The short answer
Report it, then shut the doors. Call the company that issued the card and report the account as fraud. You can also report it to your local police.
If you know of tax-related identity theft the IRS may not have on file, you can send it an identity theft affidavit. If no executor has been appointed, a child can file it.
The credit bureaus can flag your parent's file, though they usually want court papers from anyone but a spouse. After that, you can watch your parent's mail and accounts for at least a year.
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 your parent's mail yourself, or ask someone you trust nearby.
- Ask each bank and card company what it needs to close or freeze an account.
- File IRS Form 14039 if the IRS asks, or if you know of tax-related identity theft it may not have on file.
- Send one credit bureau the death notice if you are appointed, or ask whoever is appointed, or a surviving spouse, to send it.
- Report fraud to your local police and to the company involved.
- Check for new letters and statements for at least a year.
What can wait
- Closing every account at once. Start with the cards and accounts at risk.
- The credit bureau notice, until someone is appointed, unless a surviving spouse can send it.
- Requests for your parent's tax transcripts, until an executor or administrator is in place.
Who can help
The IRS, or a tax preparer, can tell you whether Form 14039 fits your case. Each bank or card company, on the number on its statement, can tell you how to close an account opened in your parent's name.
Your local police take reports of fraud. A probate lawyer can help when the person involved is someone you know.
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 3: Their Money
This page has the short answer and the closing lists from chapter 9. The full chapter explains, in plain words, what exists, what to ask, and who can answer. The book covers months 1 to 12 after the death.
Questions near this one
Other questions on related subjects, from this book and the others.
- How do I find all of their accounts? Book 2, Being in Charge
- Who is trying to scam me? Book 1, The First Month
- Who tells Social Security and the other offices? Book 1, The First Month
- Who files the final tax return, and when? Book 3, Their Money
Hear when Their Money is out
A short note when each book is out. Five or six emails a year at most. You can unsubscribe whenever you like.