What to do when someone dies: the first 48 hours, step by step

If someone has just died, here is the order of operations: get an official pronouncement of death, look after the living, notify the inner circle, choose a funeral home, and order death certificates. Everything else can wait at least a few days. This checklist walks through the first 48 hours one step at a time — what matters now, and just as importantly, what doesn't.

One note before the list: nothing here needs to be done perfectly or alone. Pick one steady person to sit beside you as you work through it.

The first few hours

1. Get an official pronouncement of death

A legal declaration of death is the prerequisite for everything that follows, including the death certificate.

• At home, unexpected: call 911.
• At home, under hospice: call the hospice nurse line — they handle the pronouncement and next steps.
• In a hospital or facility: staff manage this; ask for the attending physician.

2. Look after the living

Children, dependents, and pets need someone now; the paperwork doesn't. Arrange care for tonight before you make any other calls. If the person kept an emergency binder, its first page lists who can help.

3. Tell the inner circle

Call the people who would want to hear it from a person, not a post. Divide the list — you don't have to make every call yourself. Hold off on social media until close family knows.

4. Decide nothing irreversible

You will feel pressure to act. Resist it. No large payments, no distributing belongings, no big announcements. Grief and urgency are a bad committee.

The first day

5. Check for funeral wishes and prepaid arrangements

Before choosing a funeral home, check whether one was already chosen: look for a prepaid funeral plan, instructions with the will, or a wishes page in their death binder. Honoring an existing plan is easier and usually cheaper than starting fresh.

6. Choose a funeral home and arrange transport

The funeral home transports the body, begins death certificate paperwork, and — if you provide the Social Security number — typically notifies the Social Security Administration for you.

7. Notify their employer

Ask HR two questions: what happens to final pay and benefits, and was there a group life insurance policy? Employer-paid life insurance is one of the most commonly missed benefits after a death.

8. Secure the home

If the home is now empty: lock it, take in mail, water the plants, remove perishables, and keep utilities and homeowner's insurance running. An empty, uninsured house is a problem the estate doesn't need.

The second day

9. Order certified death certificates — more than you think

Order 8–12 certified copies through the funeral home. Nearly every institution — banks, insurers, pension plans, the DMV — requires its own certified copy.

10. Locate the key documents

The set you'll need over the coming weeks:

• The will, and any trust documents
• Birth and marriage certificates
• Life insurance policies (personal and through work)
• Bank, investment, and retirement account information
• Property deeds and vehicle titles
• Recent tax returns

If they kept a binder, this is an hour of reading. If not, expect weeks of phone calls, and start a simple list of what you find as you go — future-you will need it.

11. Start a notebook

One notebook for everything: who you called, what they said, reference numbers, what's pending. Estate administration is a months-long project, and the notebook becomes its spine.

What can safely wait until next week

• Probate and reading of the will
• Life insurance claims (file within weeks, not hours)
• Closing bank accounts and credit cards
• Canceling subscriptions, phone plans, and memberships
• Transferring vehicle titles and property
• The deceased's final tax return

Write them down so your brain can let go of them — then let them wait.

The pattern behind every step above

Read the checklist again and notice what almost every step has in common: it depends on finding information — the hospice number, the funeral wishes, the policies, the deed, the passwords. The difference between a brutal week and a manageable one is rarely strength; it's whether someone wrote things down beforehand.

When the immediate days have passed, consider building your own emergency binder — not because it's morbid, but because you now know exactly what it spares the people you love.