Couples who have been married for a long time often fall into a routine regarding how the marital responsibilities are divided. This routine may also apply to financial responsibilities. One spouse may handle all of the investment responsibilities and the other may handle the household financial responsibilities such as monthly bill paying and checkbook balancing. Quite often, however, when one spouse dies unexpectedly and there is no written documentation and record-keeping, it can turn into a nightmare for the surviving spouse.
When a spouse passes, and he or she handled all investments, the surviving spouse may suddenly find him or herself unsure of what or where those investments, as well as other bank accounts, are located. He or she may also have issues gaining access to those accounts.
If a spouse passes, and he or she handled the day-to-day household bills, the surviving spouse may not have any idea what those bills are or even how to access their checking account information. In fact, with more people utilizing online account and bill-paying options, many surviving spouses cannot gain access to those accounts because they do not know the the required passwords.
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