What is the first thing to do when someone dies?

Get a legal pronouncement of death. If they died in a hospital or care facility, staff handle it. If they died at home under hospice, call the hospice. If the death was unexpected and at home, call emergency services. Nothing else can move forward until the death is officially pronounced.

How long do you have to plan a funeral after someone dies?

There is no fixed deadline, and you have more time than it feels like. A funeral often happens within a week or two, but a celebration of life can be held weeks or even months later. Do not let pressure rush a decision you are not ready to make.

What documents do you need when someone dies?

You will repeatedly need the death certificate, so order several certified copies, often ten or more. You will also want their ID, Social Security number, will or estate documents, insurance policies, and account information. A funeral home can usually help you order death certificates.

← All guides

May 23, 20268 min read

What to Do When Someone Dies: A First-Steps Checklist

When someone dies, the hardest part is often not the grief itself but the not knowing. There is suddenly a list of things to handle, and no one hands it to you. So here is the list, in roughly the order things need to happen. You do not have to do it all at once, and most of it can wait longer than it feels like it can.

In the first hours

Get a legal pronouncement of death. In a hospital or care home, staff do this. Under hospice care at home, call the hospice line. If it was sudden and at home, call emergency services.
If they wished to be an organ or tissue donor, tell the medical staff right away, since this is time-sensitive.
Tell the closest family and a few people who can help you. You should not be doing the next steps alone.
Arrange for the body to be transported, usually by a funeral home or, for cremation, a cremation provider. You can choose the provider later if you are not ready.

In the first few days

Find any wishes they left: a will, funeral or burial instructions, a prepaid plan. Check with their lawyer or a trusted family member if you are not sure.
Choose a funeral home or cremation provider and meet with them. Bring someone with you. They will walk you through the decisions and can order death certificates.
Order several certified copies of the death certificate. You will need them for banks, insurance, and government agencies, and getting more later is slower.
Make a plan for any dependents, pets, or a home that is now empty. Small, practical things that are easy to forget.
Decide on the service, or decide to decide later. A funeral can be soon; a celebration of life can wait.

In the first weeks

Notify the people and institutions that need to know: employer, Social Security or the equivalent, banks, insurance companies, pension or benefits providers.
Secure their home and belongings, and forward their mail if needed.
Begin the estate process. If there is a will, contact the named executor; if it is complex, an estate attorney is worth the call.
Cancel or transfer subscriptions, memberships, and recurring payments when you have the energy. There is no rush.
Create a place to gather memories while they are fresh. Many families set up an online memorial in these early weeks, both to share service details and to start collecting photos and stories from everyone before they scatter and fade.

What can wait

It helps as much to know what is not urgent as to know what is. Sorting their belongings can wait months. Closing every account can wait. Choosing a headstone can wait. The thank-you notes can wait. People will understand, and the version of you that handles these things in a few weeks will be steadier than the version trying to do everything now.

If you take one thing from this: do the few things that are genuinely time-sensitive, lean on the people around you for the rest, and give yourself permission to do the slow parts slowly. Grief and logistics are both real, and you do not have to finish either of them this week.

Common questions

What is the first thing to do when someone dies?: Get a legal pronouncement of death. If they died in a hospital or care facility, staff handle it. If they died at home under hospice, call the hospice. If the death was unexpected and at home, call emergency services. Nothing else can move forward until the death is officially pronounced.
How long do you have to plan a funeral after someone dies?: There is no fixed deadline, and you have more time than it feels like. A funeral often happens within a week or two, but a celebration of life can be held weeks or even months later. Do not let pressure rush a decision you are not ready to make.
What documents do you need when someone dies?: You will repeatedly need the death certificate, so order several certified copies, often ten or more. You will also want their ID, Social Security number, will or estate documents, insurance policies, and account information. A funeral home can usually help you order death certificates.