A practical sequence for the months after losing a spouse, and one deadline that is far longer than the figure usually quoted.
Losing a spouse is one of the most difficult things a person can go through. Alongside the grief, widows and widowers are handed a set of legal and financial tasks at the worst possible time.
None of this has to happen at once. What follows is the order most people find workable, starting with the one thing that has a clock on it.
Claim the Exemption: What the Deadline Actually Is
When one spouse dies without using their full federal estate tax exclusion, the unused portion can be transferred to the survivor. The amount carried over is based on the deceased spouse’s own exclusion in the year of death, which is fifteen million dollars for a death in 2026.1 Claiming it requires filing a federal estate tax return, Form 706, even where no tax is owed.
The deadline depends on whether the estate had to file anyway. Where it did, the return is due nine months after the death, with a six-month extension available.2 That is the figure most often quoted, and for most readers it is the wrong one.
Where the estate was not otherwise required to file, a complete Form 706 electing portability can be filed up to the fifth anniversary of the death.3 That covers almost every estate below the exclusion. If you are reading this two or three years on and believe you missed the window, you may well not have.
The window runs from the date of death, so for a death before late 2021 it has already passed. After that the remaining route is a private letter ruling, which is slow and expensive.
It is worth doing even where the surviving spouse expects never to owe estate tax. Circumstances change, and an unused exclusion is much harder to recover once the window closes.
One related point rarely gets mentioned. Property the decedent owned alone takes a basis equal to its fair market value at the date of death.4
A jointly held home or account works differently. For a joint tenancy where the two of you were the only joint tenants, only the decedent’s half is included in the estate, so only that half is stepped up.5
There is separate relief for the house. An unmarried surviving spouse can generally exclude up to five hundred thousand dollars of gain where the sale happens no later than two years after the death.6 The usual ownership and use tests have to have been met immediately before the death.
Locate Assets
For many couples, one spouse takes the lead in managing finances. If that was the spouse who died, the survivor may have to track assets down and build a master list.
Those assets might include bank accounts, brokerage accounts, retirement plans, real estate holdings, insurance policies, safe deposit boxes, digital assets, and personal property.
File Insurance Claims
The surviving spouse will likely need any life insurance and other proceeds they are entitled to. Filing promptly and in accordance with the insurer’s requirements helps ensure the financial protection their spouse arranged by naming them as beneficiary.
Apply for Benefits
A surviving spouse may qualify for Social Security survivor benefits and should contact the Social Security Administration to find out. There may be other benefits as well, including Veterans Affairs benefits, employment-related benefits, or pensions.
An inquiry should be made with each applicable agency. Each has its own rules, and you should not count on any of them contacting you.
Not sure where to start?
The portability question is the one with a clock, and most of the rest can wait until you are ready. Schedule a free consultation with Johnson Law Group and we will help you work out the order.
Change Title to Jointly Owned Property
Where spouses owned property together as joint tenants with right of survivorship, the surviving spouse will need to change the title document to show sole ownership. That makes the property easier to manage and the estate easier to wrap up.
Various kinds of property can be owned jointly, including real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, and brokerage accounts. Colorado does not recognize tenancy by the entirety, and a conveyance that would create one is treated as creating a joint tenancy.7 Joint tenancy is the form you are most likely to find.
Get Help With Everyday Finances
A surviving spouse who did not manage the household finances may need help pulling them together. That can mean reassessing the current position, building a new budget, and changing regular spending habits.
A financial advisor can help with this. It is also the task most people underestimate.
Update Beneficiaries
Many spouses name each other as beneficiaries on life insurance, checking accounts, retirement accounts, and other policies. After a death, those designations need reviewing and usually changing.
The person named on the beneficiary designation form controls, not what is stated in the will. That is the sentence worth remembering from this entire page.
Update Estate Planning Documents
The widow or widower may need to update documents naming their spouse as a beneficiary or in a fiduciary role, such as personal representative or trustee. Wills, trusts, and other documents may all need revisiting.
A recent death often prompts people to reconsider their own plans, both for leaving property and for managing it if they become incapacitated.
Create New Estate Planning Documents
New documents may be needed where the surviving spouse finds their own wishes were never properly recorded. Financial and health care powers of attorney let a principal designate an agent to make decisions about money or medical care if the principal cannot.
Those documents usually avoid the need for a Colorado guardianship or conservatorship proceeding later. A living will setting out health care wishes is usually prepared alongside them.
Organize Important Documents
This is the point to gather everything needed both to administer the estate and to plan ahead. Locate and organize the following.
Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and other estate planning documents. Pre-paid funeral arrangement documents. Statements for checking, savings, brokerage, and investment accounts.
Retirement plan documents and beneficiary designations. Life insurance policies and their beneficiary designations. Government benefit statements and paperwork.
Tax returns, credit card statements, mortgage documents, and deeds, titles, and other ownership documents. A certified death certificate, and several copies of it.
An inventory of all investment accounts and digital assets. Policies for all insurance coverage, including long-term care, disability, medical, homeowners, auto, and umbrella. Recurring and occasional bills.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to claim my spouse’s unused exemption?
Longer than often quoted. Where the estate was not otherwise required to file a return, a complete Form 706 electing portability can be filed up to the fifth anniversary of the death. Nine months is the statutory deadline for estates that had to file anyway.
Should I file if we were nowhere near the exemption?
Usually yes. The amount carried over is based on your spouse’s own exclusion in the year of death, which is fifteen million dollars for a death in 2026. Claiming it costs a return now and is much harder to recover once the window closes.
Does my will control who receives my retirement account?
No. The person named on the beneficiary designation form controls, not what is stated in the will. Reviewing those designations after a spouse dies is one of the most important tasks on this list.
Will I owe tax if I sell the house?
Often less than expected, though not always none. Property the decedent owned alone is stepped up to its value at death, but only the decedent’s half of a jointly owned home is. An unmarried surviving spouse who sells within two years can generally exclude up to five hundred thousand dollars of gain.
What do I need to change the title on jointly owned property?
It depends on the asset and the county, and a certified death certificate is the starting point for most of them. Where property was held as joint tenants with right of survivorship, the survivor takes it by operation of law and the paperwork records that.
Talk With a Colorado Attorney
Most of this can wait until you are ready. The portability question is the exception, and it is worth asking about early even if nothing else gets decided.
You can read about the background and experience of the attorneys on our team. You can find our offices in Denver, Colorado Springs, Commerce City, Englewood, and Fort Collins.
Johnson Law Group works with families across Colorado. Schedule a free consultation when you are ready to talk it through.
Sources
[2] 26 U.S.C. § 2010(c)(5)(A), with 26 U.S.C. § 6075(a) and § 6081 – the portability election is made on a timely filed estate tax return; the return is due nine months after the date of death and a six-month extension may be requested | https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/2010
[3] IRS Revenue Procedure 2022-32, effective July 8, 2022 – superseding Revenue Procedure 2017-34; where the executor was not otherwise required to file an estate tax return under 26 U.S.C. § 6018(a), a complete Form 706 electing portability may be filed on or before the fifth anniversary of the date of death | https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-22-32.pdf
[4] 26 U.S.C. § 1014 – basis of property acquired from a decedent; the basis is generally the fair market value at the date of death for property included in the gross estate | https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/1014
[5] 26 U.S.C. § 2040(b) – for a qualified joint interest between spouses, meaning a joint tenancy with right of survivorship where the spouses are the only joint tenants, one-half of the value is included in the decedent’s gross estate, so only that half receives a basis adjustment | https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/2040
[6] 26 U.S.C. § 121(b)(4) – an unmarried surviving spouse may use the $500,000 exclusion on the sale of a principal residence where the sale occurs not later than two years after the date of death and the requirements of paragraph (2)(A) were met immediately before that date | https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/121
[7] C.R.S. § 38-31-201 – Colorado does not recognize tenancy by the entirety; a conveyance that would create one is treated as creating a joint tenancy | https://colorado.public.law/statutes/crs_38-31-201