Economics and law connected to death

When someone dies, the death is reported to the National Registry. Thereafter, the probate court, bank, tax authorities and insurance company are automatically informed. The probate court is the authority that decides how the estate (i.e. the deceased’s assets and debt) will be processed, and who the heirs to the estate are. The division of the estate also depends on whether there’s a will. When the probate court receives notification of death, you, as the reporter of the death, will receive an e-mail about contacting the probate court via telephone. Before you contact the probate court, the heirs should have decided how they would like to shift the estate. When the estate has been shifted, a probate certificate is issued, which proves that the heirs can decide over the deceased’s estate. This means, for example, that you can fetch any property that the deceased had at the hospital. When the notice of death is registered in the National Registry, the deceased’s bank account, and joint accounts, will be frozen. The spouse of the deceased will only be able to withdraw money after the first meeting with the probate court. If a payment service is connected to the accounts, this will also be stopped, even if the spouses have a joint account. You may not withdraw money from the deceased’s accounts before they’re frozen or use the deceased’s cash. You should also not pay the deceased’s bills, as they’re included in the probate court’s inventory of assets and debt.