The short answer
Follow the paper and the money. Your parent's mail, bank statements and old tax returns point to many of their accounts.
For what those miss, there are free official searches: each state's unclaimed property program, and the NAIC's life insurance locator. Savings bonds you find have their own Treasury rules.
Some of these searches, and many claims, need your court papers first. You can start the rest now.
This chapter explains how things usually work in the United States. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and the rules where you live may differ. Before you act on anything here, check it with one of the people named at the end of the chapter.
What to do
- Collect a year of your parent's mail and statements in one place.
- Search the unclaimed property program in every state your parent lived in, on MissingMoney.com or the state's own site.
- Search the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator, with the death certificate in front of you.
- Look for paper savings bonds among the papers and wherever your parent kept valuables.
- Ask the IRS for transcripts once you have your letters.
- Add each find to your list, with where it is held and whose name is on it.
What can wait
- Claiming what you find, small amounts included, until you have letters or know what your state's program accepts without them.
- Moving or closing any account.
- Every box and drawer at once. One source at a time is enough.
Who can help
Each state's unclaimed property office can answer questions about a claim there. TreasuryDirect answers questions about your parent's bonds and any online account.
For the online searches, a librarian at your public library can sit with you. If accounts keep surfacing, a probate lawyer or your parent's accountant can help you sort them.
The rules, phone numbers and web addresses in this book were checked against the agencies’, courts’ and organizations’ own pages in October 2026. Where a rule differs by state, the book names one state as an example. Check anything you rely on with the office itself.
From Book 2: Being in Charge
This page has the short answer and the closing lists from chapter 8. The full chapter explains, in plain words, what exists, what to ask, and who can answer. The book covers months 1 to 9 after the death.
Questions near this one
Other questions on related subjects, from this book and the others.
- How do I find the will and the papers, and what if I can't? Book 1, The First Month
- How do I claim life insurance? Book 3, Their Money
- How do I stop identity theft on a dead person's accounts? Book 3, Their Money
- Who files the final tax return, and when? Book 3, Their Money
Hear when Being in Charge is out
A short note when each book is out. Five or six emails a year at most. You can unsubscribe whenever you like.