After a Loss: The First 24 Hours and the Days Ahead
You do not need to have every answer right now. This checklist helps you understand what needs attention first, share responsibilities, and work through the days ahead—one step at a time. Follow your loved one’s wishes and your family’s traditions. Some items may not apply.
Expanded with lessons from a family’s firsthand experience of loss.
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Confirm that death has been pronounced by a medical professional.
Ask the hospital, hospice, or care facility about spending time with your loved one and any timing or visiting arrangements.
Notify immediate family members.
Notify close relatives and ask whether they wish to come, where visits are possible.
Respond promptly to organ or tissue donation questions if contacted by the care team or donation representative. Share known wishes or donor registration and ask what information or decision is needed and by when. The donation team will explain eligibility and next steps.
Contact clergy or your faith community if applicable.
Contact a funeral home or cremation provider.
Identify the immediate contact person for the hospital, hospice, or funeral provider.
Care for any children, pets, or dependents in the home.
After a loss, one person often becomes responsible for every call, arrangement, and question. Consider asking a trusted relative, friend, or support person to coordinate the practical details. You can still make important decisions while someone else handles calls, follow-ups, schedules, and reminders. One person can coordinate, while others take on specific tasks. Accepting help can give you time to rest, remember, and grieve.
A coordinator helps carry out the family’s wishes. This role does not itself give legal authority over the estate or funeral arrangements.
Choose a willing coordinator and a backup.
Agree on who makes decisions and which tasks can be delegated.
With permission, share the coordinator’s contact information with providers and participants.
Assign responsibilities for clothing, photographs, program review, speaker coordination, family updates, and the repast.
Keep one shared task list and record outstanding questions.
Agree on an update time to reduce repeated calls and interruptions.
Arrange practical support such as meals, transportation, childcare, or pet care where needed.
Notify close friends and additional family.
Locate government-issued ID (driver’s license, passport).
Locate the Social Security number.
Find any existing will, trust, or advance directive.
Note any funeral wishes or pre-arranged (prepaid) funeral or burial plans.
Gather provider contact information and record important deadlines.
Start a folder for arrangements, documents, receipts, and notes.
Ask each provider which decisions are needed now and which can wait.
Assign someone to write the obituary and another person to proofread it.
Verify names, dates, relationships, and important life details.
Confirm publication locations, costs, and submission deadlines.
Gather photographs for the printed program, viewing, slideshow, memory table, or posters.
Ask relatives to send photographs to one designated person by a deadline.
Confirm image quality, file format, photo limits, and delivery instructions with each provider.
Check that shared photo links allow the recipient to download the files.
If required, deliver a thumb drive or other agreed format.
Confirm who will deliver photographs or the slideshow to the actual service venue.
Test the slideshow and confirm it will be ready before guests arrive.
Arrange printing and delivery of memorial posters or photo boards if desired.
Decide on flowers, memorial donations, or other expressions of remembrance.
Choose a family-approved address for condolence cards.
Practical tip: A photo link that you can view may not allow another person to download it. Confirm access and test the files with the person who will display them.
The number of speakers and their time limits are choices to agree on with your officiant. There is no single right way.
Meet with the officiant to agree on the order of service.
Confirm speakers and other participants.
Give speakers an agreed focus, time limit, and arrival time.
Confirm that participants received their instructions and any attachments.
Encourage written remarks and identify a backup reader if needed.
Consider one representative for each group, such as grandchildren or coworkers.
Choose songs, musicians, readings, scriptures, or other meaningful elements.
Confirm who will handle acknowledgments.
Decide whether the obituary will be read aloud or silently.
Verify participants’ names, titles, roles, and pronunciation.
Assign one person to consolidate program corrections.
Request and carefully review the final program proof before authorizing printing.
Check names, dates, photographs, order of service, and acknowledgments.
Confirm print quantity, approval deadline, and delivery.
If an online program or QR code is included, verify that it works before printing.
Ask early whether livestreaming or recording is available.
Confirm which portions of the viewing or service can be streamed.
Identify who provides the service: funeral home, venue, or outside vendor.
Confirm any cost and obtain family approval.
Confirm venue permission and technical arrangements, including internet and audio access.
Assign someone to follow up until arrangements are confirmed.
Obtain and test the viewing link and any password.
Share the confirmed link, date, time, and time zone with remote attendees.
Ask whether a recording will be available afterward and for how long.
Agree on audience access and any family privacy preferences.
Practical tip: Do not assume livestreaming is included. Confirm who is responsible for arranging and operating it.
A repast is a meal or gathering following a funeral. It is optional and can be as simple as your family prefers.
Decide whether to hold a gathering.
Choose and reserve the location.
Designate a coordinator.
Estimate attendance and confirm the final headcount deadline.
Select a caterer or other meal arrangement.
Confirm the menu and dietary needs.
Agree on the budget, deposit, payment, and cancellation terms.
Ask whether a church or community organization can provide a meal or help with costs.
Confirm building access, setup, food delivery, and serving times separately.
Arrange tables, chairs, linens, serving supplies, drinks, and ice.
Assign setup, serving, cleanup, and leftover-food responsibilities.
Share directions, parking information, accessibility details, and timing.
Review arrangements with the funeral director, officiant, and family coordinator.
Confirm all participants’ arrival times and responsibilities.
Confirm clothing and personal items have been received.
Confirm photographs, posters, slideshow, and printed programs are ready.
Confirm livestream arrangements and link distribution if applicable.
Confirm family transportation.
Confirm repast access, delivery, and serving arrangements.
Assign someone to handle last-minute calls.
Assign someone to collect cards, flowers, photographs, and keepsakes.
If keepsakes or medallions are offered, confirm the wording, quantity, intended recipients, cost, and pickup arrangements.
Keep a list of people and organizations to thank later.
Work with the funeral home to file the death certificate.
Ask the funeral director how many certified copies you are likely to need based on the accounts and claims involved, and how to order additional copies.
Confirm what the funeral home reports and what the family still needs to handle, including Social Security and any applicable veterans or pension providers.
Contact life insurance companies.
Notify the employer of the deceased.
Secure and inventory valuable personal property.
Save all receipts and documents related to the death.
Before closing accounts or canceling services, identify who is authorized to act and review the consequences first. Some services, like utilities, insurance, and phone lines, may need to stay active for now.
Identify who is legally authorized to act for the estate.
Notify banks and financial institutions, and ask what they require before any changes are made.
Review credit cards with the authorized person before canceling or transferring them.
Review subscriptions and memberships, and consider the consequences before canceling essential services.
Redirect mail to the executor or next of kin.
Apply for any applicable veterans or pension benefits.
Consult an estate attorney if real estate or significant assets are involved.
Begin the probate process if required.
Ask a qualified tax professional which final individual or estate filings apply and confirm their deadlines.