What to Do When Someone Dies

Immediate Steps

The First Few Hours

If you are reading this right now because you have just lost someone, we are deeply sorry. Take a breath. You do not need to have all the answers in this moment. The first few hours are about a small number of essential steps — everything else can wait.

If the Death Occurs at Home

Call 911. Emergency medical technicians will be dispatched to confirm the death. In many jurisdictions, if the death was unattended — meaning no doctor, nurse, or hospice worker was present — the police may also respond to complete a routine report. This is standard procedure and nothing to be alarmed about. Do not move the body. Wait for the EMTs or authorities to arrive and provide guidance.

If at a Hospital or Care Facility

The medical staff will guide you through the process. They will confirm the time of death, provide initial paperwork, and give you contact information for next steps. You do not need to rush. Most hospitals will give you time to be with your loved one before any arrangements need to be made.

If in Hospice Care

Call the hospice nurse, not 911. When a patient is under hospice care, the hospice team is the appropriate first call. The nurse will come to the home to confirm the passing, handle documentation, and guide you through what happens next. Hospice organizations are experienced in making this process as gentle as possible for the family.

Notify Immediate Family

Call only your closest family members first — a spouse, children, parents, or siblings. You do not need to notify everyone right now. Let the people closest to you know what has happened, and ask one trusted person to help you make additional calls over the next day or two. Sharing this responsibility makes it more manageable.

Secure the Home

If the person who passed lived alone, take a moment to secure their home. Lock the doors and windows, turn off any appliances that may have been left on (stove, oven, space heaters), and check for pets that may need immediate care — food, water, or a temporary home with a neighbor or family member.

Take a Breath

You do not have to make every decision right now. The funeral home, the cemetery, the obituary, the financial accounts — all of that can wait until tomorrow or the day after. Right now, your only job is to be present, lean on the people around you, and allow yourself to feel whatever you are feeling.

Within Two Days

The First 24-48 Hours

Once the initial shock has settled, there are several important steps to take within the first day or two. You do not need to do all of these at once — work through them at your own pace, and ask family members or close friends to help.

Contact a Funeral Home

A funeral home is responsible for the care of the body, including embalming (if chosen), cremation (if chosen), and coordinating the funeral or memorial service. If your family has a relationship with a particular funeral home, call them first. If not, ask friends, clergy, or your hospital social worker for a recommendation. The funeral home will arrange to transport your loved one from the place of death.

Contact the Cemetery

The cemetery is a separate provider from the funeral home. The cemetery provides the permanent resting place — the burial plot, cremation niche, or mausoleum crypt — as well as the memorial marker and perpetual grounds care.

If your loved one pre-planned their cemetery arrangements, call the cemetery where those arrangements were made. They will have everything on file — the location, the memorial, the service preferences — and your family simply confirms the details.

If your loved one did not pre-plan, you will need to choose a cemetery. Life Remembered is here to help — call (800) 446-6696 for immediate assistance. Our Family Advisors can walk you through options, availability, and pricing at any of our 26 memorial parks across Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Obtain the Death Certificate

The funeral home typically handles the filing of the death certificate with the local vital records office. Order at least 10-15 certified copies. You will need them for insurance claims, bank accounts, Social Security, property transfers, vehicle titles, and more. It is much easier and less expensive to order extra copies now than to request them individually later.

Notify the Employer

If your loved one was employed at the time of death, contact their employer's Human Resources department. HR will need to know about the passing in order to process final paychecks, unused vacation pay, pension or retirement benefits, and any employer-provided life insurance. Ask specifically about any group life insurance policy — many employers provide a basic policy that the family may not be aware of.

Notify Social Security

Call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). If the deceased was receiving Social Security benefits, those payments must stop. Benefits paid for the month of death or after must be returned. Surviving spouses may be eligible for survivor benefits — be sure to ask about this during the call.

Locate the Will and Important Documents

If you know the name of the deceased's attorney, call them — they may have the original will and other estate documents on file. If you do not know whether an attorney was involved, check the home for a safe, a filing cabinet, or a lockbox. Important documents to look for include the will, life insurance policies, bank and investment account statements, property deeds, vehicle titles, military discharge papers (DD-214), and any pre-planned cemetery or funeral contracts.

Days 3-7

The First Week

During the first week, the focus shifts to planning the service, finalizing arrangements, and beginning to notify the wider circle of people and organizations that need to know.

Plan the Funeral or Memorial Service

Work with the funeral home to plan the service. Decisions to make include the type of service (traditional funeral, memorial service, celebration of life, graveside service), the date and time, the location (funeral home chapel, place of worship, cemetery), music and readings, pallbearers, flower arrangements, and whether there will be a visitation or viewing beforehand. If a religious service is planned, coordinate with your clergy or spiritual leader on the ceremony details.

Finalize Cemetery Arrangements

If cemetery arrangements were not already in place, now is the time to finalize them. This includes choosing the type of interment — a traditional burial plot, a cremation niche or urn garden, or a mausoleum crypt. You will also select a memorial marker or headstone and set the burial date. Your cemetery's Family Advisor will coordinate the timing with the funeral home so that everything aligns smoothly.

Write the Obituary

The obituary serves as a public notice and a tribute to the person who has passed. A well-written obituary typically includes the full legal name, age, date and place of death, date and place of birth, names of surviving family members, names of those who predeceased them, education and career highlights, military service (if applicable), hobbies and passions, details of the funeral or memorial service, and information about memorial contributions in lieu of flowers. For a detailed walkthrough with templates and examples, see our guide to writing an obituary.

Notify Important Contacts

Beyond family and friends, a number of organizations need to be notified of the death. Make a list and work through it over several days — there is no need to do everything at once.

• Banks and financial institutions — to freeze or transfer accounts
• Insurance companies — life, health, auto, homeowners
• Credit card companies — to close accounts and stop charges
• Mortgage or rental company — to discuss the status of the home
• Utility companies — electric, gas, water, internet, cable
• Subscription services — streaming, magazines, meal kits, gym memberships
• Doctor's office and pharmacy — to close patient records and stop prescriptions

Arrange Care for Dependents

If the deceased was a primary caregiver for children, elderly parents, or pets, arrange for immediate and ongoing care. This may mean coordinating with the other parent, extended family members, or professional caregivers. For pets, reach out to family or friends who can provide a loving temporary or permanent home.

Set Up a Support System

This is the time to accept help. When friends and family ask "What can I do?" — give them something specific. Ask someone to coordinate meals, handle phone calls, pick up out-of-town relatives from the airport, or help with childcare. Delegating tasks is not a sign of weakness — it is how families get through the hardest weeks. You do not have to do everything yourself.

Weeks 2-4

The First Month

After the service is over and the immediate crisis has passed, the administrative work begins. This phase can feel overwhelming because of the sheer number of tasks, but remember — there is no deadline for most of these. Take them one or two at a time.

File Insurance Claims

Contact every insurance company where the deceased held a policy — life insurance, accident insurance, employer-provided benefits, and veterans benefits (if applicable). Each claim will require a certified copy of the death certificate, so this is why ordering 10-15 copies is so important. If your loved one served in the military, there may be additional benefits available through the VA. Visit our veterans services page for more information on burial benefits for veterans.

Handle Financial Accounts

Contact banks and financial institutions to close individual accounts or transfer joint accounts to the surviving holder. You will need a death certificate and, in most cases, letters testamentary from the probate court (or a small estate affidavit, depending on the estate size). While you are at it, update the beneficiary designations on your own accounts — these are often overlooked after a spouse's death.

Begin Probate (If Applicable)

If the deceased had a will, the person named as executor files the will with the local probate court to begin the probate process. Probate is the legal process of validating the will, paying debts, and distributing assets to the beneficiaries. If there is no will, the court will appoint an administrator — usually the surviving spouse or closest relative — to manage the estate under state intestacy laws. Consider consulting a probate attorney, especially if the estate includes real property, business interests, or if there are disputes among family members.

Cancel Unnecessary Services

Work through the list of services and subscriptions that are no longer needed. This may include streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Spotify), magazine and newspaper subscriptions, gym and club memberships, cell phone plans, email accounts, and social media profiles. Some of these can be canceled with a phone call, while others — particularly cell phone contracts and some financial services — may require a death certificate. Facebook and other social media platforms have processes for memorializing or deleting an account; check their help pages for instructions.

Update Your Own Legal Documents

This is an important step that many people overlook. If you were married to the deceased, your own legal documents likely name them — your will, power of attorney, healthcare directive, life insurance beneficiary, retirement account beneficiary, and bank account designations. These all need to be updated to reflect your current wishes. Contact your attorney to review and revise these documents. It is not something you need to do immediately, but it should be on your list for the first month or two.

Allow Yourself to Grieve

There is no right way to grieve, and there is no timeline. Some people feel the full weight of loss immediately; others feel numb for weeks before grief arrives. Both responses — and everything in between — are completely normal. Consider grief counseling, bereavement support groups, or speaking with your clergy or a trusted friend. Many hospice organizations offer free bereavement support to families for up to a year after the death, even if the deceased was not a hospice patient. You do not have to navigate this alone.

When Plans Are Already in Place

If Your Loved One Pre-Planned

If the person who passed had already pre-planned their cemetery arrangements, the process you are going through right now is significantly easier than it would otherwise be. Pre-planning means the most difficult cemetery decisions have already been made — by the person themselves, at a time when they could think clearly and choose thoughtfully.

What to Do

Call the cemetery where arrangements were made. They will have a complete file with all of your loved one's choices — the burial plot or cremation niche location, the memorial marker, the type of service, and the payment status. In most cases, the property, memorial, and services are already fully paid for or on a structured payment plan.

What Happens Next

The cemetery will coordinate directly with the funeral home on timing — when the body will arrive, the date and time of the burial or placement, and any graveside service logistics. Your family's role is simply to confirm the details and add any personal touches you would like — specific flowers, a favorite song, a reading from a meaningful text.

Why This Matters

This is exactly why pre-planning exists. It spares the family from making major, expensive decisions during the worst days of their lives. There are no financial surprises, no last-minute scrambles to find an available plot, and no agonizing over what the person "would have wanted." They already told you — it is all in the file.

If you are going through this experience right now and your loved one had the foresight to pre-plan, take a moment to appreciate the gift they gave you. They did this so that your family could focus on each other, on grieving, and on celebrating their life — not on logistics.

Looking Ahead

Protecting Your Own Family

You have just experienced firsthand what happens when a family has to navigate cemetery decisions during grief. Whether the process was made easier by pre-planning or made harder by its absence, you now understand the weight of these decisions in a way that most people do not — until it is their turn.

Why Pre-Planning Matters

Pre-planning your own cemetery arrangements removes the burden of decision-making from your family during what will already be the hardest days of their lives. When everything is in place — the location, the memorial, the service preferences, the payment — your family simply makes one phone call to the cemetery. The rest is handled.

Lock In Today's Prices

Cemetery costs increase an average of 3-5% per year. By pre-planning today, you lock in current pricing and protect your family from future price increases. What costs a certain amount today will cost significantly more in five, ten, or twenty years.

The Peace of Mind Package

Life Remembered's Peace of Mind Package starts at $250 per month and includes everything your family will need — a burial lot, a casket, a vault, and a bronze memorial. You choose your own location at any of our 26 memorial parks, select the memorial style you prefer, and document your service wishes. When the time comes, your family has nothing to decide and nothing to pay.

Your Family Will Thank You

The families we work with who have pre-planned consistently tell us the same thing: their loved one's foresight was one of the greatest gifts they received during the hardest week of their lives. You have the opportunity to give that same gift to your own family.