24 Oct What to Do After a Loved One Passes
Losing someone you love is never easy. Between the shock, the sadness, and all the details that suddenly need your attention, it’s hard to know where to start. And there’s a long list of difficult tasks to tackle, like making calls to family and friends or sorting through papers and personal items.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, that’s completely normal—but you don’t have to figure it all out at once. Here are the first steps to take after a loved one passes, and a few ways to make the process a little easier on yourself and on your family.
Take a Breath Before You Make the First Calls
If you’re the first to know about the passing and it happened at home, start by contacting emergency services or the hospice nurse—you’ll need someone who can make an official pronouncement of death.
From there, reach out to close family and friends, and begin making funeral arrangements based on your loved one’s wishes. But give yourself some grace. You don’t have to handle everything in a single day.
Secure the Home and Gather Important Papers
Once the immediate needs have been taken care of, make sure your loved one’s home and belongings are safe. Lock up the house, collect spare keys, and start looking for the documents you’ll need later.
That includes things like:
- A will or trust
- Life insurance policies
- Property deeds and vehicle titles
- Bank or investment statements
Don’t forget digital assets, either: email accounts, online banking, and social media can all hold important information.
If your loved one had an estate plan in place, try to find those documents first. They might be in a home safe, a filing cabinet, or held by their attorney. Knowing what your loved one had planned can save you time and stress later on.
Start Notifying Key Institutions
If you’ve been named as the executor of the will, this step will likely fall to you. After you’ve gathered the paperwork, you’ll need to notify certain agencies and companies.
This usually includes:
- The Social Security Administration
- Life insurance providers
- Banks and investment firms
- Pension or retirement plan administrators
Each one will need a certified copy of the death certificate and proof that you’re authorized to handle the estate. It’s a daunting task, but it helps prevent identity theft and keeps accounts in good standing.
Begin the Probate or Trust Process
If there’s a will, the person named as executor will start the probate process—paying debts, filing final taxes, and distributing property. A will generally needs to go through probate, and in doing so it becomes a matter of public record.
If there’s a living trust, the successor trustee can usually step in right away. Because the assets in a living trust bypass probate, the process will move faster and stay private. This way, the assets can be transferred without the delays (or fees) of probate court.
Executors are also required to keep all interested parties informed as things move forward, so even if you’re not the executor, you’ll still receive updates on the process.
Be Careful with Debts and Bills
Before you pay off any large bills, talk with the executor or an attorney. Some debts should be paid by the estate, not the family.
It’s fine to cover essentials like utilities or funeral expenses, but hold off on credit cards or medical bills until you know what’s legally required.
If your loved one had a mortgage, it’s especially important to keep those payments current to prevent foreclosure. And if they had a final expense or life insurance policy, those funds can help cover funeral and burial costs without dipping into any family savings.
Take Care of Yourself, Too
Amid all the paperwork and planning, it’s easy to forget to take care of yourself. Grief doesn’t follow a checklist—it comes in waves. So give yourself time to rest, grieve, and adjust, and let others help where they can.
That might mean leaning on friends or relatives for help making calls, hiring a cleaning service, or finding support through grief counseling or local bereavement groups. You can also reach out for professional help with legal or estate matters to take some of the pressure off your shoulders.
Compassionate Estate Guidance When You Need It Most
At Phelps LaClair, we’ve spent more than 40 years helping Arizona families through every stage of estate planning. Whether you’re managing a loved one’s affairs or planning for your own peace of mind, our attorneys are here to guide you every step of the way.
If you’ve recently lost a loved one, we can help you handle the legal details so you can focus on honoring their memory and caring for yourself.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
Images used under creative commons license – commercial use (10/23/2025). Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash