What to Do When Someone Dies: A Printable Checklist for the First Week

When someone dies, the first week comes down to four steps: get a legal pronouncement of death, choose a funeral home after asking for its price list, make sure Social Security is told, and order certified copies of the death certificate. Closing accounts and settling the estate usually come later, though the timing depends on the person’s situation and your state. If paper is easier this week, the free printable holds the same steps on two pages, with room to write as you go.

A few steps are time-sensitive, and they’re called out where they come up. The first calls are the same whether the person was a parent, a spouse, or another relative; a surviving spouse’s benefits and debt rules can differ, as the FAQ explains.

The image above is an AI illustration.

If you only have five minutes

1. If the death happened at home and was unexpected, call 911. If the person was in hospice, call the hospice nurse.
2. If the person registered as a brain donor, call their contact now. NIA says it has to be within two hours.
3. Look for a prepaid funeral plan or written wishes before you choose a funeral home.
4. Ask funeral homes for prices over the phone. They have to tell you.
5. Find the person’s Social Security number, give it to the funeral director, and confirm they’ll report the death.

Who to call first, by where the death happened

The first step is an official pronouncement of death. According to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), it has to be made by someone in authority, such as a doctor or a hospice nurse, and that person fills out the forms certifying the cause, time, and place of death. Those forms are what make an official death certificate possible.

NIA notes that some families want time to sit quietly with the person before the body is moved, and this is when any religious or cultural customs usually happen. It’s fine to ask for that time.

Two donation questions can come up in the first hours, and both are time-sensitive:

• Organ donation. The doctor may ask. If the person didn’t record a decision, NIA says it has to be made quickly, and there’s no cost to the donor’s family.
• Brain donation. This is separate from organ donation. If the person registered as a brain donor, NIA says their contact needs to be notified within two hours after death.

Choose a funeral home, and ask for prices first

Next, decide who will take care of the body: a funeral home, a cremation provider, or a body donation program if the person arranged one. Once the urgent calls above are made, and before you choose a provider, look through the person’s papers for a prepaid funeral plan or written wishes. AARP suggests checking with a surviving spouse, too.

When you call, federal law is on your side. Under the FTC’s Funeral Rule, as the FTC explains in its consumer guide Paying Final Respects:

• Funeral directors must give you price information over the phone if you ask, and you don’t have to give your name, address, or phone number first.
• When you visit in person, the funeral home must give you a written General Price List that is yours to keep.
• You can buy goods and services separately instead of a package. Most homes also charge a fee for their basic services, and the rule’s text says the price list must tell you when that fee can’t be declined.
• A funeral home can’t refuse a casket or urn you bought somewhere else, and can’t charge you a fee to handle it.
• No state law requires routine embalming for every death. Some states require embalming or refrigeration if the body isn’t buried or cremated within a certain time. Many funeral homes require embalming for a public viewing, so ask whether they offer a private family viewing without it.
• No state or local law requires a casket for cremation. A funeral home that offers cremation must tell you about simpler containers and make them available.

So you can call two or three funeral homes, ask each for the price of the same service, and compare before you sign anything.

A short script for the first funeral home call

Write the answers down as you go:

If the person was a veteran and the family wants burial in a VA national cemetery, contact the VA before the service is set; the VA decides who is eligible. Other benefits can come later. The VA’s burial benefits can include burial in a VA national cemetery, a burial allowance toward funeral, burial, and transportation costs, and a headstone, marker, or medallion. According to the VA’s scheduling page, you or the funeral director call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117 to request a burial, and you’ll need the veteran’s DD214 or other discharge papers. If you can’t find them, the VA says to ask for help when you call, though checking eligibility may then take several days.

Make sure Social Security knows

USA.gov’s Social Security page lists two ways to report the death: give the funeral director the person’s Social Security number so the funeral home can report it, or contact Social Security yourself. USA.gov’s list of agencies to notify adds that the funeral director should report it for you, and if they don’t, you must do it as soon as possible. Do this in the first day or two, when you’re arranging the funeral.

Four things to know before you call:

• Phone or in person only. Social Security doesn’t take death reports by email or online. Call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) or visit a local office. You can start the report without a death certificate, but you’ll need one to finish it.
• A payment may have to go back. Social Security doesn’t pay benefits for the month a person dies. If someone died in July, the payment that arrives in August is the July payment, and it has to be returned. If it came by direct deposit, ask the bank to return it, plus any later payments. Don’t spend it.
• Medicare is covered. Social Security notifies Medicare for you.
• Ask about survivor benefits. A surviving spouse or minor children may qualify, so ask on the same call.

Tell family and the employer, and protect the house

Once the first calls are made, tell close family and friends, then ask one or two of them to pass the news along so you aren’t making every call yourself.

Call the person’s employer, too. AARP suggests asking whether the employer offers survivor, pension, or unused leave benefits, which may be time-sensitive.

If the person lived alone, AARP’s checklist covers the house:

• Lock the home and car, and put away cash, jewelry, and other valuables. Ask a friend or neighbor to watch the place during the funeral, until locks, alarm codes, and smart-home access are changed.
• Call the home and auto insurers to tell them about the death, and ask how coverage continues while the house or car still needs protecting.
• Find somewhere for pets to stay, with a relative or at a boarding kennel, until there’s a longer-term plan.
• Have someone throw out food in the fridge and collect the mail. AARP notes that the Postal Service requires an in-person request and proof of legal authority, such as executor status, to forward a deceased person’s mail, and a death certificate alone isn’t enough. Until that’s sorted, have a relative or friend who’s allowed into the home collect it from the mailbox. The mail is also how you’ll find the person’s bills and accounts.

Find the papers you’ll need this week

A few documents matter this week, and they’re often in different places:

• The will, and who it names as executor (the person who settles the estate). If there’s no will, the FTC says a court may appoint someone to handle the estate, and some states have other routes. For now, find out whether a will exists and where it is, and ask an estate attorney whether anything in your state has to happen sooner.
• Any prepaid funeral or burial contract.
• Life insurance policies. For now, knowing which companies hold them is enough.
• The person’s Social Security number. Find this one first, on Day 1, because the funeral director needs it to report the death. USA.gov says most agencies will ask for it too, along with certified copies of the death certificate.
• Discharge papers (DD214) if the person was a veteran.

As you find each one, write down where it is kept, not the account or policy numbers. Our guide to an important documents binder explains why a list of locations is safer than a list of numbers. If the person left a death binder or a letter of instruction, start there.

How many death certificates to order

There’s no single right number, and the big checklists don’t agree: AARP says “up to 10 or more.” A better way is to count the places that need a certified copy.

Certified copies come from the vital records office in the state where the death happened. USA.gov’s death certificate page says to check with that office to learn how to order (online, by mail, or in person) and what each copy costs. AARP notes the funeral home can often get copies for you. Only certain family members, such as a spouse, sibling, or child, may be able to order them.

USA.gov splits the uses like this:

Count your copies

List each place, call to ask whether it needs a certified copy or will take a photocopy, then add up the certified ones:

What not to do in the first week

• Don’t sign a funeral contract before you’ve seen the General Price List. If you’re arranging things by phone, ask the home to send it; it doesn’t have to, but the FTC says many do. Either way, the FTC says that after you decide what you want, and before you pay, the home has to give you a written statement showing each item and its price. The FTC’s Funeral Rule lets you compare prices and choose only the items you want, though the price list may include a basic services fee you can’t decline.
• Don’t spend a Social Security payment that arrives after the death until you know whether it has to go back.
• Don’t pay a relative’s debt from your own money just because a collector calls. Read the debt question in the FAQ first.
• If the person registered as a brain donor, don’t wait to call. NIA puts that deadline at two hours.

Calls that usually come after the funeral

These calls usually come after the first few days. None of them has one deadline that fits every family, so if a bank, insurer, or court gives you a date, go by that. The list draws on USA.gov’s list of agencies to notify and AARP’s checklist:

• Banks and other financial accounts. What each one needs depends on how the account is set up (joint, beneficiary, or sole name), so ask each one.
• The credit bureaus, to guard against identity theft. AARP says you can send a death certificate to one of the three (Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion) and it will tell the others. NIA’s guidance is to send copies to all three. If you’re unsure, notify all three.
• Insurance companies, for life insurance claims and to end the person’s own health coverage. (Home and auto insurers get an earlier call, covered above.)
• The state motor vehicles office, to cancel the license or ID and transfer any vehicle title.
• The IRS. The person’s final income tax return reports income up to the date of death, according to the IRS.
• The State Department, if you want the passport canceled. USA.gov says it can send the canceled passport back to you or destroy it.
• The local election office, to cancel the voter registration.
• Probate, with the executor and, if the estate is complicated, an estate attorney. Probate rules and deadlines are set by each state, so ask early rather than waiting for someone to give you a date.

A day-by-day checklist for the first week

The printable first-week checklist

The printable puts the checklist above on two letter-size pages, with space to write. Type into the fillable boxes in a PDF reader, or print the pages and use a pen.

Page 1: who to call, and the week day by day

The top of the page gives the four steps, then the “who to call first” table by where the person died. Find the row that fits and start there.

The “Day by day” list turns the table above into tick boxes, in the same seven rows. The Day 1 row starts with finding the Social Security number, since the funeral director needs it that day. Two things are added so the page works away from a screen: Social Security’s number (1-800-772-1213, TTY 1-800-325-0778) sits in the Day 1 row in case the funeral director doesn’t report the death, and the VA’s National Cemetery Scheduling Office (800-535-1117) sits there too, for a veteran. The Days 2 to 4 row also reminds you to write where each paper is kept, not the numbers on it.

There’s a notes box at the bottom for names, times and anything you were told on a call.

Page 2: funeral homes, death certificates and papers

Page 2 starts with a funeral home grid: the five questions from the call script above, plus a row for each home’s name and phone, across three columns for three homes. Fill in one column per call, and you can compare prices side by side before you sign anything. If someone offers to help, this is a job you can hand to them.

Below it on the left is the death certificate count from this guide. As you call each place, write “certified” or “photocopy” in the middle column, put the number of certified copies in the right column, and add them up on the “Total to order” line.

On the right, the papers box has six blanks: the will and who it names as executor, any prepaid funeral or burial contract, which companies hold life insurance, where the Social Security number is kept, the DD214 for a veteran, and anything else that matters this week. Write where each one is, like “hall closet, gray file box,” never the account or policy numbers. Under that, “Go easy this week” holds three reminders: no funeral contract before you’ve seen the General Price List (and get the written, itemized statement before you pay), no spending a Social Security payment that may have to go back, and no paying a relative’s debt from your own money just because a collector calls.

The printable leaves out the details on VA benefits, the debt exceptions, and death abroad. Those stay here, in the sections above and the FAQ below.

Frequently asked questions

Who do you call first when someone dies at home?

If the death was unexpected, call 911. If the person was in hospice, call the hospice nurse. If the death was expected but the person wasn’t in hospice, NIA says there’s no need to move the body right away; call the doctor, the medical examiner, the local health department, or a funeral home and ask how to proceed.

Do I have to pay my parent’s debts?

Usually not from your own money. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says that generally no one else has to pay back a person’s debts after they die: the debt is paid from the estate under state law, and if the estate can’t pay, it generally goes unpaid. The FTC says the same. The FTC lists exceptions: you may be responsible if you cosigned the debt, if you’re the surviving spouse in a community property state such as California, if you’re a spouse in a state that requires payment of certain debts such as some healthcare costs, or if you were legally responsible for resolving the estate and didn’t follow certain state probate laws. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also lists joint credit card holders (not authorized users) as an exception. It also says a collector may contact other relatives to find the executor but shouldn’t discuss the debt with them.

What should I do first when a parent dies?

The same first steps: the pronouncement, a funeral home, Social Security, and death certificates. A few things change depending on who’s left. If your other parent is still living, ask them about a prepaid funeral plan, as AARP suggests, and know that a surviving spouse may qualify for Social Security survivor benefits (USA.gov) and may face different debt rules than you do (see the debt question above). If the will names you as executor, call an estate attorney early to learn when and how your state gives you the authority to act. The FTC describes the executor as the person responsible for settling the person’s debts from the estate.

What happens if there’s no will?

The estate still gets settled. According to the FTC, a court may appoint an administrator or personal representative to do the job an executor would have done, and some states let someone take on that role without a court appointment. The rules and timing are set by state law, so an estate attorney in that state is the person to ask.

What if the person died outside the United States?

If the person was a U.S. citizen, contact the U.S. embassy or consulate in that country. According to USA.gov, embassies and consulates can help you communicate with local authorities, explain how to send funds for costs, and help return the remains or arrange local burial. They also help complete the Consular Report of Death Abroad. USA.gov’s death certificate page says that report works as proof of death in the U.S., and that you can get up to 20 free certified copies of it at the time of death.

How many death certificates do I need?

Ask each agency, bank, insurer, and pension plan whether it needs a certified copy or will take a photocopy, then add up the certified ones. The worksheet above does the counting.

Where to go from here

If you’re handling a death right now and the death has been pronounced, the next step is usually the funeral home: call two or three, with the price questions above in hand, or with page 2 of the free printable beside the phone.

If you’re reading this ahead of time, the most useful thing you can do for your own family is write down your wishes and where your papers are kept. The Wills & Wishes section of our emergency binder checklist is a short place to start.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules on probate, debts, and death certificates vary by state, so check anything about the estate with an estate attorney in that state.