What to Do When Someone Dies: A Checklist for the First Days, Weeks and Months

What should you do in the first 24 to 48 hours?

Take a breath. Most of this list can wait a few days.

Get a legal pronouncement of death. Someone in authority, such as a doctor in a hospital or nursing facility or a hospice nurse, must officially pronounce the death. That person records the cause, time and place of death so the death certificate can be prepared (National Institute on Aging).

• In a hospital or nursing home, the staff will handle it.
• At home with hospice, call the hospice. A plan will usually be in place, and a hospice nurse can declare the death (AARP).
• At home without hospice, call the person's doctor, the medical examiner or coroner, or a funeral home. If the death was sudden or unexpected, call 911.

At home, there's no need to move the body right away. Many families take time to say goodbye or observe religious customs.

Act quickly on donation. A doctor may ask about organ donation around the time of death, and the decision has to be made quickly. If the person registered as a brain donor, their contact must be told within two hours (NIA). Organ donation usually requires dying in a hospital on artificial support. The hospital notifies the local organ procurement organization, which checks the state donor registry (organdonor.gov). Donation costs the family nothing, and an open-casket funeral is still possible. If the person arranged whole-body donation with a medical school, call the program right away (organdonor.gov FAQ).

Secure the home, pets and car. If the person lived alone, lock their home and vehicle, and make sure pets have caretakers (AARP). Put cash, jewelry, medications and papers somewhere safe.

What should you do in the first week?

Choose a funeral home or cremation provider. If the person left prepaid or written arrangements, start there. Under the FTC's Funeral Rule, funeral homes must give you prices by phone if you ask, and a General Price List to keep. You can buy only what you want, and the funeral home can't refuse a casket or urn you bought elsewhere or charge a fee to handle it. No state law requires routine embalming, and no law requires a casket for cremation (FTC).

Order certified death certificates. They come from the vital records office in the state where the death happened, and only certain relatives may be able to get them at first (USA.gov). You can often get copies through the funeral home (Experian). AARP suggests getting 10 or more.

Find the will and key papers. Check home files, a safe deposit box or the person's lawyer. Whoever holds the original will may have a legal duty to turn it in. In California, the custodian must deliver it to the court clerk within 30 days of learning of the death (Cal. Prob. Code §8200). A power of attorney ends at death, so the agent can no longer use it (Uniform Power of Attorney Act §110).

Write the obituary with care. Scammers read obituaries. The VA suggests leaving out the birth date, middle name, home address, birthplace and mother's maiden name (VA News). You can also use it to name a cause for memorial gifts.

Notify family, friends and the employer. Ask one or two people to help share the news so you don't have to make every call. If the person was working, contact the employer right away (AARP) and ask about final pay, group life insurance and retirement accounts.

What should you do in the first month?

Social Security. Funeral homes generally report deaths to Social Security, so you usually don't need to. If no funeral home is involved, call 800-772-1213 with the person's name, Social Security number, date of birth and date of death (SSA). Medicare also tells families to report a death to Social Security (Medicare.gov).

Social Security can't pay benefits for the month of death. If the person died in July, the payment that arrives in August is for July and must be returned. If it came by direct deposit, tell the bank so it can send it back (SSA Publication 05-10077).

Family members may qualify for:

• A one-time $255 payment. It goes to a spouse who lived with the person, or to a spouse living elsewhere who can get benefits on the person's record. If there's no spouse, an eligible child may get it. Apply within 2 years (SSA).
• Monthly survivor benefits. A widow or widower may qualify at 60 (50 with a disability) if married at least 9 months and not remarried before 60, or at any age while caring for the person's child. Ex-spouses married 10 years or more, unmarried children under 18 (or 18 to 19 and in high school full time), adult children disabled before 22 and dependent parents 62 or older may also qualify (SSA).

The VA. If the person was a veteran getting VA benefits, report the death at 800-827-1000 (select 5). If it isn't reported promptly, survivors or the estate may have to repay overpayments (VA News). The VA may help with burial costs, burial in a national cemetery and a headstone or marker (VA). An eligible surviving spouse listed in VA records gets a set burial payment automatically. Other claims generally must be filed within 2 years of burial if the death wasn't service-connected (VA).

Banks and insurers. Send each a certified death certificate. Life insurers also need the policy number (NIA). If you can't find a policy, the free NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator asks participating insurers to search. You'll hear back only if a policy is found and you're entitled to the information.

Credit bureaus. Send one bureau a copy of the death certificate with the person's legal name, Social Security number, date of birth and date of death. It will mark the file as deceased and notify the other two. A spouse can ask; anyone else needs court papers showing their authority (Equifax). You can't freeze a deceased person's credit, but the deceased notice warns any lender who pulls the report (TransUnion).

Debts. Debts are paid from the estate. Relatives usually don't owe them personally unless, for example, they cosigned or are a spouse in a community property state such as California. Debt collectors may not discuss the debt with anyone except the estate's representative (FTC).

Mail and services. If you shared an address, you may manage the person's mail. To forward all of it, the executor must go to a Post Office in person with proof of appointment; a death certificate alone isn't enough (USPS). Then cancel phone plans, subscriptions and other recurring charges. Our guide to digital assets covers online accounts.

What comes later: probate and final taxes?

Probate. If the person owned property in their name alone, the executor named in the will, or an administrator if there's no will, usually asks the probate court for authority to collect it, pay debts and distribute the rest. Accounts with a named beneficiary or surviving joint owner generally skip probate. Many states have a shortcut for small estates, with dollar limits that vary widely (Cornell LII). Our executor guide walks through each step.

Final income taxes. The personal representative files the person's final Form 1040, due when it normally would be, usually April 15 of the next year. Write "DECEASED," the name and the date of death across the top. To claim a refund, attach Form 1310, unless you're a surviving spouse filing jointly or a court-appointed representative attaching the court certificate. File Form 56 to tell the IRS who is acting for the person. An estate with gross income of $600 or more in a year files Form 1041 (IRS Publication 559).

Estate tax. For deaths in 2026, only estates over $15 million can owe federal estate tax (IRS). Some states tax smaller estates; see our estate tax guide.

What does the timeline look like?

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules vary by state; see your state's page.