Junk Mail Magic

Separate marketing requests from estate tasks

Use two folders. The first holds any mail that could affect the estate. The second holds plain advertising that you may ask senders to stop. Sort every envelope before you act on it. That way a marketing request never gets mixed up with mail that carries real consequences.

By Junk Mail Magic. Updated .

Set up the folders

  1. Folder 1 is for anything that mentions an account, a balance, a deadline, a claim or a legal matter. Also put mail from government offices, courts and lawyers here.
  2. Folder 2 is for catalogs, coupons, fundraising appeals and sales offers. Put a piece here only when you are sure it is advertising.
  3. Anything you can't classify goes in Folder 1. That includes an offer that seems to come from a bank or insurer the person used. Check it with the sender through an official contact route you find yourself.
  4. Group Folder 2 by sender. Write the date of each request next to the sender's name.

What Folder 2 does not touch

USPS treats advertising-list removal and ongoing forwarding of all a deceased person's mail as separate matters. An executor or administrator arranging that forwarding must bring proof of appointment to a Post Office. A death certificate alone is not enough. USPS provides a separate procedure for forwarding one piece when you shared the deceased person's address. Requests to advertisers don't change where mail is delivered. If you aren't sure you have authority to contact a sender for the estate, ask whoever is administering it before you write.

Private sorting worksheet

Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.

Folder 1 (estate correspondence): [sender] | [subject] | [deadline shown] | [who reviews it] Folder 2 (advertising): [sender] | [name as printed] | [mailing address] | [date request sent] | [reply received] Unclear items: [sender] | [why unclear] | [official contact route used to verify] | [outcome]

Start with the largest pile

Assign an owner to each unresolved item in the estate folder before working through the advertising folder. For the clear advertisements, record the sender and the date of any authorized preference request. A submitted request is a task completed, not confirmation that a sender stopped.

Official source

Handle estate-related advertising after a home is soldVerify unfamiliar charity mail in an estate’s papersSeparate forwarding from advertising removal after a deathFollow up when a sender says it does not own the listAfter a lossAll practical mail guides

Keep personal records with the organization that handles them

Junk Mail Magic is for ordinary unwanted advertising. Use the official contact route in this guide for records, account changes or someone else’s correspondence.

Compare removal routes