- 29pages
- 7letters and scripts to adapt
- 9tables and worksheets
- 25checkboxes
How we check
Verified, page by page
- 108automatic checks run on the site before every update
- 15official .gov pages read and cited, on October 22, 2026
Reviewed by industry professionals.
- Primary sourcesThis guide is built from the guidance of USAGov, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration and the Federal Trade Commission.
- Every fact has its sourceEach guide lists the pages it relies on, with links, so you can check any point yourself.
- DatedSources read on October 22, 2026; each page shows when it was last updated.
What you will be able to do
- Know what to do tonight, and what can wait: who to call first depending on where the death happened, and the short list of what truly cannot wait.
- Order the right number of death certificates, with a worksheet and a worked example.
- Handle Social Security and benefits: who reports the death, the payment for the month of death, the $255 lump-sum payment and its 2-year limit, Medicare, VA, DFAS, OPM.
- Close or transfer accounts without guessing: joint and beneficiary accounts, credit bureaus, what to say when a debt collector calls, and how to look for a lost life insurance policy or unclaimed money.
- Understand the estate and the taxes: the personal representative, probate in plain words, the estate's EIN, Form 56, the final return marked "DECEASED", Form 1310.
- Keep track: a one-page calendar from the first hours to the April 15 tax deadline, a contact log, an accounts inventory and a family task sheet, plus seven letters and scripts ready to adapt.
Who it is for, and who it is not for
For you if you are the one people turn to after a death, and you want a calm, complete plan rather than twenty open browser tabs.
Not for you if you need advice on a contested will, a business, or a complex estate: the guide tells you when to call an attorney, it does not replace one.
What makes it different
Most free checklists are a list of tasks, written for another country or for every state at once, without the words to use or the rule behind each step. This guide gives the order, the reason, the official source and the script for each step, and the worksheets to keep the whole family on the same page.
The complete table of contents
The real table of contents of the guide, with its page numbers.
- The first hoursp. 5Who to call first · What can wait until tomorrow · Telling family and close friends
- The first two daysp. 7Choosing a funeral home · Look for written wishes first · Documents to gather · Securing the home · If the person worked
- Death certificatesp. 10How you get them · Certified copy or photocopy? · How many copies to order
- Social Security, Medicare and other benefitsp. 12Social Security · Medicare · Veterans benefits · Other federal and state programs
- Money: accounts, cards and debtsp. 14Bank accounts · Automatic payments and cards · Credit bureaus · Debts · Life insurance, retirement accounts and the employer
- The home, the car and the digital lifep. 16The home · The car · Phones, email and online accounts · Mail and subscriptions
- The estate and the willp. 18Who is in charge · Probate, in plain words · The executor’s first tasks (from the IRS)
- Taxesp. 20The final income tax return · The years after: the surviving spouse · The estate’s own returns
- The calendar at a glancep. 22
- Worksheets to printp. 23Contact log · Accounts inventory · Who does what in the family · Notes
- Letters and scriptsp. 25
- Sourcesp. 28
A look inside: real pages of the guide
In pictures
Illustrative photos, published by their authors under free licences.
A step-by-step U.S. checklist for the person handling things after a death: the first 24 hours, how many death certificates, Social Security and the $255 payment, banks, credit bureaus, the final tax return, veterans benefits, with call scripts, letters and trackers to print.
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Common questions
Is this guide legal or tax advice?
No. It is general information for families, based on the official pages of USAGov, Social Security, the IRS and VA, read on October 22, 2026. Probate and many deadlines depend on your state; the guide tells you what to ask and where, and points you to an attorney or tax professional for anything beyond a simple estate.
How many death certificates should I order?
There is no official number. The guide has a worksheet to count the organizations that will keep a certified copy (banks, insurers, pension plans, the motor vehicles office, the county for real estate, the probate court), plus two spares.
Do I need to report the death to Social Security myself?
Usually not. According to USAGov, the funeral director should report it for you; if not, you report it by phone or in person, not online. The guide has the call script, and explains the payment for the month of death that must be returned and the $255 lump-sum payment.
Does it cover veterans?
Yes, in summary: what to cancel, and what the family may claim (burial in a national cemetery, burial flag, military honors, headstone, Presidential Memorial Certificate, burial allowance), with the forms named by VA.
Sources cited in the guide
- USAGov, "Agencies to notify when someone dies" (last updated August 31, 2026), read on October 22, 2026.
- USAGov, "How to get a certified copy of a death certificate" (last updated November 17, 2025), read on October 22, 2026.
- USAGov, "Report the death of a Social Security or Medicare beneficiary" (last updated August 31, 2026), read on October 22, 2026.
- Social Security Administration, "What to do when someone dies", read on October 22, 2026.
- Social Security Administration, "Lump-sum death payment", read on October 22, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service, "File the final income tax returns of a deceased person", read on October 22, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 559 (2025), "Survivors, Executors, and Administrators", read on October 22, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service, "Estate tax", read on October 22, 2026.
- Federal Trade Commission, "FTC Issues Final Policy Statement on Collecting Debts of Deceased Persons", press release, July 20, 2011.
- California Department of Insurance, "Locate a life insurance policy" (NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator), read on October 22, 2026.
- USAGov, "Find unclaimed money from the government" (last updated September 24, 2025), read on October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, "Burial flags to honor Veterans and Reservists", read on October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, "Veterans burial allowance and transportation benefits", read on October 22, 2026.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, "Eligibility for burial in a VA national cemetery", read on October 22, 2026.
- VA National Cemetery Administration, "Military Funeral Honors", read on October 22, 2026.
Related guides
- Death announcement wordingWho to tell first, and wording for text, email and social media.
- Funeral pre-planning: deciding ahead without paying too soonWhat to decide, how to compare funeral homes, and what to ask before you prepay.
- What to say when someone diesWords for the first conversation, the visitation and the weeks after.