My brother recently passed away unexpectedly and I can say with certainty that the well established processes are not smooth, and in fact I’d say that it’s a 50/50 shot that even when you follow each step to a “T” - have all of the paperwork and talk with everyone you can reach - you’ll receive no help at all. After weeks you’ll simply be told the accounts can’t be made available to you and there is nothing you can do. Trying to navigate these processes while also managing your grief, increases the level of difficulty By a magnitude. Apart from that, an unexpected death leaves a hole that your loved ones will try to fill with anything you have left behind, it’s impossible to anticipate what they will want to keep of yours when you’re gone. All I can say is that if you ever have the thought that it would be helpful to write a few things down in case the worst were to happen, do it. It’s hard to fully explain how much easier it will make the grieving process.
