When my husband died 4 years ago, the very last thing that I wanted to have anything to do with were finances. I barely remembered my own name in those first few weeks, let alone knowing what COBRA was, what life insurance was due to me, or what retirement accounts my husband had.But inevitably those things must be dealt with and so as soon as I was about to string several words together in order to make a coherent sentence I began the long process of delving into the paperwork hell that was our financial life. I found out one thing right off the bat, you do NOT need to go through probate if the estate is less then a certain amount, each state varies in the asset ceiling so check with your state laws. Also, another handy piece of knowledge was that, since my state was a community property state, I might have been responsible for half of my husbands debt even though I was not on the debt myself, such as a co-owner of a credit card. Luckily my husband and I did not incur any debt after we were married and it was determined that all the debt he had at his death was his and his alone. I was not responsible for it and thank god for that. My husband had a lot of debt, in fact his debt outweighed his assets almost three fold so probate was definitely not necessary.I was the beneficiary of a rather large life insurance policy of which I was not aware of. It was through his employer and they had the human resources director pay me a visit a few days after he died to advise me of my entitlements and the steps to acquiring them. Death benefits recieved from a life insurance policy are not taxable.Retirement accounts that are passed to a beneficiary, however, are, if…IF you use them, meaning if you cash them out. I simply rolled over both of my late husbands accounts into accounts in my name. I left them at the same companies and I will pay no taxes on them until I begin collecting on them in some 20+ years.I became sole owner of our house and that was also a simple process to change the title with no additional taxes being paid, just the same as before. The vehicles reverted to my name as well with no additional taxes needing to be paid.In most cases death benefits are not taxed. The only taxes might occur if you cash out a retirement or investment account that you are beneficiary of.Remember that these things do not have to be done the same day that your spouse dies, or even the same week or month. It was nearly a year later before I got around to the retirement accounts, by that time I was no longer in shock, I could think relatively straight, and I was able to procure some advise from finacial experts and lawyers. That is the best advice I can give, make sure you get some advise. If you dont think that you are in the right mind and still want to get some of this done or at least started take someone with you that you trust who will help you remember the details when you are home. Don’t make any snap decisions take time to think it over. Category:Home › Other • Pomegranates: A newly discovered superfood • Where did the joke why did the chicken cross the road come from and why is it funny? • Can mothers diagnosed with bipolar disorder make good parents? • Spiritual evolution of human consciousness • Tips for getting a college basketball scholarship • Living with Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) • Caring for the caregiver • Technologys impact on society