What to Do When Someone Dies

⏰ The First 24 Hours: Pronouncement, Family, Funeral Home

The first day is about a few calls, not legal decisions. Everything else can wait 48 to 72 hours.

1. Get a legal pronouncement of death. A doctor, hospice nurse, or emergency responder must declare the death. You need this before a death certificate can be issued. In a hospital or care facility, staff handle it.
2. Tell close family and friends. Call the people who need to hear it from you. Then hand the rest of the list to one or two trusted people, so you are not making dozens of calls yourself.
3. Call a funeral home or cremation provider. They transport your loved one and walk you through the first decisions. Check for a pre-paid funeral plan first, because it may already name a provider.
4. Secure the home. Lock up, collect the mail, secure medications and valuables, and arrange care for any pets or dependents.
5. Rest, and eat something. Grief is physically exhausting. This is part of the list, not a break from it.

🏠 If Someone Dies at Home, Who You Call Depends on Whether It Was Expected

This is the question families most often face with no warning, usually at night.

📅 In the First Week, Order Death Certificates Before Anything Else

Almost every institution wants a certified death certificate before it will talk to you, and most keep the copy you send. The funeral home can usually order them for you.

1. Order 10 to 15 certified death certificates. Banks, insurers, pension plans, the DMV, and property transfers each want one. Ordering extra now is cheaper and faster than going back later.
2. Find the will and estate documents. Check the home safe, a fire box, the desk, a safe deposit box, and their attorney. If you are coming up empty, start with our guide to finding documents after a parent dies.
3. Notify the employer. Ask about the final paycheck, accrued vacation, employer life insurance, the 401(k) or pension, and COBRA health coverage for the family.
4. Contact life insurance companies. Each insurer has its own claim form and time limits, so start early. Employer life cover is the one families miss, because no bill ever arrives for it.
5. Freeze their credit. Send a death certificate to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion and ask for a deceased alert. Identity thieves target the recently deceased. Then read up on shredding a deceased person’s documents.
6. Keep a log. Every call, every account number, every claim filed. A notebook or spreadsheet will save hours of backtracking.

🏛️ Report the Death to Social Security Right Away

The funeral home usually reports the death to the Social Security Administration for you. Ask them to confirm it. If they do not, call Social Security yourself.

📜 With a Will, the Executor Leads. Without One, State Law Decides

Whether there is a will changes who is in charge and how long things take.

⚖️ Settling the Estate Takes Months, Not Weeks

Once the executor or administrator is appointed, the work moves from phone calls to paperwork. An estate attorney is worth it for disputes, real estate in more than one state, a business, or anything that feels beyond you.

1. Get an EIN and open an estate bank account. The IRS issues the estate its own tax ID. Estate income and bills run through this account, never a personal one.
2. Inventory assets and debts. Bank and investment accounts, property, vehicles, loans, and credit cards. Family members generally are not personally liable for the debts. Our guide to inheriting a parent’s debt explains the exceptions.
3. Notify creditors. Most states set a formal process and deadline for creditor claims, sometimes including a published notice.
4. File the final tax returns. The final Form 1040 is due by the usual April deadline the year after death. The estate files Form 1041 if it earns $600 or more in a year.
5. Pay debts, then distribute what is left. Keep every receipt. The executor may have to account to the court and the heirs.

For the weeks right after the service, our 30-day checklist for after the funeral breaks this down day by day.

💻 Close Accounts and Subscriptions Before They Keep Charging

Recurring charges keep draining accounts for months, and locked devices are where families get stuck the longest.

We cover the platform-by-platform rules in what happens to your digital accounts when you die, and the ones families forget in 10 accounts to cancel when someone dies.

📄 The Documents You Will Need, in One List

Gather these as you go. You will be asked for most of them more than once.

• Legal. Will, trust, power of attorney, advance directive, marriage and divorce records
• Identity. Birth certificate, Social Security number, passport, military discharge papers
• Financial. Bank and investment statements, retirement accounts, loans, mortgage, credit cards
• Property. Deeds, vehicle titles, property tax records, safe deposit box details
• Insurance. Life, health, home, auto, disability, and long-term care policies
• Tax. The last three years of returns, plus W-2s and 1099s for the current year

Not all of it needs keeping forever. Our guide to which documents to keep after someone dies, and for how long gives the timelines.

💛 Grief Is Not a Checklist Item

No list can tell you how to feel, and grief does not follow a timeline. It is okay to delegate, to hire help, and to take a day off from handling things.

A grief counselor, a hospice bereavement group, or a program like GriefShare can help. Try to avoid major decisions, like selling the house, in the first year.