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The short answer
Found a document you can't identify? The common finds after a death: a will (signatures and witnesses on the last pages), a trust (an agreement naming a trustee), an insurance policy (a schedule page with dollar amounts), a deed (a legal property description), and a letter of instruction (no legal formatting at all). Match yours below, keep the original, and note where you found it.
Reviewed August 2026
What to do with what you found →Does the estate need probate? →
Before you start
Found paperwork after a death and not sure what it is? Match it to common document types and see the effect each document typically has at death. Keep the original, and write down where you found it. When it’s about who owns what, ask somebody qualified before you act on it.
See what to do next →Free tool
You’re holding a stack of paperwork and you aren’t sure what half of it is. Pick what it looks like. You’ll get plain English on what it does, whether it still works now that they have died, and what to do with it.
General information, not legal advice. Some rules vary by state. Nothing you click is sent anywhere or saved.
Pick what you found
Pick a document on the left. If you aren’t sure which one it is, start with whatever the title at the top of the page says, or the one that looks closest.
Sorting everything at once? The Who to Notify tracker turns this pile into a checklist.