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PDF guides · 2026 edition

PDF guides for the weeks after a death

When a death leaves you with a list of things to do and words to find, these guides walk you through it, one step at a time. Each is a PDF to read on screen or print, with checklists, worksheets and letters you can use, and every rule or figure points to its official source.

Our recommendation The four TributePen guides, in one purchase

After a Death, Arranging a Funeral, Writing and Delivering a Eulogy and Planning a Celebration of Life. Headstone Inscriptions and Epitaphs, Writing the Obituary and the Death Announcement, The Funeral Program and Order of Service Planner, When a Pet Dies, What to Write in a Sympathy Card, Funeral Thank-You Notes, Heavenly Birthdays and Anniversaries, Memory Cards and a Memory Book, The Funeral Pre-Planning Workbook, When a Parent Dies and The Host's Script Book for a Celebration of Life or Memorial Gathering: sold separately.

$69105 pages · $17.25 a guide · $106 if bought one by one, $37 less together

Get all 4 guides · $69By paying, you accept the Terms.

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Or choose one guide, from $19

Cover of the PDF guide "After a Death: The Family Checklist"Cover of the PDF guide "Arranging a Funeral: Your Rights, the Prices, Every Decision"Cover of the PDF guide "Writing and Delivering a Eulogy"Cover of the PDF guide "Planning a Celebration of Life"

How we check

Verified, page by page

  • 108automatic checks run on the site before every update
  • 40official .gov pages read and cited, on October 22, 2026, October 28, 2026, October 29, 2026, October 30, 2026, October 31, 2026, November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026

Reviewed by industry professionals.

  1. Primary sourcesThe guides are built from the guidance of the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Internal Revenue Service, USAGov and the Social Security Administration.
  2. Every fact has its sourceEach guide lists the pages it relies on, with links, so you can check any point yourself.
  3. DatedSources read on October 22, 2026, October 28, 2026, October 29, 2026, October 30, 2026, October 31, 2026, November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026; each page shows when it was last updated.

The 15 guides

Cover of the PDF guide "After a Death: The Family Checklist"
After a Death: The Family ChecklistWhat to do in the first hours, the first week and the first months: calls, documents, benefits, accounts and taxes29 pages · $29See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "Arranging a Funeral: Your Rights, the Prices, Every Decision"
Arranging a Funeral: Your Rights, the Prices, Every DecisionThe FTC Funeral Rule in plain words, the price list line by line, and every choice from burial or cremation to the last detail of the service25 pages · $29See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "Writing and Delivering a Eulogy"
Writing and Delivering a EulogyFrom a blank page to the last line said aloud: finding the stories, building the speech, timing it, and getting through it25 pages · $24See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "Planning a Celebration of Life"
Planning a Celebration of LifeChoosing the format, the date and the place, building the program, sharing the work, and hosting a gathering that sounds like them26 pages · $24See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "Headstone Inscriptions and Epitaphs: The Wording Planner"
Headstone Inscriptions and Epitaphs: The Wording PlannerWhat the cemetery allows, how the wording is ordered and laid out, 150 inscriptions to choose from, and the proof checked line by line30 pages · $29See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "Writing the Obituary and the Death Announcement: The Family Workbook"
Writing the Obituary and the Death Announcement: The Family WorkbookThe facts to gather, the order of an obituary, the survivors list for every kind of family, 30 annotated obituaries and 15 death announcements46 pages · $29See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "The Funeral Program and Order of Service Planner"
The Funeral Program and Order of Service PlannerEight complete orders of service with timings, the wording for every panel of the program, readings and hymns in the public domain, and the proof and printing checks39 pages · $29See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "When a Pet Dies: Sympathy Wording and Memorial Planner"
When a Pet Dies: Sympathy Wording and Memorial Planner120 sympathy messages sorted by animal and situation, a home memorial with readings, words for a stone or an urn, a pet obituary and a thank-you for the veterinary team30 pages · $29See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "What to Write in a Sympathy Card: The Wording Book"
What to Write in a Sympathy Card: The Wording Book200 original messages sorted by relationship and situation, flower card lines, how to sign, longer condolence letters and what to write when you are late35 pages · $24See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "Funeral Thank-You Notes: Wording for Every Kindness"
Funeral Thank-You Notes: Wording for Every Kindness150 original thank-you lines for flowers, cards, donations, meals, pallbearers, the officiant and the care team, public thank-yous, and a tracker to print26 pages · $19See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "Heavenly Birthdays and Anniversaries: Words for the Days That Come Back"
Heavenly Birthdays and Anniversaries: Words for the Days That Come Back160 original messages for a heavenly birthday, the anniversary of a death, the first holidays and family milestones, words to send a friend on their hard day, and a calendar to print28 pages · $19See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "Memory Cards and a Memory Book: The Printable Kit"
Memory Cards and a Memory Book: The Printable Kit80 memory card prompts, card layouts and table signs to print, ways to collect memories from people far away, and how to turn the cards into a memory book that lasts30 pages · $19See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "The Funeral Pre-Planning Workbook"
The Funeral Pre-Planning WorkbookYour wishes on paper, three funeral homes compared line by line from their price lists, the questions to ask before any prepayment, an obituary draft and a letter to your family30 pages · $29See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "When a Parent Dies: The Adult Child's Writing Workbook"
When a Parent Dies: The Adult Child's Writing WorkbookThe memories gathered with your siblings, who writes what and how to decide, six eulogies for a parent in a full and a short version, four obituaries with the survivors named in a blended family, the program words and eight replies to condolences33 pages · $39See inside
Cover of the PDF guide "The Host's Script Book for a Celebration of Life or Memorial Gathering"
The Host's Script Book for a Celebration of Life or Memorial GatheringEight welcomes by place, introductions for every speaker, scripts for the open microphone, transitions and the memory table, time cues, six closings and toasts, and three orders of the day timed to the minute32 pages · $29See inside

One guide, or the four together

One guide
Price, taxes included$19 to $39
Guides1, the one you choose
Pages25 to 46
Tables and worksheets5 to 22
Letters and scripts to adapt2 to 25
Sources cited1 to 16
FormatPDF, US Letter, screen or print
DeliveryDownload right after payment
Full refundWithin 14 days, no reason needed
Choose a guide
Our recommendationThe four guides
Price, taxes included$69 ($106 one by one)
GuidesAll 4
Pages105
Tables and worksheets38
Letters and scripts to adapt15
Sources cited31
FormatPDF, US Letter, screen or print
DeliveryDownload right after payment
Full refundWithin 14 days, no reason needed
Get all 4 guides · $69By paying, you accept the Terms.

Full refund within 14 days, no reason needed · refund policy

In pictures

A hand signing a printed form at a desk
A hand signing a printed form at a desk. Photo: danielmoyle, CC BY 2.0
A microphone on a church lectern, seen from the speaker's side
A microphone on a church lectern, seen from the speaker's side. Photo: GlasgowAmateur, CC BY-SA 2.0
A long table set with glasses and candle lanterns for an evening meal outdoors
A long table set with glasses and candle lanterns for an evening meal outdoors. Photo: Thell, CC BY 2.0

Illustrative photos, published by their authors under free licences.

Which guide do you need?

  • You are the one handling things after a death (calls, documents, benefits, accounts, taxes): After a Death: The Family Checklist.
  • You are about to meet a funeral home, or you are planning ahead: Arranging a Funeral.
  • You are planning your own funeral, or a parent's, without prepaying: The Funeral Pre-Planning Workbook.
  • Your father or mother has died and you and your siblings have everything to write, from the eulogy to the thank-you notes: When a Parent Dies: The Adult Child's Writing Workbook.
  • You have been asked to say a few words: Writing and Delivering a Eulogy.
  • You are organizing a gathering in their memory: Planning a Celebration of Life.
  • You have been asked to host the gathering, from the welcome to the toast: The Host's Script Book for a Celebration of Life or Memorial Gathering.
  • You are choosing the words for a headstone or a grave marker: Headstone Inscriptions and Epitaphs.
  • You are writing the obituary or telling people about the death: Writing the Obituary and the Death Announcement.
  • You are putting together the funeral program or the order of service: The Funeral Program and Order of Service Planner.
  • A dog, a cat or a horse has died, yours or a friend's: When a Pet Dies: Sympathy Wording and Memorial Planner.
  • You have a sympathy card to write, or a flower card to sign: What to Write in a Sympathy Card: The Wording Book.
  • You have thank-you notes to send after the funeral: Funeral Thank-You Notes: Wording for Every Kindness.
  • A birthday, an anniversary or a holiday is coming without them: Heavenly Birthdays and Anniversaries.
  • You want guests to share memories at the service, and to keep them in a book: Memory Cards and a Memory Book: The Printable Kit.

The four wording guides (sympathy cards, thank-you notes, remembrance days, memory cards) are also sold together: Sympathy, Thanks and Remembrance.

What the guides have in common

  • What to do, in order: each guide starts with what cannot wait and ends with worksheets to print.
  • Tools you can use today: checklists, comparison sheets, call scripts, letters, timelines, memory sheets.
  • Rules with their source: every deadline, amount and right is taken from the official page (FTC, Social Security, IRS, VA, EPA, USAGov), with the date it was read.
  • A 2026 edition, laid out to be read on screen (clickable table of contents) or on paper.

Common questions

How do I receive a guide?

Right after payment, a page opens with a download button for the PDF, and the link is emailed to you so you can come back to it at any time.

Are the guides written by AI?

No. The guides were written and laid out for TributePen. Every rule or figure points to an official source (FTC, Social Security, IRS, VA, EPA) or to a study whose DOI was checked, and every example was written for the guides, with invented names.

Can I print them?

Yes. They are US Letter PDFs made to be printed at home, especially the checklists, worksheets and letters.

What is the difference with the personalized texts?

The personalized eulogy, obituary or kit are written for you from your own memories. The guides give you the method, the rules and the tools to handle things yourself.

Can I read them on my phone?

Yes. Each guide is a PDF that opens on a phone, a tablet or a computer, with a clickable table of contents, and it is laid out to print on US Letter paper.

How do I pay?

On Stripe's secure payment page, by card or Apple Pay. One payment, taxes included, with no account to create and no subscription. Your card number never reaches our servers.

What if a guide is not what I needed?

Write to us within 14 days of your purchase and we refund you in full, as our refund policy says.