What to Do When Someone Dies: A Checklist With Sources

Right after a death in the United States, only a few things cannot wait: make sure the death is confirmed, tell the people close to the person, and choose a funeral home or cremation provider within a day or two. Almost everything else, from Social Security to taxes to the house, can be done over the following weeks and months, and you can ask others for help. Below are three lists, for the first 72 hours, the first two weeks and the first three months. Most steps name a public source you can open yourself; the rest are plain advice and say so.

This is not legal advice. It is a plain-English checklist built from public government and nonprofit pages. Laws, deadlines and forms differ by state and change over time. For decisions about a will, an estate, taxes or a property, ask a probate attorney or the probate court clerk in the county where the person lived. This page is for the United States only.

You do not have to do everything today. Skip any step that does not apply, and stop whenever you need to.

The first 72 hours

1. Get the death confirmed. If the person was in hospice care at home, call the hospice provider's 24-hour number instead of 911; the hospice nurse confirms the death and completes the legal paperwork. In a hospital or care facility, ask the staff what happens next. If there is no hospice team and you are unsure what to do, call 911. Source: Hospice Foundation of America, "When death happens at home" (page dated 24 September 2024; read 3 October 2026).
2. Tell close family and friends, one at a time. Ask someone to make some of the calls for you. No source is needed for this step; it is practical advice.
3. Choose a funeral home or cremation provider. You may phone several and ask for prices. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, funeral directors must give price information by phone if you ask, and the funeral home must give you a General Price List that is yours to keep. You can buy separate goods and services and do not have to accept a package. Source: FTC, "The FTC Funeral Rule" (page dated July 2012; read 3 October 2026).
4. Know three things the Funeral Rule says. No state or local law requires a casket for cremation, and a funeral home that offers cremation must tell you alternative containers are available. No state law requires routine embalming for every death. A funeral provider cannot refuse to handle a casket or urn you bought elsewhere, or charge you a fee to do it. Source: FTC, "The FTC Funeral Rule" (read 3 October 2026).
5. Give the funeral director the facts for the death certificate. The funeral director usually gathers them. The CDC's standard certificate of death asks for the person's name, date and place of birth, residence, marital status, spouse, parents' names (including the mother's name before her first marriage), education, occupation and armed forces service. Having these written down in one place saves a scramble. Source: CDC/NCHS, Standard Certificate of Death (PDF) (read 3 October 2026). Your state's own form may differ.
6. Ask for certified copies of the death certificate. Most agencies and programs ask for certified copies. Ask each organization you contact whether it needs a certified copy, whether it will give it back, and whether a photocopy will do. Source: USAGov, "Agencies to notify when someone dies" (updated 31 August 2026; read 3 October 2026). How many copies to order varies; ask the funeral director or the state vital records office.
7. Make sure the death is reported to Social Security. Funeral directors can report deaths to the Social Security Administration in most cases, so ask yours whether they have. If not, call 800-772-1213 or visit a local Social Security office. A death cannot be reported to Social Security online or by email. Source: AARP, "Reporting a death to Social Security" (updated 30 January 2025; read 3 October 2026).
8. Understand what Social Security does with the month of death. Benefits end in the month of the person's death, and a payment that was already made for that month has to be returned. A one-time $255 payment may go to an eligible surviving spouse or child; ask when you call. Source: AARP, same page (read 3 October 2026).
9. Write down who you spoke to and when. A running list with dates and any reference number saves repeat calls later. No source needed; it is practical advice.

The first two weeks

1. Plan the service. Follow the person's written wishes if there are any. If not, do what feels right to the people closest to them. There is no wrong way. No source needed.
2. Find the will. Ask the probate court clerk, or an attorney in the county where the person lived, what your state requires and by when. Keep the original will safe.
3. If there is no will, the court decides who is in charge. When a person dies without a will, the law calls this "intestate"; each state applies its own rules to decide who the heirs are, and the probate court appoints a personal representative to administer the estate. Ask the court clerk or an attorney how this works in your state. Source: California Courts Self Help Guide, "Guide to property after someone dies", which defines "intestate succession" as "the laws that say who inherits something if the person did not have a will or trust" and says a judge will appoint a personal representative, and Ohio Revised Code section 2105.06, which sets Ohio's order of inheritance (both read 4 October 2026). These are two states' examples; yours may differ.
4. Tell the other agencies. USAGov lists these, depending on the person: the state motor vehicles office (to cancel the license or ID and transfer a vehicle title), state social services (to cancel benefits such as SNAP or Medicaid), the local election office (to cancel voter registration), the Department of State (return the person's passport for cancellation), and, for veterans or military and federal retirees, Veterans Affairs, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service or the Office of Personnel Management. Source: USAGov, "Agencies to notify when someone dies" (updated 31 August 2026; read 3 October 2026).
5. Contact banks, credit card companies, credit bureaus, utilities, memberships and subscriptions. The same USAGov page lists each. Our own tip: pause rather than cancel anything you are unsure about, and keep housing, utilities and insurance paid. Source: USAGov (read 3 October 2026).
6. Look for life insurance. Ask each insurer and retirement plan how to file a claim and which documents it needs. If you cannot find a policy, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners runs a free Life Insurance Policy Locator, available to anyone, that helps connect people with a deceased loved one's lost life insurance policies and annuity contracts. Source: NAIC, "NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator helps consumers find lost life insurance benefits" (news release dated 16 September 2022; read 3 October 2026).
7. If the person served in the military, look for the discharge papers (DD 214). Veterans, service members and some family members may be eligible for burial in a VA national cemetery, and you can apply for a headstone, marker or medallion. Source: VA, "Burials and memorials" (read 3 October 2026). The page does not say what any of it costs, so ask the VA.
8. Keep collecting the mail. Each envelope tells you about an account. To forward a deceased person's mail to another address, the Postal Service requires documented proof that you are the appointed executor or administrator, and the request is made in person at a Post Office. A death certificate alone is not enough. Source: USPS, "Mail for the deceased" (read 3 October 2026).
9. Watch for identity theft. If you see accounts opened after the death, report it at IdentityTheft.gov, run by the Federal Trade Commission. Source: FTC, "Identity theft" (read 3 October 2026; the page points to IdentityTheft.gov). How each credit reporting company marks a file as deceased, and what proof it needs, is something to ask each company.

The first three months

1. Meet a probate attorney. Bring the will if there is one, your notes and the list of who you have told. Ask the probate court clerk whether your state has a simpler process for small estates. No source is given because this varies by state.
2. Tell the IRS who is in charge. The IRS calls the person who handles the estate the personal representative: an executor, an administrator, or anyone else in charge of the person's property. You may need to file Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship, to tell the IRS the relationship exists. Source: IRS, Topic no. 356, Decedents (page last reviewed 24 September 2026; read 3 October 2026).
3. File the final income tax return. USAGov says the person's final income tax return must be filed and includes income earned up to the date of death. On the return, check the "Deceased" box and enter the date of death. If a refund is due, Form 1310 may be needed, unless you are a surviving spouse filing a joint return, or a court-appointed personal representative who attaches the court papers. A tax preparer can do this for you. Sources: IRS, Topic no. 356 and USAGov (both read 3 October 2026).
4. Close, transfer or retitle accounts and property. Bank accounts, vehicles and real estate each have their own process. Ask the attorney how each one works before you move anything.
5. Share out belongings slowly. Keep a list of what leaves the house and who took it. Ask the attorney how the will, or the state's rules if there is no will, apply.
6. Keep one file for everything. Every letter, receipt, claim number and note of who you spoke to. It protects you and saves time later.
7. Look after yourself. Grief is not a task list. If sleep, appetite or mood stay hard for weeks, talk to a doctor or counselor. If you ever feel unsafe, call or text 988, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: it is free, confidential and open around the clock. Source: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (read 3 October 2026).

About the sources

Each step marked with a source links to the page it came from, with the date it was read (3 October 2026). Where a step says "ask", the answer depends on your state or the organization: how many death certificates to order, probate deadlines and small-estate rules, and what each credit reporting company requires. Government pages change; if a detail matters, open the source.

One next step

If you are the person who may someday be asked to do this for someone else, or you want your own family to have an easier time, start with the free one-page printable, "Where everything is". It takes one sheet of paper and tells your family where your papers and accounts are kept, without writing any passwords.