Hi, Amanda and others!
I'd like to offer an alternative idea which I have used for many years.
When a donor dies, John suggested removing the spouse cross-reference or relationship or the gift soft-credit link. However, I often recommend leaving this in place through the end of the current fiscal year. This is, provided, you have gift club or recognition society rules which include soft credit for consideration during calculation.
My experience has been there may be giving prior to the donor passing away, but, too, a surviving spouse or family will sometimes give in memory of their loved one who has passed. In these cases, I often recommend to my clients to continue to include both the name of the deceased donor and the spouse (or, family, if you have gift-recognition at the family or household level as some do), even denoting which spouse(s) have passed, if that's something you've historically done.
This allows an accurate calculation of the gift society rules, ensures both spouses calculate at the same gift club level (especially if you are on an old system which may not have this feature) and allows for accurate donor recognition for the entire fiscal year.
Then, as a data cleanup task at the beginning of the new fiscal year (recommended to be automated), THEN break the spouse cross-reference, relationship or soft-credit link before gift societies begin calculating for the new FY.
Just wanted to offer another idea along these lines.
Thanks,
Dave
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David Smittle
Senior Consultant
Strata Information Group (SIG)
419-230-8147