You can also choose to online application on the following link: www.service-public.fr
You can also request it by post from the relevant town hall.

Death occurred abroad
When the death occurs abroad, contact the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the embassy or consulate, so that they can contact the appropriate authorities in the country concerned. The act will then be drawn up by the local civil registry before being transcribed by the French civil registry. 
To request an act of death, contact the Service Central de l'État Civil of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs 11, rue de la Maison-Blanche - 44941 Nantes Cedex 9.
You can also apply online here: online application to the Service central d'état civil  
This is a long process, and you'll need to be patient.

Death of a foreigner in France
As in the case of the death of a French resident in France, you should contact the Mairie, which will draw up the death certificate.

We all have different life paths, and as such, each approach needs to be adapted. 

We work (or have worked) in different professional sectors, our families are different, some single-parent, others blended, some with dependent parents.

Real estate and personal property situations require different formalities.

Everyone must notify their insurance companies and banks in France and abroad... etc.
Postumo is specially designed to help families with administrative procedures.

They are tedious and emotionally taxing, and inevitably follow a death.