What to Do When Someone Dies: A Checklist for Families

Find Your Path

Most families start by figuring out whether there's an estate plan, and whether they can find it. Choose the answer that fits, and jump to the steps for that situation.

Is there an estate plan?

Every path also uses the same common checklist, listed next. Details vary by state, but the order is much the same everywhere.

The Common Checklist

These steps apply whatever the plan. Every path in this guide runs alongside them.

In the first two weeks

The funeral home helps with several of these.

1. Get a legal pronouncement of death. A hospice nurse, physician, or coroner handles this, and almost everything else waits on it.
2. Order certified death certificates. Banks, insurers, and agencies each ask for a certified copy, so many families order ten or more through the funeral home.
3. Notify family, the employer, Social Security, and other agencies. Funeral homes often report the death to Social Security. Benefits stop or change, and the payment for the month of death has to be returned.
4. Secure the home, vehicles, mail, and pets. This protects property and helps prevent identity theft while things are sorted out.
5. Make funeral and memorial arrangements. Check first for written wishes or a prepaid plan.
6. Gather key documents. IDs, deeds and titles, account statements, insurance policies, and recent tax returns come up on every path.

OK to do later

1. Claim life insurance and beneficiary-designated accounts. These pass directly to the named beneficiary, outside the will or trust. How beneficiary designations work.
2. File the final income tax return. The person's income for their last year still needs to be reported.
3. Close subscriptions, utilities, and digital accounts. This stops recurring charges and protects online accounts. Digital assets can take extra steps.
4. Review your own estate plan and beneficiaries. A death in the family can change who you'd name in your own documents.

Executor vs. Successor Trustee: Who's Who

An executor is named in a will and handles probate under the court's supervision. A successor trustee is named in a trust and manages trust assets, usually without court involvement.

One person is often named to both roles. When they're different people, each handles only their own side.

If There's a Trust: What the Successor Trustee Does

This path fits when there's a living trust, the assets were retitled into it, and the family knows who the successor trustee is.

At death, a revocable trust becomes irrevocable, and the successor trustee steps in under the trust document. Revocable living trusts explained covers how the trust works before this point.

Court

Often handled without court involvement.

Privacy

Trust terms generally stay private.

Timeline

Often faster than probate. Depends on the assets and the trust's terms.

1. The successor trustee accepts the role. Banks and title companies ask for a signed acceptance or a certification of trust before they'll act.
2. Get an EIN for the trust. Once the trust becomes irrevocable, it becomes a separate taxpayer.
3. Confirm what the trust actually holds. Deeds and account titles, not the trust document, show what's in it. If anything turns up outside the trust, see Path A2.
4. Notify beneficiaries. Many states require formal notice to beneficiaries within a set window.
5. Administer and distribute. The successor trustee manages the trust, pays its debts and expenses, then distributes to beneficiaries or holds assets in continuing trusts as the trust directs. Settling debts and expenses first protects the trustee.

Then work through the common checklist, which applies on every path.

If Some Assets Were Never Put in the Trust

It's common to find a trust and then learn that a home, an account, or a vehicle was never retitled into it. Those assets have to be handled separately.

Court

The trust side is handled without court. Assets outside the trust usually go through probate.

Privacy

The trust stays private. Probate filings for the outside assets are public.

Timeline

Usually set by the probate side, which can take several months or longer.

1. The trustee accepts the role and gets a trust EIN. The trust side moves forward as in Path A1.
2. Check for a pour-over will and who it names as executor. Most trusts come with one, and it often names the successor trustee as executor for the court proceeding. If it names no one who can serve, the court appoints someone, and the trustee is often first in line. Without a pour-over will, assets outside the trust typically pass to heirs under state law rather than to the trust's beneficiaries.
3. Identify which assets are outside the trust. Check deeds, account titles, and vehicle registrations. If the title isn't in the trust's name, the trust doesn't hold it.
4. Check beneficiary designations and small estate options. Some outside assets may pass directly to a named beneficiary, or through a simpler state process instead of full probate.
5. The executor opens probate for what remains. The executor named in the pour-over will petitions the probate court and receives letters testamentary. The will then directs these assets into the trust, but only after the court process.
6. Trustee and executor coordinate before distributing. The successor trustee handles the trust side and the executor handles probate, and often they're the same person. Debts, expenses, and taxes can touch both sides, so final distributions usually wait until both are settled.

Then work through the common checklist, which applies on every path.

If There's a Will but No Trust

A will names an executor and says who receives what. In most states, the will is carried out through probate, the court-supervised process for validating the will, paying debts, and transferring assets.

How probate actually works covers the court process, costs and timeline in more depth.

Court

Usually required, unless the estate qualifies for a state's small estate process.

Privacy

Probate filings, often including the will, are public record.

Timeline

Several months to a year or more, depending on the state.

1. File the original will with the court. Probate starts here, and many states require filing even when probate isn't needed.
2. The executor petitions to be appointed. The executor files with the probate court in the county where the person lived, with the original will and a death certificate. The court issues letters testamentary, the document banks and agencies ask for before they'll deal with the executor.
3. Check small estate eligibility. Many states offer a simpler process for estates below a set value.
4. Notify creditors. This opens a claim period, after which late claims are usually barred.
5. Distribute and close the estate. The court discharges the executor once the final accounting is approved.

Then work through the common checklist, which applies on every path.

How to Find Out If There's an Estate Plan

When the family isn't sure a plan exists, or can't find the documents, a short search usually settles it.

Originals matter. Most courts won't accept a copy of a will without extra proceedings.

Timeline

Next steps wait on the search. Once it's done, the family follows Path A1, A2, B, or D.

1. Search the home, safe, and safe deposit box. Originals are often kept close to home.
2. Contact the attorney who drafted the documents. Many law firms keep clients' originals in their vault.
3. Check a will registry where one exists. Some states let people deposit wills with the court for safekeeping.
4. Ask the financial advisor and CPA. They may know whether a trust exists and who's named in it.
5. Move to the next path. If documents turn up, go to Path A1, A2, or B. If not, go to Path D.

What Happens When Someone Dies Without a Will

When someone dies without a will or trust, they're said to have died intestate. A court appoints an administrator, and state intestacy law decides who inherits.

Court

Required to appoint an administrator, unless a small estate process applies.

Privacy

Filings are public record.

Timeline

Often the longest of the paths, especially when heirs need to be located or need to agree.

1. Identify heirs under state law. Intestacy rules decide who inherits, and they may not match what the family expects.
2. A family member petitions to be administrator. State law sets who has priority, often a surviving spouse or adult child. Others may need to sign waivers. The court issues letters of administration, which give the administrator authority to act.
3. Expect a possible bond requirement. Courts often require a bond when no will waives it.
4. Address guardianship for minor children, if needed. With no named guardian, the court decides.
5. Plan for full probate. With no trust and no named decision-maker, the process is longer and more involved.

Then work through the common checklist, which applies on every path.

The Paths at a Glance

Common Questions After a Loss

How long does probate take?

It varies by state and by estate. Simpler estates may close in several months. Estates with disputes, property in more than one state, or heirs who are hard to locate can take a year or longer. Many states also offer a shorter process for small estates.

Is a successor trustee the same as an executor?

No, though one person is often named to both roles. The executor handles assets that go through probate, under court supervision. The successor trustee manages assets held in the trust, usually without court involvement.

Does a trust avoid probate?

Assets titled in the trust's name pass without probate. Assets that were never retitled into the trust usually go through probate, unless they pass by beneficiary designation or qualify for a small estate process.

Is there a formal reading of the will?

Usually not. The executor files the will with the probate court, and many states set a deadline for doing so. Beneficiaries and heirs are then notified as state law requires.

Do family members have to pay the person's debts, including medical bills?

Generally, debts and final medical bills are paid from the estate, not by family members personally. Exceptions can include co-signed loans, joint accounts, and some situations in community property states.

What happens to a house that wasn't put in the trust?

It usually goes through probate. If there's a pour-over will, the house moves into the trust once probate is done. Without one, it generally passes to heirs under state law.