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What to do when someone dies: a calm, step-by-step checklist

When someone dies, the first steps are to get the death legally pronounced, call the people who need to know, and choose a funeral home. In the following days you order death certificates, find the will and secure the home. Over the next weeks you notify Social Security, insurers, banks and the credit bureaus, and start probate if it is needed.

By the Omliva team · Published September 17, 2026 · Updated September 17, 2026

Omliva organizes practical information. This guide is general information for the United States, not legal, tax, financial or medical advice.

A short note before you start

This guide covers deaths in the United States and is general information, not legal, tax, financial or medical advice. Many details depend on your state, so where a rule varies we say so and point you to the right office.

Immediately: the first hours

If the death happens at home

  • With hospice: call the hospice number. The nurse will come, pronounce the death and help with next steps. NIA notes that "a plan for what happens after death will already be in place" (NIA, checked 2026-09-17).
  • Without hospice, expected death: call the person's doctor or the local medical examiner to arrange the pronouncement. If you cannot reach anyone, call 911 and say the death was expected. Have any do-not-resuscitate order ready to show.
  • Unexpected death: call 911. Police or the medical examiner may need to be involved before the body can be moved.
  • There is no need to move the body right away. You can sit with the person, call family, and follow religious or cultural customs (NIA, checked 2026-09-17).

If the death happens in a hospital, nursing home or hospice facility

Staff will pronounce the death and complete the forms. Ask how long the body can stay and tell them which funeral home to call and any customs that matter to your family.

Organ, eye and tissue donation

If the person was a registered donor, the hospital notifies the organ procurement organization. Organ donation almost always requires a hospital ventilator. Tissue donation is possible after most deaths but must happen within 24 hours (organdonor.gov, checked 2026-09-17). If you are unsure of the person's wishes, check the driver's license or the state donor registry and ask the hospital right away.

Who to call in the first hours

  1. Close family, and the named executor if you know who that is.
  2. The funeral home, or whoever will make those calls for you.
  3. The employer, if the person was working.
  4. A faith leader, if wanted.

First days

Choose a funeral home and know your rights

Under the FTC Funeral Rule you can get prices over the phone, you must be handed an itemized General Price List, you may buy only what you want, and you can supply a casket or urn bought elsewhere (FTC, checked 2026-09-17). In most states a family can even handle a death without a funeral director (Funeral Consumers Alliance, checked 2026-09-17). Check for a letter of instruction or prepaid plan first.

Order death certificates

The funeral home usually orders certified copies from the vital records office. You need one for nearly every account, claim and title. AARP recommends "up to 10 or more copies," because most institutions keep the copy you send (AARP, checked 2026-09-17). Each state sets its own fee per copy; USA.gov links to the CDC's state-by-state vital records list (USA.gov, checked 2026-09-17).

Find the will and other papers

Look for the original will, any trust, insurance policies, deeds, account statements and a list of online accounts. Check the home office, a safe, a safe deposit box, the drafting attorney and the county court. A family guide, if the person made one (Omliva produces one from guided questions), puts all of this in one place.

Secure the home, the car and the pets

Lock the house, collect valuables and papers, clear the fridge, stop deliveries and have someone check on the property. Move pets to a relative or boarding until a permanent home is settled (AARP, checked 2026-09-17). Keep the heat, insurance and alarm running.

Mail and social media

  • Mail: if you shared the address you may open and manage the mail. To forward all of it, the executor must visit a Post Office in person with proof of appointment; a death certificate alone is not enough (USPS, checked 2026-09-17). Register the name with the Deceased Do Not Contact list at DMAchoice.org to cut advertising mail.
  • Facebook: ask for the profile to be memorialized. It then shows "Remembering" next to the name and drops out of birthday reminders. A legacy contact can manage the memorial page but cannot log in or read messages (Facebook Help Center, checked 2026-09-17). Other platforms have similar forms.

First weeks

A timeline at a glance

When Do this Who to contact
Days 1 to 3 Pronouncement, funeral home, family calls, secure the home Hospice or 911, funeral director
Week 1 Order 10+ death certificates, locate the will, forward mail Funeral home, vital records, USPS
Weeks 1 to 2 Report the death, ask about survivor benefits Social Security, employer, pension, VA
Weeks 2 to 4 File life insurance claims, notify banks, place a deceased notice Insurers, banks, one credit bureau
Weeks 2 to 6 Cancel services, return passport, cancel license Utilities, phone, DMV, State Department
Months 1 to 3 Start probate or a small-estate procedure, get an estate EIN Probate court, IRS
Months 3 to 12 Final tax returns, retitling, distribution, closing IRS, county recorder, court

Social Security and Medicare

Give the funeral director the Social Security number so they can report the death. If they did not, call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (USA.gov, checked 2026-09-17). Return any payment received for the month of death or later. A surviving spouse, and sometimes children or dependent parents, may qualify for survivor benefits. Ask about the $255 lump-sum death payment, which must be claimed within 2 years (SSA, checked 2026-09-17). SSA notifies Medicare for you.

Pension, employer and retirement accounts

Ask HR about final pay, unused leave, group life insurance and the 401(k). For a pension, contact the plan; if PBGC took the plan over, call 1-800-400-7242 and PBGC will check whether survivor benefits are due (PBGC, checked 2026-09-17). Retirement accounts pass by beneficiary designation, not by the will, so the named beneficiary contacts the custodian directly.

Life insurance

File a claim with each insurer using a death certificate and the policy number. For a policy you cannot find, submit a free request to the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator; participating insurers search their records and contact you if they find a match (NAIC, checked 2026-09-17).

Banks, credit cards and debts

Tell each bank and card issuer. Joint accounts stay open for the surviving owner; accounts in the person's name alone are frozen until an executor is appointed. Do not pay the person's debts from your own money. The CFPB says debts "should be paid from any money or property they left behind," and you are generally not responsible unless you co-signed, hold a joint account, or live in a community property state (CFPB, checked 2026-09-17). Collectors may not claim you personally owe the money (FTC, checked 2026-09-17).

Credit bureaus: protect against identity theft

Thieves use obituaries to open credit in a deceased person's name. Send a copy of the death certificate, the person's name, Social Security number, dates of birth and death, and proof that you are the spouse or legal representative to one bureau. Equifax states that when one bureau adds a deceased notice it "will notify the other two" (Equifax, checked 2026-09-17). SSA or creditors usually inform the bureaus eventually, but reporting directly closes the gap (Experian, checked 2026-09-17). Request the credit report at the same time to find unknown accounts.

VA benefits if the person was a veteran

Ask the funeral home to request the burial flag and a Presidential Memorial Certificate. Veterans discharged under other than dishonorable conditions may be buried in a national cemetery (VA, checked 2026-09-17). For a private cemetery, a VA burial allowance may help; claims for a non-service-connected death must be filed within 2 years of the burial (VA, checked 2026-09-17). A surviving spouse or child may also qualify for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation or a Survivors Pension.

Subscriptions, services and government IDs

Cancel phone, streaming, memberships and auto-renewing charges. Ask the DMV to cancel the license and transfer titles, return the passport to the State Department, cancel voter registration, and stop benefits such as SNAP or Medicaid (USA.gov, checked 2026-09-17).

First months

Probate basics

Probate is the court process that confirms the will, appoints the executor and supervises paying debts and distributing property. Assets with a named beneficiary, joint property and anything in a living trust usually skip it. Most states offer a simplified procedure for small estates, with dollar limits that differ by state (Nolo, checked 2026-09-17). Search "[your state] courts self-help probate" for the forms, and see our executor checklist for the full workflow.

Taxes

The final federal income tax return is due on the normal deadline, usually April 15 of the next year, and a surviving spouse can still file jointly for that year (IRS, checked 2026-09-17). The estate needs its own tax ID and a Form 1041 if it earns $600 or more (IRS, checked 2026-09-17). A federal estate tax return is required only above the filing threshold, $15,000,000 for deaths in 2026 (IRS, checked 2026-09-17). Some states have lower thresholds or an inheritance tax.

Retitling and Medicaid recovery

Real estate, vehicles and investment accounts are retitled once the executor has the court's letters. If the person received Medicaid long-term care after age 55, the state may claim against the estate, but not while a spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child survives (Medicaid.gov, checked 2026-09-17).

Digital accounts

Email, photos, cloud storage, crypto and online banking are often the hardest to reach. Look for a written list of accounts. Most platforms have a deceased-user process that asks for a death certificate and proof of authority.

If you are the spouse

You can usually keep using joint accounts and stay in the home. Ask SSA about survivor benefits before you claim your own, because timing changes what you receive over your lifetime. File jointly for the year of death, and check whether you qualify for the "Qualifying Surviving Spouse" status for the two following years if you have a dependent child (IRS, checked 2026-09-17). If you inherit an IRA, you can treat it as your own or stay a beneficiary; the choice affects required withdrawals (IRS Publication 590-B, checked 2026-09-17). Do not rush big decisions about the house or investments in the first year.

If you are the adult child

Find out whether you or a sibling is named executor before anyone acts. Until the court appoints someone, your job is to protect, not to distribute. Non-spouse beneficiaries of an inherited IRA generally must empty the account within 10 years (IRS Publication 590-B, checked 2026-09-17), so talk to a CPA before taking money out. Share the workload: one person handles the funeral, another the paperwork, another the house. Keep a shared log of every call and every dollar.

Grief and support

It is normal to feel sad, numb or lost for a while. The National Institute on Aging suggests eating well, sleeping, moving, talking with caring friends, and joining a grief support group. If everyday activities stay hard or the pain is not easing after many months, talk with your doctor; NIA describes "complicated grief" as a real condition that can be treated (NIA, Coping With Grief and Loss, checked 2026-09-17). Hospices often run free bereavement groups open to the public.

When to get professional help

Call a probate attorney if there is no will, the will is contested, property sits in more than one state, the estate may not cover its debts, or a business is involved. Call a CPA for the final return, an estate income tax return, or any estate near the federal threshold. Talk to a financial advisor before rolling over retirement money. Attorney and CPA fees are normally paid by the estate.

Frequently asked questions

What is the first thing to do when someone dies?

Get the death legally pronounced. At home with hospice, call the hospice nurse; without hospice, call the doctor or the medical examiner, or 911 if the death was unexpected. Then call close family and a funeral home. Everything else can wait a day.

How many death certificates do I need?

Order at least 10 certified copies. Banks, insurers, pension plans, the DMV and the county recorder each keep the copy you give them. Extra copies cost a small fee per copy; reordering later takes weeks.

Who notifies Social Security when someone dies?

Usually the funeral director, if you give them the Social Security number. If not, call 1-800-772-1213. SSA takes death reports only by phone or in person, and it passes the information to Medicare.

What happens to bank accounts when someone dies?

Joint accounts stay with the surviving owner. Accounts with a payable-on-death beneficiary go to that person with a death certificate. Accounts in the person's name alone are frozen until the court appoints an executor or a small-estate affidavit is accepted.

Am I responsible for my parent's debts?

Generally no. Debts are paid from the estate; if the estate runs out, the rest usually goes unpaid. Exceptions are loans you co-signed, joint credit accounts and, for spouses, some community property rules.

How long do I have to settle an estate after someone dies?

There is no single deadline. Creditors get a claim window of a few months set by state law, the final tax return is due the following April, and most estates close within a year or so. Complicated estates take longer.

Should I freeze the credit of someone who has died?

Ask a credit bureau to add a deceased notice, which blocks new credit in the person's name. Only a spouse or legal representative can request it, and one bureau notifies the others. It is worth doing within the first few weeks.

Sources