A handoff-ready death admin checklist
Checklist for when someone dies
First, make sure the death is officially pronounced, care for anyone who depends on the person, secure the property, and choose one person to keep the master list.
Start here
Use one list, four owners, and a proof column
Assign an owner, status, follow-up date, and required proof to each task. Keep letters, forms, receipts, and call notes with the list.
- Official pronouncement
- Care for dependents and pets
- Secure the home and belongings
- Name the keeper of the master list
The working checklist
Death admin tasks, grouped by who can own them
Copy these workstreams into paper, a shared document, or your task tool. One owner is better than five people assuming someone else called the bank.
01 Protect people, pets, and property
Suggested owner: A nearby family member or trusted helper
- Confirm that a medical professional has officially pronounced the death. If the person died at home outside hospice care, call 911 and follow local instructions.
- Arrange immediate care for children, other dependents, and pets.
- Lock the home and vehicles. Bring in mail, remove obvious perishables, and photograph rooms before moving valuables.
- Tell close family. Ask one person to update everyone else so the same calls do not fall on you.
02 Create the proof-and-authority file
Suggested owner: The named executor or likely estate representative
- Find the will, trust documents, prepaid funeral plan, and contact details for the estate lawyer, if there is one.
- Ask the funeral home or vital-records office how to order certified death certificates. Start a list of each institution that requests one.
- Keep the will, death certificates, photo ID, marriage record, military discharge papers, and court papers in one protected folder.
- Before selling property, closing sole-owner accounts, or giving assets away, confirm who has legal authority to act for the estate.
03 Stop avoidable loss without moving estate money
Suggested owner: A detail-oriented helper, with the estate representative approving changes
- Forward or collect mail and list recurring bills, insurance, subscriptions, loans, and utilities.
- Keep the home insured, heated or cooled as needed, and maintained. Do not cancel essential coverage just because a bill is in the person’s name.
- Record every expense paid personally for the estate and keep the receipt. Do not mix estate money with personal money.
- Report the death to the three credit bureaus and review the credit report for accounts you may not know about.
04 Notify institutions in a safe order
Suggested owner: The estate representative, or a helper on recorded calls
- Ask the funeral home whether it reports the death to Social Security. Confirm the report rather than assuming it happened.
- Contact employers, pension administrators, life insurers, and veterans’ benefits offices that may owe benefits.
- Ask banks what proof and court authority they require. Beneficiary and joint accounts may follow different rules from sole-owner accounts.
- Make a tax file for income records, property sales, estate income, and expenses. A final personal return and an estate return are different filings.
The pause list
What can wait until authority is clear
A checklist should stop mistakes, not only create chores. Put these items on hold until you know who can act and what state law or the institution requires.
- Do not promise or distribute money, vehicles, jewelry, or household items yet.
- Do not pay every bill in the order it arrives. State law can set which estate debts get paid first.
- Do not close the primary bank account until you know which deposits, autopay bills, and ownership rules apply.
- Do not cancel home, vehicle, or liability insurance until replacement coverage is confirmed.
- Do not use the person’s passwords to move money or impersonate them online.
Go one level deeper
Use the right guide when a task gets specific
This page is the task board. These guides explain the paperwork behind individual jobs.
Check the rule, not a rumor
Authoritative sources for the calls that matter
Agency and institution requirements can change. Use these sources as a starting point, then confirm the exact process for your state and each account.
- USA.gov: What to do when someone dies Federal starting point for government notifications, benefits, and records.
- Social Security Administration: When someone dies How deaths are reported and how benefits may change.
- IRS: Filing for a deceased person Federal tax-return responsibilities and representative documents.
- IdentityTheft.gov: Protect personal information Federal guidance for reducing identity-theft risk.
Your next action
Assign the first four tasks. Leave the rest parked.
When you are ready, turn this task board into a checklist you can track inside Good Grief’s secure executor portal.