How to destroy a deceased person's check carbons, pay stubs, etc?

I believe the mandate for keeping tax records is 6 years, so I wouldn't destroy anything relating to his taxes for at least that long.

Who's handling his estate, if there is one?

I keep tax stuff 5 years. I would keep the check carbons for 2 yrs. Pay stubs for a year until I got my W2 and compared them. Bills I have paid a year in case someone comes back and says they haven't been paid. I keep bank statements 5 yrs just in case needed for Medicaid. But then if deceased, maybe a year or two. Like said, anything that may be needed for Probate. I kept the papers from the sale of Moms house and the old deed.

The rest of the junk you shred especially with SS# on it.

I was wondering about this a few months ago after settling my mom's estate. One uber simple solution I found was to put paper into a bucket of water for a few days then agitate until it breaks up or dissolves - beats shredding hundreds of little receipts.

It is important also to know that there are things that need to be kept for some years, and which things those are. All else gets shredded. If you are managing the estate you should keep anything you may need in future as proof against creditor claimants, and for taxes and etc. So just take care, get advice if you need it from an Estate administrator or Lawyer.

Shred them. Some localities offer free shredding . . . or 'shredding events'. Our town has them about 3 times a year. Very convenient .

A shredder