How long should you keep documents of deceased relatives?

The minimum is the closing of all succession and tax matters, which usually means several years after the death. Civil status records, notarial deeds and ownership documents stay indefinitely, because they come back at the next inheritance. Utility bills and routine settlements can go first.

Sort into three groups instead of looking for one date

There is no single deadline for “documents of the deceased”, because that is a set of a dozen different things with different useful lives.

Keep indefinitely: the death certificate, birth and marriage certificates, notarial deeds, property ownership documents, the court order confirming acquisition of the estate or the notarial deed of certification of succession, the will. These come back in every subsequent matter in the family, sometimes twenty years later.

Keep until matters close, and then some: filings and settlements of inheritance and gift tax, documentation of the division of the estate, correspondence with banks and insurers, documents concerning debts of the estate. As long as claims or a correction of a settlement remain possible, the paper has value.

Can go first: utility bills, confirmations of minor payments, marketing correspondence, documents of subscription agreements already terminated.

Why it pays to wait longer than it seems

Succession matters rarely end with the funeral. A claim for a reserved share, assets nobody knew about coming to light, or a dispute over the size of the debts can surface long after the family considered the subject closed. The document that settles it costs, today, roughly the space it takes in a box.

The best moment to sort things out

Not right after the funeral. The first weeks are taken up with formalities, and a decision that something “is no longer needed” taken while grieving tends to be irreversible. A sensible order is: scan everything, organise it digitally, and only after succession matters close decide what disappears in paper form. A scan costs nothing to keep, so the decision about paper stops being final.