Boyfriend left life insurance & 401k to my friend & she doesn't know steps to take. Copy of will also needed.

She is the beneficary on both. Talked to insurance co. and trustee... they want copy of death cert. (how can she get that?) His family is being real rude to her about it all. He did not get along with them. Thanks in advance!

Once the will is filed in probate court, it's a matter of public record. If there's an administrator, the will's been filed. If the administrator doesn't follow the will, they can be jailed.

Death certificates are ALSO public records. She only has to go down to the public office that records that stuff, pay $10 or so for a certified copy, and they'll give her one.


Keep in mind, if there's a wife somewhere, SHE is the one that will get the 401K. It's automatic.

If she is the owner or beneficiary of the insurance policy, the insurance company will contact her. If she is the beneficiary of the 401K the trustee will contact her. If they don't contact her, she should contact them and explain that her boyfriend died. If she is not the beneficiary of either and there is no will, then her boyfriend did not leave her anything. His estate will be distributed according to state law to his nearest relatives.

You provide too little information to get a good answer.

If you are saying she needs a copy of his will then all she has to do is go to the local county courthouse where he lived, pay a small fee and make a copy of it. If he had one and it was filed then it's public record there. If he didn't have one but she is listed as the beneficiary of the 401K and life insurance then she doesn't need it anyway if it also lists her as beneficiary, if it doesn't then she may have problems with his family. She should contact his company about the 401K, they can give her the info about what financial office handles their accounts, then she can call them. The life insurance she needs to call the insurance company directly. Usually they will contact her to set everything up. She will need a copy of his death certificate for both of these I believe.

When someone is made a beneficiary, meaning to say that the person who is deceased gave instructions directly to the company about who the money is to go to, this surpasses the need for a Will. As far as I know, the issue isn't contestable.
The life insurance people will need a copy of the Death Certificate which should be supplied by the Executor of the Will or if there is no will, the administrator of the estate. If the insurance and 401k was thru a company plan and the person was still with the company at the time, I'm guessing that the Death Certificate might not be necessary. (there's good odds I'm wrong on that and about to be corrected).
If she has been named beneficiary, she might not need to wait for the estate to go thru standard probate proceedings (again, I may be wrong about this and about to hear it) All estates go thru probate legal proceedings whether there's a Will or not. It provides a documentation to the state that property matter were distributed properly. A clearcut Will w/o conflicts makes things go easier.
I suggest that she calls the insurance company and the 401k company. She can ask if she is the beneficiary, though I don't know if they are allowed to give this info to someone other than the Executor/Administrator. If they say yes, she can find out what she needs to do, but mostly I advise that she calls them to make sure that they have the right info to contact her with, meaning address and phone number.

Contact the life insurance company and the 401-have them send you a request for the death certificate in order to settle the issue. Take the request to the county records office and with that documentation, you can request a death certificate. Order more than you need, you would be suprized how many requests you get for them. If she is indeed the documented beneficiary, she does not need to wait for the trustee to contact her.

If she is a named beneficiary, they will contact her. The will has nothing to do with life insurance proceeds or 401(k) beneficiary designations. Unless she is the executor of the estate, she has no right of access to the will.