Authored By David Engler, MBA, CFP®, Financial Planner, and Blaine Homan, CFP®, Financial Planner

Key Takeaways

• Settling an estate is a process, not a single event. It unfolds over months, sometimes longer, and that is completely normal.
• Grief and financial decision-making are a difficult combination. Give yourself grace, and address each task one step at a time.
• You do not have to navigate this alone. An estate attorney and a financial planner can guide you through every stage. Their roles are complementary, not interchangeable.
• There are benefits available to surviving family members that many people never claim. Knowing what to ask for matters.
• A loss changes your own financial picture too. Updating your estate plan, beneficiary designations, and financial goals is an important part of moving forward.

When a loved one passes, the grief can feel all-consuming. And yet, a series of time-sensitive financial and legal decisions cannot wait. From notifying government agencies to settling estate accounts, knowing what to do when a loved one passes makes an incredibly difficult time more manageable. This checklist walks you through every step, from the first hours after a loss through the months that follow. Our team at Mason put together this checklist to help you navigate this process with confidence.

Please note: This information is intended for general educational purposes and may not address every aspect of your specific situation. We strongly encourage you to work with qualified professionals for guidance tailored to your circumstances.

Immediate Steps When a Loved One Passes (First 48 Hours)

The first day or two will feel overwhelming. Focus only on what must happen right now. Everything else can wait.

If your loved one was an organ donor, work with the medical staff to carry out their wishes. The medical team will guide the process, but time is critical.

Contact a funeral home to arrange for the body to be transported to their facility. If your loved one left pre-arranged funeral instructions or a prepaid funeral plan, locate those documents now.

Notify close family, friends, and clergy. There is no protocol here. Do what feels right for your family and your loved one’s community.

Contact your loved one’s estate attorney and financial planner. Even a brief call lets them begin preparing for the steps ahead and flag anything time-sensitive specific to your loved one’s situation. If you do not yet have a financial planner and would like guidance, contact our team at Mason.

Near-Term Actions After a Loved One Passes (1 Month)

Once the most immediate responsibilities are handled, the following steps should be addressed in the first two to four weeks. You do not need to complete them in a single day. Work through them steadily.

Plan the Funeral and Memorial Service

Coordinate the funeral, burial, cremation, and/or memorial service with your funeral home director. Once arrangements are confirmed, notify family, friends, and clergy of the details, and place an obituary in your loved one’s local newspaper. Many newspapers now offer online submission, and your funeral director can often assist with this.

Locate the Letter of Last Instruction

Separate from a will, a letter of last instruction is an informal document your loved one may have prepared to communicate their final wishes — things like preferences for their personal belongings, passwords to online accounts, or guidance on the care of pets. Check with your loved one’s estate attorney, their files at home, or a fireproof safe.

Obtain Death Certificates — More Than You Think You’ll Need

Request 15 to 20 certified, signed, and stamped copies of the death certificate. This number surprises most families, but financial institutions, insurance companies, government agencies, and employers each typically require an original certified copy and they rarely return them. Your funeral home director can help you order copies directly from the county or state vital records office. It is easier and less expensive to order extras now than to reorder them later.

Gather Key Documents

Collect the documents you are likely to need throughout the estate administration process. These commonly include:

• Birth certificate(s)
• Marriage and/or divorce certificates
• U.S. military discharge paperwork (DD-214), if applicable
• Prior-year tax returns
• Life insurance policies
• Account statements for bank, brokerage, and retirement accounts
• Property deeds and vehicle titles
• Any existing will, trust, or power of attorney documents

Contact Your Loved One’s Employer, Clubs, and Organizations

Reach out to your loved one’s place of work to inquire about any final paycheck, accrued vacation payout, pension or retirement plan benefits, or group life insurance. Do the same for any professional associations, fraternal organizations, or clubs — some carry group life or accidental death benefits that beneficiaries often overlook.

Meet with Your Estate Attorney and Financial Planner

This meeting is foundational to everything that follows. Your estate attorney will lay out a plan for administering the estate, opening any required accounts (such as an estate checking account), retitling assets, and identifying any tax or legal filings required. Your financial planner will work in parallel to implement that plan — opening new accounts, adjusting cost basis on inherited assets, facilitating transfers, and ensuring beneficiary designations are properly updated.

These two professionals work together, not independently. Engaging both early prevents costly missteps.

Longer-Term Financial Steps After a Loved One Passes (2-6 Months)

Once the immediate and near-term steps are underway, turn your attention to the agencies and institutions that need to be formally notified.

Notify the Social Security Administration

Contact the SSA to report the death, stop ongoing benefits, and — critically — return any payments your loved one was not entitled to receive.

• If Social Security benefits arrived by check: Do not deposit any check for the month of death or any month after. Return all such checks to the SSA as soon as possible.
• If benefits arrived by direct deposit: Contact your bank and instruct them to return any funds received for the month of death or later. Do not spend these funds — the SSA will seek to recover them.

The SSA also pays a one-time lump-sum death benefit of $255 to a surviving spouse who was living with the deceased, or in some cases to a dependent child. Apply for this benefit promptly, as it does not come automatically.

If you are a surviving spouse or dependent, you may be entitled to ongoing survivor benefits. Survivor benefit amounts depend on the deceased’s earnings record and your age. Contact the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 or visit ssa.gov to apply.

Notify Medicare

Notify Medicare of the death so that benefits are stopped and no further claims are processed in your loved one’s name. Contact Medicare at 1-800-633-4227 or through the SSA, which will often coordinate the notification.

File Life Insurance Claims

Contact each life insurance company where your loved one held a policy to initiate the claims process. You will typically need to provide a certified copy of the death certificate and complete a claim form. Policies generally pay within 30 to 60 days of a complete claim submission.

Do not overlook less obvious sources of life insurance: group coverage through an employer, credit card benefits, mortgage protection policies, and coverage through professional associations or alumni groups.

Contact Pension Plan Administrators

If your loved one was receiving pension income or was enrolled in a pension plan, notify the plan administrator promptly to stop benefit payments and determine whether a survivor annuity or continuation benefit applies to you. Overpaid pension amounts will need to be returned, similar to Social Security.

Protect Against Identity Theft After a Loved One Passes

The identity of a deceased person is a common target for fraud. To protect your loved one’s credit file, contact any one of the three major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion — and request that a deceased notice be added to their credit file. That bureau is required to notify the other two.

After the notice is added, continue to monitor the credit reports periodically to ensure no fraudulent accounts are opened in your loved one’s name. You are entitled to free annual credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Handle Tax Filings for the Estate

Work with your loved one’s tax preparer or a CPA familiar with estate matters to handle the following:

• Final income tax return: A return must be filed for the year of death, covering income earned from January 1 through the date of death. A surviving spouse may file jointly for that final year.
• Estate income tax return (Form 1041): If the estate generates income during administration (from investments, rental property, etc.), a separate estate income tax return may be required.
• Estate tax return (Form 706): If the estate exceeds the federal exemption threshold (currently $15 million per individual as of 2026), an estate tax return is required. The deadline is nine months from the date of death, with an automatic six-month extension available upon request.
• Portability election: As the surviving spouse, you may be eligible to claim your deceased spouse’s unused estate tax exemption — a provision known as “portability.” This requires a timely filed Form 706 even if no estate tax is owed. Discuss this with your estate attorney and tax preparer.

Understanding Stepped-Up Cost Basis on Inherited Assets

When a loved one passes and you inherit investments — stocks, mutual funds, real estate — the cost basis of those assets is generally “stepped up” to the fair market value on the date of death. This is an important tax benefit: if you later sell those assets, you will only owe capital gains tax on appreciation that occurs after the date of death, not on gains that accumulated during your loved one’s lifetime.

Your financial planner will adjust the cost basis on all inherited investment accounts as part of the estate administration process. Keeping accurate records of the date-of-death values is essential.

Administrative Wrap-Up After a Loved One Passes (Ongoing)

As the estate settles, several administrative items remain. Work through these at a manageable pace.

• Voter registration: Notify your local election authority of your loved one’s passing to remove them from the voter rolls.
• Driver’s license: Notify the Department of Motor Vehicles to cancel the license and prevent it from being used fraudulently.
• Subscriptions and memberships: Cancel or transfer subscriptions (streaming services, magazines, club memberships, etc.). Review bank and credit card statements for recurring charges.
• Utilities and home services: Transfer utility accounts, lawn care, internet, and other household services into your name if you are remaining in the home.
• Insurance policies: Cancel any policies your loved one owned outright (such as an individual auto policy on a vehicle they no longer drive). Update jointly held policies — homeowners and auto in particular — to reflect the change in ownership and named insureds. Notify your insurance agent promptly, as coverage gaps can arise if policies are not updated.