Your free checklist
Three questions, then an ordered plan for the first 72 hours and the first 30 days — written for your state and your situation.
- No account, no email
- About three minutes
- Printable and shareable
When someone dies, the order is: get a legal pronouncement of death, decide where the body goes, then order certified copies of the death certificate. Almost everything else — notifications, accounts, benefits, the service itself — waits on that certificate, and almost none of it has to be decided tonight. Answer three questions below and you'll get the rest in order, for your state.
Questions families ask first
What do you do first when someone dies?
Get a legal pronouncement of death. In a hospital, hospice, or care facility the staff handle it. At home with hospice, call the hospice line rather than 911. At home without hospice, call 911. Nothing else — no funeral home, no paperwork, no notifications — can proceed until the death is legally pronounced.
How long do you have to decide on a funeral home?
There is no legal deadline in any US state. A hospital or care facility may ask the same day, and a body can be held at a hospital morgue or by a funeral home while you decide. You are allowed to say "we have not chosen yet" and call back — you are never required to decide at the bedside.
Do you need a lawyer to settle things after a death?
Usually not for the first 30 days. Death certificates, benefit notifications, and account closures are administrative. A lawyer becomes useful when there is a contested will, real estate in multiple states, or a business — not for ordinary paperwork.
What paperwork is needed in the first week?
Certified copies of the death certificate are the master key — most institutions will not act without one. Beyond that: the will if there is one, life insurance policy numbers, the Social Security number, military discharge papers (DD-214) for veterans benefits, and a list of accounts held in the deceased person’s name alone.
Is this checklist really free?
Yes, and permanently. No account, no email, no card. ClearFarewell takes $0 from funeral homes — no referral fees, no paid placement — so the checklist has nothing to steer you toward. Families who want the full companion pay once; nobody else pays at all.
Where this comes from
Every procedural claim above traces to a primary government source. Rules and fees vary by state, so these are the places to confirm anything that matters to your family.
- USA.gov — Dealing with the death of a loved oneThe federal government’s own ordered list of what to handle first.
- Social Security Administration — Survivors benefitsWho qualifies, and why the funeral home usually reports the death for you.
- CDC / NCHS — Where to write for vital recordsThe vital-records office, fee, and process for every US state and territory.
- FTC — Funeral costs and pricing checklistThe Funeral Rule: your right to an itemized General Price List, on request.
- VA — Burial benefits and memorial itemsHeadstones, flags, and burial allowances for veterans and eligible spouses.
Guidance reviewed · Not legal advice. Always confirm requirements with your funeral home, clergy, and state vital-records office.