We use Marriott, and quite often I book a reservation that’s in my name, but have them add his name to the reservation, so he can check in earlier. They have no idea whether and when I’ll show and don’t care, because not everyone arrives at the same time. They also let me use my points to book reservations in his name. Fortunately Marriott allows you to do that.
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Same here. I can even make a Marriott Rez using points, and just call to add [kid’s name] to the Rez. They’ve never had a problem checking in or receiving my Level perqs.
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I think both the big ones - Marriott and Hilton - nowadays let you do this. Some smaller chains and property management companies don’t.
Not sure I’d be risking making a reservation from a deceased person’s account though. 
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Th AmEx card that earns the points is in his name; I’m a secondary user. So that’s one of the cards that would have to be cancelled. Much clearer to transfer the points to my account.
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I had not thought of this at all. Most expenses do not go down right away other than food, car and medical. Housing is the same unless one moves. I guess travel would decline. And, as you point out, some expenses will increase. Thanks for pointing this out.
It is not really incorporated into our planning, but I think our financial plan assumes we will die at ages 98 and 100 (in a car going over a cliff Thelma and Louise style). But, a lot of the expenses are per household and not per person, but incomes are largely per person. I guess that would not be true if your retirement savings were in a 401k rather than a traditional pension plan.
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Turbo Tax is like the IRS - in years past, you used to be able to talk to someone for free – I did keep that 800 phone number with Turbo Tax and was able to get through to them for free help last year. or the year before I don’t remember the specifics on what help was needed and the solution.
My laptop computer was updated last year because of Windows 10 no longer getting supported so got a new laptop.
Years ago, DH got some work bonuses, and I didn’t calculate our federal taxes correctly. I actually understood what had happened (with receiving the IRS notice) and talked to a knowledgeable tax person at the IRS (she even commented it was nice to talk to someone who could follow what she was saying) - those days probably sadly are gone. I was given a phone number with the paperwork sent to me.
We had an unusual tax situation some years ago with closing out my parents’ trust and some income and tax write-offs. I knew Turbo Tax didn’t handle correctly, so we got in with a CPA and filed an amended return through him - it took him very little time and CPA cost, and saved me thousands on federal taxes.
As a single person, my two cents is that many household expenses for a one person household are not substantially lower than a two person household.
Consumables such as groceries or toiletries, and a bit of the water bill will be lower (if you don’t irrigate, you’ll notice a bit of difference of fewer showers and laundry, but it’s not half the cost of a two person household), but the heat, water, cable/internet, electricity, subscriptions, property taxes, home repair, lawn/garden care, etc….all of that is pretty much just the same costs as a two person household.
When it comes to travel, it depends on where the bulk of your expenditures go: if you’re always on the move you’ll be buying just one plane ticket, or one train or bus ticket, you’ll also pay just for yourself in eating out, but…as a single person you pay the same price for the hotel room as a couple does, and a car rental is the same price for a solo traveller as a couple. So travel is “sort of less, but also more.”
Also…your tax bracket. It’s a tax break to be married. (Not just federal and state taxes, but if you own your home, the MFJ cap gains deduction is twice that of a single person.)
I’m a 100% solo parent, and my grocery/restaurant costs certainly go down when my kiddo is at school, but my utility bills are not meaningfully different when he is here vs. when he’s away.
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That’s probably the last thing I’d be thinking about after a loved ones death. However, if I die first and whatever hotel/airline I have points/miles with has a policy of disappearing those benefits, I’d hope my husband finds a way to use them before closing my account. Hopefully the airlines/hotels don’t do that, but I wouldn’t put it past them.
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A friend of mine’s husband died a couple of years ago, and they (in his name) had lots of airline miles. It was NOT an easy process to get to use them, but eventually it did work out. There were enough for at least a family trip (of 5) to Hawaii from the east coast, and I believe more than that.
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I am guessing that you are filing as Head of Household now. Brace yourself for the drop to Single filing brackets. It was an unhappy adjustment when I moved from HOH to Single: lower standard deduction and much narrower brackets. HOH falls halfway between Single and MFJ.
P.S. I agree with all of your comments about household expenses being almost the same for one as two or more. I notice the jump in the water bill when my children are home at the holidays.
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Thanks for this, I also notice that Fidelity is offering it to me for free.
I watched my husband do the taxes for years and I never wished to take on that responsibility. (I paid all the bills and managed the investments). Two years ago, he died in January and my neice who works for KPMG helped me pull all the files together for the upload to the CPA (hired after my husband got sick).
My CPA has been a big help and I’ve appreciated her responses to a few questions throughout the year. She’s super helpful when my FA suggests I verify something with her.
To me, it is a reasonable expense and a good check on the situation.
Who knows how fast I will age? Maybe I will develop memory issues. I like the idea of someone else taking this on to make sure things stay clean for my adult kids.
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Yes, I’m steeling myself for that change from HoH to Single, both in increased taxes and ACA premiums - it’s going to be painful. My kiddo is a junior in college now, so it’s not far off, even though the plan is for them to be living at home for quite awhile after graduation.
(I can’t help be a bit grumpy sometimes about how there are so many costs and premiums to being widowed or single 
)
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Marilyn and others —
My husband was Titanium with Marriott and I got my own account a couple of years before he died. It took a little effort, but in the end, Marriott transferred all points to me and also gave me a choice of 1 year of his highest status or two years at the next level down. I took the two years of Platinum and am now earning enough nights to keep that level.
He did not travel for business so we earned those points together.
I hope this helps.
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I only mentioned filing your own taxes b/c you referenced the expense of the CPA.
I think I am the only person among my family and friends who files own taxes, so I completely understand not wanting to touch it. Great that you have a helpful CPA and FA.
I think the free Fidelity offer just appeared in the last day or so. I saw it earlier this evening on my account when I read mention of it on another site.
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I sent you a message with specifics about ACA, HOH, and graduation year b/c the info is unrelated to retirement.
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On tax software, I’ve been using H&R Block Deluxe and State for years; they took over TaxCut. I can usually find it for $30-40 on NewEgg in December. I do our taxes and for son; it includes five Federal e-filings. I like all the autofills from previous years to help make sure we aren’t missing any 1099’s. It does include support, although not sure how easy it is to get live help vs AI. But it is available.
I’m fairly comfortable with taxes; once worked for Social Security and have studied accounting so forms and weird rules don’t scare me. We did have a free initial consultation with a CPA when we moved from Illinois to California and taxes included mid-year state residency, sale of our home, and inheritance from my mother’s estate. I had done all the forms, software and manually. He had one small suggestion to add to itemized taxes.
2025 will be a higher income year than average - as retirees it had been fairly uniform except for capital gain distributions. (Thanks to inherited mutual funds, those have sometimes been significant.) We had to start drawing RMD’s in 2024 and could defer until 2025, which we partially did. So the balance of 2024 and all of 2025 are in the income.
We are somewhat amused by the fact that retirement fund balances have hardly decreased even after starting RMD’s thanks to market conditions. I told husband it looks like we will have to live forever since they’re not going down.
I do realize we will likely have a substantial payment for April 15 but we have covered Safe Harbor through withholding from the RMD’s.
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We all know that 2 people living together is not twice the cost of 1 - which is why students and young adults have roommates. I think once a spouse dies, you need to seriously think about your living arrangements - how much space do you really need, what can you get rid of and downsize, how much maintenance are you willing to do, what can you afford as a single person, etc. Not something to rush into while you are still grieving, but an important part of starting that new phase of your life. I live in a 55+ apartment building (with my husband) and I see many people move here after their spouse dies and they no longer want a house to deal with (both men and women feel this way).
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Maybe someday there will need to be a CC “Golden Girls” compound 
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@kiddie I am well aware. I love the house H and I bought 4 years ago. But it is not so simple. I looked into condos in my neighborhood. They are either older and need extensive reno or new and very expensive. I could theoretically afford one, but it’s way more than I am comfortable spending and the monthly fees are high. Many people here can’t afford them at all. So their option are very limited.
I am not interested in moving out of my community. Period. I have a large group of friends here and they are my support system. That’s doubly important to me now. We are in a large city and “55+ apartment buildings” do not exist here.
That said I have been working hard to get rid of a lot of stuff (much of it is H’s, I have an entire garage full of tools and fishing gear) in anticipation to moving to a rental apartment in my neighborhood. I am also researching apartments. Again, they are pricey. I can afford it, but others cannot.
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It can be a tough problem. I have an older single friend who lost her house years ago. She decided she might not be able to keep up with rent increases, opted to purchase a small house in order to keep expenses level (somewhat level… taxes and insurance increase).
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