What to do after a death: a checklist
If someone has just died, the first call is to the funeral home. For Inglewood Cemetery Mortuary, that is 310-412-6811. Everything else on this page can wait a day or two.
In the first days
- Call the funeral home. If there is a prearranged plan, tell them; it answers most of their questions.
- Let close family know, and ask one person to help make calls.
- Notify Social Security if the funeral home has not already done so, and the person's employer.
- Contact the Department of Veterans Affairs if the person served in the military.
In the first one to two weeks
- Order several certified copies of the death certificate. Banks, insurers and agencies each ask for one.
- File life insurance claims.
- Tell the post office where to forward mail.
- Notify other insurers (auto, home, health, pensions, Medicare), banks, credit card companies and lenders.
- Talk with a probate or estate attorney if there is property to settle.
In the first one to two months
- Choose a grave marker and finish the engraving.
- Send thank-you notes.
- Let the person's doctors and financial advisor know.
- Pay or cancel ongoing bills: utilities, phone, internet, rent, memberships and subscriptions.
- Ask the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to flag the record, which helps prevent identity theft.
- Close email accounts, and close or memorialize social media accounts.
- Transfer titles for the house and car, and cancel the driver's license.
- Review any policies that named the person as a beneficiary.
Within the first year
- File the person's final tax return.
- Notify the county elections office.
- When you are ready, think about your own plan. Families who have just been through this often say they do not want to leave the same work to their children. How advance planning works.
Grief support, in English and Spanish
Grief does not follow a checklist. Billy can share free booklets for families, including grieving a spouse, grieving a child, grieving a loved one, helping children and teens through a loss, and getting through the holidays. Several are available in Spanish. Ask for a booklet and choose "A grief or after-a-loss booklet" on the form.
This checklist is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your attorney or tax preparer can tell you what applies to your family.