After-loss checklist

Ask the hospital, hospice team, facility, or first responder who certifies the death and what happens before transportation.

Pick one person to handle calls, collect details, and keep decisions visible to relatives.

Ask about transportation, refrigeration, timing, price list, and whether the provider can support the family's preferred service.

Ask the funeral home, registrar, or local vital records office how to order certified copies. Many banks and insurers require originals.

Check safe places, attorney files, digital vaults, and trusted contacts before making irreversible decisions.

Record who was called, what was decided, costs quoted, and open questions. This helps when multiple relatives are involved.

Confirm plot, niche, opening and closing fees, marker rules, and visitation rules before signing.

Collect obituary notes, service details, photos, donation links, and guestbook settings in one shareable page.

Lock property, forward mail if appropriate, photograph valuables, and avoid distributing items until authority is clear.

Work through employer, Social Security, insurers, banks, credit cards, subscriptions, landlord or mortgage company, and credit bureaus.

List accounts, subscriptions, photos, devices, and social profiles before trying to close or memorialize anything.