Everyday Money Habits · Checklist
The first steps after a death.
In the days after a death, almost nothing is as urgent as it feels. Work the first list at your own pace — the top items are the few that are on a clock. Write things down as you go, so the scattered details end up in one place.
Work the handful of things on a clock after a death, know who to contact for each, and record the details in one place — then, when you're ready, put your own forms in order.
In the days and weeks after a parent or spouse dies, when you are the one handling the paperwork.
1Order certified death certificates
You'll need them for almost everything, and each bank, insurer, and agency wants its own original. The funeral home can usually order them — get about ten.
How many ordered2Confirm Social Security was notified
The funeral home usually reports it if you give them the Social Security number. Any benefit paid for the month of death, or later, has to go back — don't spend it.
Date confirmed3Freeze the credit file
Mail a death certificate to any one of the three credit bureaus; it flags the file and alerts the other two, so no one can borrow in their name.
Date sent4Don't cash out or close any account yet
Not until you know what kind each is. A retirement account cashed out by mistake can't be undone. List the accounts below and leave them alone until you know each one.
AccountWhere it's heldPhone5Find the will and the executor
Who is named to settle the estate? If it isn't you, you help, but someone else holds the pen. Ask whether a small estate can skip probate.
ExecutorThe will is kept6Keep the essential bills paid
The mortgage and utilities, paid from the estate's money and not your own. You are usually not on the hook for the rest of their debts.
Paying from7File the life-insurance claim
Call the insurer named on the policy or a recent statement. It usually pays in days, and the funeral home can be paid straight from it by signing an assignment.
Surviving spouse? If the household just lost its income, do this first — it needs only the death certificate, and it's usually the fastest cash in.
InsurerPolicy number
Where to go
- Certified death certificates. Your state's vital-records office issues them; the CDC keeps a state-by-state directory: cdc.gov/nchs/w2w
- Social Security. Report a death, or ask about survivor benefits: ssa.gov/survivor · 1-800-772-1213
- The credit bureaus. Notify any one in writing with a death certificate; it alerts the other two.
- Life insurance. Call the insurer named on the policy or a recent statement to file a claim.
- A collector who won't stop. You almost certainly owe nothing; the federal consumer-finance bureau spells out the rule and takes complaints: consumerfinance.gov
Then, your own affairs
Settling someone's estate shows you, sharply, the cost of a form left undone. When you're ready, though not today, spend an hour so no one has to do this list for you.
Work these with the giving & estate worksheet, or read the estate-planning guide.
Based on the losing-a-parent lesson.
michaelwestfinancials.com · © 2026 Michael West Financials · Education, not financial advice · Last reviewed August 2026