Who to Notify When Someone Dies: Checklist

By the Estate Made Clear editorial team. Estate Made Clear is an independent educational publisher; this page is built from federal agency guidance, state statutes and official court materials, each linked at the point it is used.

The short answer. There is no single office that closes every account after a death. The work spreads across seven groups: Social Security and other government programs, the employer or benefit plan, banks and creditors, insurers, housing and utility providers, the credit bureaus, and digital account providers.

Three things come first. Ask the funeral home whether it has already reported the death to the Social Security Administration. Find out from the vital-records office in the state where the death occurred how to order certified copies of the death certificate. Open a simple written log of every organization you contact. Those three can be done in an afternoon. Almost everything else on this page can wait days or weeks without harm, and the table below says which is which. The one exception is the original will: if you are holding it, several states set a short deadline for handing it to the court, and that deadline is set out below.

One distinction shapes everything that follows: telling an organization someone has died is not the same as having authority to close, transfer, claim or spend anything. A family member can usually report a death. Who may then act depends on the decedent's state, how the account is titled, whether a beneficiary was named, what a will or trust says, and whether a court or the institution has recognized that authority.

If the death was very recent and you are still arranging the funeral and securing the home, start with what to do in the first week after a death and come back when the paperwork begins. If what you need right now is support rather than paperwork, grief resources is there and will keep. If you are in crisis, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline takes calls and texts at 988, any hour.

Where to start, depending on your situation

• Start with the funeral home if it handled arrangements — ask whether it already reported the death to Social Security and on what date, because funeral homes generally make that report.
• Start with the state vital-records office where the death occurred if you have no certified copies yet, because nearly every later step turns on proof and each organization decides for itself what it accepts.
• Start with the probate court clerk in the decedent's county if you are holding the original will, because several states set a deadline measured in days for delivering it, or if an institution says it needs court-issued documents. The court publishes its own forms, requirements and fees at no charge.
• Start with the institution's own estate or bereavement team if one account is the pressing problem — a mortgage, a joint account, an account with a named beneficiary — and ask what proof and whose authority it requires.
• Don't choose yet — pause and get professional review if any of the following is true:
  • Who has authority is disputed, or more than one person claims the role
  • You do not want the role, or you are not sure you should take it
  • The debts may be larger than what the estate holds
  • There is real property in another state — that often needs a second, separate court process where the property sits, called ancillary probate, and both states' timelines run independently
  • A business, farm, rental property or cryptocurrency is involved
  • A co-owner or beneficiary is unknown, unreachable, or a minor
  • A creditor is pressing for payment or threatening suit
  • Litigation was pending when the person died
  • The will cannot be found, or the will and the trust do not match
  • Something in the accounts, documents or recent transfers suggests the person was pressured or taken advantage of — or a surviving vulnerable adult may still be at risk
• Bring in a probate attorney licensed in the decedent's state, or an estate CPA for tax questions, before you pay a debt with your own money, hand anything to family, or sign something quickly — and confirm procedure, forms and deadlines with that county's probate court clerk, which costs nothing.

Any one of these is a reason to slow down, not to panic. When probate legal help may be needed walks through that decision. Where someone living may be at risk, your state's adult protective services agency and local law enforcement also take these reports.

Which situation are you in?

Your situation	The next move	Confirm before you engage or pay
Everything appears to pass by joint title or beneficiary designation	Each institution's own estate or beneficiary claim process, directly	Is that how the account is actually titled, in writing? What documents does the claim need? Is anything left with no joint owner or beneficiary?
Named in the will, and an institution wants court documents	The probate court clerk or self-help center in the decedent's county	What does this court call the document the bank wants? What does it charge to file, on its published fee schedule? How long does appointment usually take here? Can its forms be used without a lawyer?
A modest estate where a state simplified procedure might apply	The same court clerk or the state's small-estate materials, before hiring anyone	Does this state offer a simplified or small-estate procedure, and what is its measure? Is there a waiting period? Who may use it? Does real property change the answer?
Disputed authority, possible insolvency, out-of-state property, a business, or litigation	A probate attorney licensed in the decedent's state, plus an estate CPA for tax questions	Are you licensed in that state, and do you handle this county's court? What is the fee basis, in writing? Will you take a limited-scope engagement? Who is your client — me personally, or the estate?

Contents

• Who to notify first, and what can wait
  • Where your state's answer comes from
• Gather proof and confirm who can act
  • If you are holding the original will
  • Words you will hear
  • The authority table: who holds authority after a death
• Notify Social Security and other government programs
  • The one-time payment is $255, not $250
• Contact the employer and workplace benefit plans
• Notify banks, credit cards, lenders and creditors
  • What the account's title changes
  • Estate debt is not the same as your debt
  • If you are the one administering the estate
  • If the debts may be larger than the estate
• Update insurers, housing, utilities and recurring services
• Handle mail, credit files and digital accounts carefully
• Use a notification log and know when to pause
• Choosing the right kind of help
• Frequently asked questions

Who to notify first, and what can wait

This is the only master sequence on the page; everything below explains how to carry out a step, not when to do it again. The order follows consequence and dependency rather than a nationwide clock. Real deadlines come from a specific program, plan or court in a specific state, and are named where they apply.

Stage	What to handle	Why it sits here	Proof or authority usually involved
Now	Confirm the Social Security report. If you have the original will, find out what your state requires you to do with it — several set a deadline measured in days. Watch for benefit deposits arriving after the death. Keep home, auto and health coverage in force. Secure the property. Note any account that could overdraw or lapse. Start the log.	Money still moving and coverage quietly ending are what get expensive fastest, and the will deadline is the one clock that can start without anyone telling you.	Usually none yet — a phone call, your name and your relationship.
Soon	Order certified copies based on what organizations actually ask for. Contact the employer or plan administrator. Notify banks, card issuers, lenders and insurers. Place a deceased notice with one credit bureau. Manage the mail. Preserve digital records before closing anything.	These steps need proof, and several need someone whose authority has been recognized.	Certified death certificate for most financial and government steps; documents showing your role for anything beyond notice.
Later	Cancel or transfer subscriptions, memberships and low-risk services. Memorialize or close social accounts. Close financial accounts once claims, taxes and distributions are settled.	Closing early destroys records you still need, or cuts off a service the household uses.	Often a photocopy — ask before ordering more certified copies.
Only if applicable	Veterans or military retiree benefits, federal civilian retirement, state benefit programs, a passport, voter registration, a death abroad, probate or trust administration, an insolvent estate, a business interest, or property in another state.	Many estates never touch any of these.	Program-specific, and often more demanding than a simple notice.

The decedent's state, and frequently the county, governs the legal steps above. Federal programs work the same everywhere; courts, creditor rules and property transfers do not. Real property in another state usually needs its own separate proceeding where the property sits — ancillary probate — opened with that county's court in addition to the one where the person lived, so ask both clerks rather than assuming one court's letters will work in the other state. This page is process information, not legal advice — applying it to a particular estate is a question for a licensed attorney in that state.

Where your state's answer comes from

This is the who-sets-it table. It does not give you a number; it tells you which body owns the number and how to reach that body free. This page does not publish state-by-state figures for these questions: a threshold or a claim period quoted without its state is worse than no number at all. Every route below covers all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

The question	Who sets the answer	Where to get it, free
What a certified death certificate costs, who may order one, how long it takes	The vital-records office in the state where the death occurred	CDC directory of state vital-records offices
Which court handles the estate, its forms, its fees, how long appointment takes	The probate court in the decedent's county	USA.gov court directory, then that court's clerk or self-help center
How long you have to hand over an original will, and to whom	The decedent's state, by statute	The state-by-state deadlines below for eighteen states; otherwise that county's probate court clerk
Whether a simplified or small-estate procedure applies, what it measures, and who may use it	The decedent's state	State small-estate procedures, then confirm with that county's clerk
How long creditors have to claim against the estate, and when that period starts	The decedent's state	The probate court clerk in the decedent's county
Whether a smaller employer's health plan carries continuation coverage ("mini-COBRA")	The state that regulates the plan	That state's insurance department or commissioner's office
Whether a state is already holding money in the person's name	Each state's unclaimed property program	NAUPA directory of official state programs
Whether a benefit program will seek repayment from the estate	The agency that paid the benefit, in the state that paid it	That agency directly; where Medicaid recovery is in play, an elder law attorney in that state

Verified, with a limitation: each row names the governing body and a route that resolves for every state. Except for the will-delivery deadlines below, the values themselves are set by that state or county and are not published here.

Gather proof and confirm who can act

Order death certificates through the vital-records office in the state where the death occurred; the CDC maintains the directory of state vital-records offices, and each state sets its own eligibility rules, fee and turnaround. Funeral homes can often order copies at the time of the arrangements, and many states limit who may request a certified copy — commonly a spouse, sibling or child.

Before ordering a large number, work out what you need. USA.gov's guidance is that a certified copy is generally required for notifying federal agencies, closing or transferring bank and credit card accounts, and claiming life insurance or a pension, while a photocopy may be enough for smaller tasks such as canceling a subscription — and that you should check with each organization. So: list the organizations, ask each what it accepts and whether it returns originals, then order once against a real number.

Have ready before you call

• Full legal name, date of birth and date of death
• Last address, and the state and county where the death occurred
• Your relationship to the person, and your own contact details
• A partial account reference — the last four digits, or the statement nickname
• Whatever proof of your role you have: the will naming you, court letters, trust pages, or nothing yet
• Your log, open, with a place for the reference number they give you

Do not keep a Social Security number, full account number, full policy number, password or estate value in a tracker. Institutions ask for identifying details through their own secure channels; that is different from writing them in a notebook or spreadsheet.

If you are holding the original will

Most states require whoever has custody of an original will to hand it over after the death — to the probate court, or in some states to the person named in the will as executor — whether or not anyone intends to open probate. This duty is easy to miss because nobody sends a reminder, and it is one of the few things on this page that can carry a real deadline in the first weeks.

Two points before the table. The duty falls on whoever physically has the document, which is often a family member rather than a lawyer. And handing the will over is not the same as opening probate, does not commit you to serving as executor, and in most places costs nothing or close to it.

The eighteen states below set the duty by statute, and their deadlines are verified. If your state is not among them, you do not need to read the table — ask the probate court clerk in the decedent's county what the state requires and where the will goes. The USA.gov court directory locates that court, and the clerk answers this question free. A state's absence here is not evidence that it has no rule; it means this page has not yet verified one.

Statute text was read on the verification date at the end of this page; where a link points to a dated compilation, the compilation year is shown.

State	How long you have	What starts the clock	Statute
Alabama	No fixed number of days — "with reasonable promptness"	A request from an interested person, after the death	Ala. Code § 43-8-270
Arizona	No fixed number of days — "with reasonable promptness"	A request from an interested person, after the death	Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 14-2516
California	30 days	Learning that the person has died	Cal. Prob. Code § 8200
Colorado	10 days	The death, or as soon after as you learn of it	Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-516
Connecticut	30 days	Knowledge of the death	Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-282
Florida	10 days	Receiving information that the person has died	Fla. Stat. § 732.901
Hawaii	No fixed number of days — "with reasonable promptness"	A request from an interested person, after the death	Haw. Rev. Stat. § 560:2-516 (2016 compilation)
Illinois	"Immediately upon the death"	The death	755 ILCS 5/6-1
Massachusetts	30 days	Notice of the death	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, § 2-516
Michigan	No fixed number of days — "with reasonable promptness"	The death	Mich. Comp. Laws § 700.2516
Minnesota	No fixed number of days — "with reasonable promptness"	A request from an interested person, after the death	Minn. Stat. § 524.2-516 (2021 compilation)
Nevada	30 days	Knowledge of the death	Nev. Rev. Stat. § 136.050
New Mexico	No fixed number of days — "as soon as" you are informed	Being informed of the death	N.M. Stat. § 45-2-516
North Dakota	No fixed number of days — "with reasonable promptness"	A request from an interested person, after the death	N.D. Cent. Code § 30.1-11-02
Oklahoma	30 days	Receiving information that the person has died	Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 21
Tennessee	No fixed number of days — "as soon as" you know	Knowledge of the death	Tenn. Code § 32-1-113 (2010 compilation)
Texas	No fixed number of days — on receiving notice	Receiving notice of the death	Tex. Est. Code § 252.201
Washington	30 days — 40 days if you are the executor named in the will	Knowledge of the death	Wash. Rev. Code § 11.20.010

Three things the table does not show, which matter as much as the number:

The court is not always the destination. Nevada and Washington allow delivery to the person named in the will as personal representative instead; Tennessee sends the original to that person and a copy to the clerk.

Being named executor can start a second clock. Illinois gives you 30 days from learning you are named to either petition to admit the will or formally decline. Nevada gives a named representative 30 days; Washington gives one holding the will 40 rather than 30. Declining is a legitimate answer, and far simpler before you begin acting than after.

The consequences are civil, and they target concealment. These statutes generally make a custodian who willfully fails to deliver liable for damages to anyone harmed, and several add contempt. A few go further: Connecticut's carries a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year of imprisonment, or both; Illinois treats willfully concealing a will for 30 days as a felony; Hawaii allows treble damages; a Texas judge may confine someone who will not produce a will. None of that is aimed at a few days of confusion while you look for the document.

If you cannot find the original. A copy is not a substitute in most states, but the original is often somewhere findable. Ask the attorney or firm that drafted it, which frequently keeps it. Ask the county clerk whether it was deposited for safekeeping during the person's lifetime — many states allow that, and Texas and Ohio both run such a deposit system. Check the home carefully before assuming a safe deposit box, because opening a box usually needs court-recognized authority or a supervised opening. If no original ever surfaces, the estate is generally handled as though there were no will, and that county's clerk can say what that state requires next. A missing will is a reason to ask a probate attorney in that state early, not a reason to hurry.

Verified, with a limitation: eighteen of fifty-one U.S. jurisdictions. Each row was read against the linked statute on the verification date at the end of this page. The remaining thirty-three jurisdictions are Not verified on this page and route to the county probate court clerk instead. Local filing practice, fees and where exactly to deliver the document are set by that county and are not published here.

Words you will hear

The table below defines the roles. These four words come up around it, and nobody explains them.

• Probate — the court process for property with no surviving co-owner, no named beneficiary and no trust title. Much of an estate often never touches it.
• Letters — the document a court issues that proves authority to act. Commonly letters testamentary where there is a will and letters of administration where there is not.
• Intestate — died without a valid will. Every step on this page still applies; what changes is the authority path. The decedent's state sets who inherits and who has priority to serve, the court issues letters of administration rather than letters testamentary, and nobody can transact until it does. Ask that county's clerk who has priority in that state.
• Creditor claim period — the window a state gives creditors to make claims against an estate. Its length and its starting event are set by the decedent's state.

The authority table: who holds authority after a death

"Executor" is the word most families reach for, and it covers one of several distinct roles. Being named in a will is a nomination, not an appointment. Until a court issues letters — usually letters testamentary where there is a will, letters of administration where there is not — an institution is generally free to decline anything beyond taking notice. Meanwhile a great deal of property never touches the court: an account with a surviving joint owner, a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death registration, a named beneficiary on a plan or policy, and assets held in a living trust each follow their own path, and a will does not rewrite a beneficiary designation. Read the row matching how an asset is held, not how you think of yourself. Where a court process is involved, how probate works covers the stages.

Role	What it covers	Who holds authority, and is a court involved?	What it changes for timeline, cost and accountability
Executor named in a will	A nomination to serve	No authority yet; the court has not acted	Nothing can be transacted on this basis; institutions may accept notice only
Court-appointed personal representative	Probate assets — property with no surviving co-owner, beneficiary or trust	Yes — authority begins when the court issues letters	Court timetable and filing fees apply; accountable to the court and beneficiaries
Successor trustee	Assets titled in the trust's name	Usually no court appointment; the trust document and state law control	Often faster than probate; accountable to the trust's beneficiaries
Agent under a power of attorney	Nothing, once the person has died	None — authority ends at death	Cannot be used; tell the institutions you dealt with as agent
Surviving joint owner with survivorship	That account or property	The survivor, by how the title reads; usually no court	Usually quickest, but title wording and the account agreement control
Payable-on-death, transfer-on-death or named beneficiary	That account, plan or policy	The named beneficiary, through the institution's claim process	Paid outside probate; the will does not change who is named
Heir or devisee	An expected share, not an asset	None until a representative or trustee distributes	No standing to transact; ask for status instead
Nominated executor who does not want to serve	The role itself, declined	No one, on this basis; the court appoints someone else	There is a state-specific process, usually a signed form filed with the court — ask that county's clerk
No administration needed	Nothing — every asset already has its own path	Each survivor or beneficiary, for their own asset only	No court, no filing fee; the institutions' own claim processes set the pace

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's guidance for agents is direct on the fourth row: authority to act as someone's agent ends when they die, and the agent should promptly notify the bank and other businesses they dealt with — even bills that would be easy to pay can no longer be paid on that authority.

Nobody has to serve because a will named them. If you think you may not want the role, say so before you begin acting for the estate — stepping back is much simpler before than after.

Verified, with a limitation: these are general categories. The names, documents and thresholds attached to them are set by the decedent's state and county — what the letters are called, whether a simplified or small-estate procedure exists and who may use it, and what a bank may accept instead. Those specifics are Not applicable here until you check that state's rules with the court or a licensed attorney. Two fields the table does not carry are how long each path takes and what it costs, because no honest national figure exists for either — how the timeline is built and who publishes each cost are answered below.

Notify Social Security and other government programs

In most cases you do not have to report the death yourself: the agency's position is that funeral homes generally report deaths. Ask the funeral director whether the report was made and on what date, and write the answer in your log. If no funeral home was involved, or the report was not made, call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) with the person's name, Social Security number, date of birth and date of death. Once Social Security has the death on record, it notifies Medicare and benefit payments stop.

Watch the bank account for a payment arriving after the death. Social Security pays in arrears, and its published guidance is that benefits received for the month of death and any later months must be returned: if it came by direct deposit, ask the financial institution to return it; if it came as a check, do not cash it, and send it back. Eligible family members may still receive survivors benefits for the month the person died. Do not spend a deposit you are unsure about — ask first.

The one-time payment is $255, not $250

A surviving spouse who was living with the person who died has the first claim to a one-time lump-sum death payment of $255. A spouse who was living apart may still qualify if they were already entitled to benefits on that person's record. If there is no eligible spouse, the payment may go to a child who was eligible for benefits on the record in the month of the death — a child 17 or younger, a child aged 18 or 19 in full-time K–12 school, or a child of any age whose disability began before 22 — and it is divided equally where more than one child qualifies. A surviving divorced spouse is not eligible for this payment, even where monthly survivors benefits are payable. It is not automatic: in most cases someone must apply, within two years of the death.

If that two-year window closes with no application, the payment is generally not made. The Social Security Handbook sets out the two-year filing rule and the limited circumstances in which the period can be extended, and notes that a widow or widower who was already entitled to spouse's benefits for the month before the death may not need to file an application at all. Monthly survivors benefits are a separate question with separate rules. As of August 3, 2026.

If you live outside the United States, contact a Federal Benefits Unit or the SSA's international call center. If the person was a U.S. citizen who died abroad, report the death to the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate, which issues a Consular Report of Death Abroad — that document serves as proof of death in the U.S. for closing accounts.

Programs that apply only to some estates

Each of these matters only if its condition is true, and many estates touch none of them.

• Medicare — Social Security passes the death on; no separate call in the ordinary case.
• Motor vehicles — the state motor-vehicle agency, whose rules and forms it sets itself.
• Internal Revenue Service — if a final individual or estate return will be filed. Listed on USA.gov's agency page; tax steps belong with the estate's overall administration.
• U.S. passport — the State Department, via the USA.gov agency list.
• State benefit programs — Medicaid, state disability, SNAP or similar: the agency that paid it. Recovery rules vary by state, and where Medicaid recovery is in play, an elder law attorney in that state is the right person to ask.
• Voter registration — the county or state election office.
• Veterans benefits — the Department of Veterans Affairs; burial and survivor benefits are separate applications.
• Military retiree pay — the defense finance office named on the USA.gov agency list.
• Federal civilian retirement — the Office of Personnel Management, which uses its own forms.
• Death of a U.S. citizen abroad — the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.

Partial: eligibility in every one of these depends on the person's record, the relationship of whoever is claiming, and the program year. Ask the agency rather than assuming from a general list.

Contact the employer and workplace benefit plans

If the person was working, recently retired, or covering a family through their job, one call opens several separate processes. Ask for human resources, the benefits team or the plan administrator, and ask for one named contact who will stay with you. Workplace benefits are governed by plan documents and federal plan rules, not by the will, so the useful posture is to ask questions and get answers in writing rather than assert an entitlement.

What to ask on the first call

• Final wages, unused leave and any bonus owed — who is paid, and what proof is required?
• Employer life and accidental death coverage — which insurer, and who is on the beneficiary form?
• Retirement or pension benefits — which plan, and who is recorded as beneficiary?
• Stock, restricted units or deferred compensation — what happens, and on what schedule?
• Health coverage for a surviving spouse and children — when does it end, and what notice arrives?
• Unreimbursed business expenses, and any survivor support the employer offers

For workplace retirement and life-insurance benefits, ask specifically who the plan has on record as beneficiary and which document controls payment — usually the plan document and the beneficiary form on file, not the will. If the answer is "we're not sure," ask them to check and confirm in writing before anyone files a claim.

On health coverage, the death of a covered employee is a COBRA qualifying event for a covered spouse and dependent children, and the employer must notify the plan within 30 days. That 30-day clock is the employer's duty, not yours. What follows is yours: the plan sends an election notice, and under federal COBRA rules each qualified beneficiary must be given at least 60 days to elect coverage, counted from the later of the date that notice is provided or the date coverage would otherwise end. If nobody elects within that window, the right to continue that plan is generally gone and cannot be revived, so put the date in your log the day the notice arrives. After electing, there is at least a further 45 days to make the first payment; miss it and the plan can end the coverage. On a death, a surviving spouse and dependent children may generally continue coverage for up to 36 months rather than the 18 months that follows a job loss — worth knowing before you compare COBRA against a marketplace plan or a spouse's plan. As of August 3, 2026.

Federal COBRA reaches private-sector plans with at least 20 employees and state and local government plans, but not federal government plans, churches or certain church-related organizations; many states have a similar "mini-COBRA" law for smaller employers, and the state insurance commissioner's office can say whether one applies. Compare continuation against marketplace or spousal coverage before electing.

Record who owns each next step — employer, insurer, plan administrator or beneficiary. Several of these will not start until the named beneficiary files, and no one will chase them for you.

Notify banks, credit cards, lenders and creditors

Ask for the institution's estate services or bereavement team by name. General customer service often cannot help, and sometimes gives an answer that is wrong for the account type. Give notice, get a case or reference number, and write it down before you hang up.

What to establish on that first contact

1. What proof does this institution accept, and does it return originals?
2. What happens to automatic payments, direct deposits and recurring transfers meanwhile?
3. What does this account's title mean here, and what would the next step require?
4. Where should creditor claims, statements and correspondence be sent now?
5. Who is my named contact, and what is the case reference number?

Do not use the person's debit card, credit card or online banking credentials, even to pay a household bill or a funeral invoice. Use of the account after the death becomes a separate problem, and a hard one to unwind.

What the account's title changes

How an account is held decides more than the marriage, the will or the family's expectations do. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau makes the same point about joint accounts: how the account is held determines whether the money passes to the surviving owner or to the other owner's heirs.

How the account is held	What the institution will likely ask for next	When to get advice first
Sole-owned, no beneficiary	Documents showing court-recognized authority before anything is released	If the balance is small, ask whether the state offers a simplified procedure
Joint with right of survivorship	Death certificate and identification to retitle	If the wording is unclear, or the co-owner is not a spouse
Joint without survivorship rights	Depends on the account agreement and state law	Before assuming the balance is yours
Payable-on-death or transfer-on-death	The named beneficiary's claim, identification and death certificate	If the named person has died, or none is named
Trust-titled	Trust pages showing the successor trustee, plus identification	If the trust was never funded with the account
Retirement account or annuity	The beneficiary's claim, plus tax elections	Always — tax treatment differs by beneficiary type
Business account	Entity documents and the operating agreement or bylaws	Always, before anything is moved
Safe deposit box	Often a court order or a supervised opening under state law	Before attempting access
Title unknown	Ask them to tell you how it is titled before you send anything	If the answer is unclear

Verified, with a limitation: the categories are general. What any particular institution accepts, how fast it moves, and whether it will retitle or hold an account is that institution's own policy, read against the decedent's state law.

Two rows cause most of the confusion. On a joint account, ask the bank to put the exact title wording in writing before assuming the balance is yours, and keep the account open until any payer has finished reclaiming what it needs to. On a trust-titled account, remember that a trust controls only what was actually retitled into its name — anything left outside follows its own path, and inconsistent paperwork is a question for a probate attorney in that state rather than the bank's front counter.

Anyone in the family can usually give notice on any of these. Whether an account is then frozen, released, retitled or held is not a fact about "banks" — it depends on the title, the account agreement, the decedent's state and that institution's policy. Large institutions publish their own estate-services routes, and the shape is consistent: they identify the accounts from the person's full legal name and Social Security number, establish your role with the estate, and issue a case reference number. The documents each requires, the timelines and what each will accept differ. Treat any institution's page as a guide to the questions, never as the rule.

For credit cards and loans, give notice, stop all use, and keep the statements — they are how you find recurring charges, balances and the correspondence address. Ask each lender where claims against the estate should be sent, and expect the answer to reference the decedent's state.

Estate debt is not the same as your debt

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's guidance is that debts are generally paid from what the person left behind under state law, and that a collector contacting a personal representative or surviving spouse may not say or hint that you are personally responsible for paying with your own money. Real exceptions exist — a debt you co-signed, a genuinely joint account, some spousal and community-property rules, and secured debt where collateral is at stake. Being an authorized user on a card is not the same as being a joint account holder. Do not pay an estate debt from personal funds, and do not distribute anything before claims are resolved; where debts may exceed assets, either step can create personal exposure for whoever administers the estate. As of August 3, 2026.

If you are the one administering the estate

The rest of this page is for anyone reporting a death. This part is only for the person appointed, or about to be appointed, to act for the estate. If that is not you, skip it.

Once a court appoints you, you hold other people's money — the beneficiaries' and the creditors' — and the exposure is personal. Five things carry it:

• Keep estate money separate. Open an account in the estate's name and never deposit estate funds into a personal account, even briefly, and even to make a transfer easier.
• Do not deal with yourself. Buying estate property, paying yourself, or lending estate money generally needs the court's permission, and often the beneficiaries' too.
• Keep records of every receipt and payment. You may have to account for them to the court and to the beneficiaries, and reconstructing them later is the hard way.
• Do not distribute early. Claims and taxes come before beneficiaries. Paying anyone too soon, including yourself, is the most common way a well-meaning family member ends up personally out of pocket.
• Do not miss a required filing. A missed inventory, accounting or tax return is your problem, not the estate's.

If you are also a beneficiary — which is the ordinary case — you are on both sides of every decision that divides the estate. Say so in writing to the other beneficiaries, and get advice before any choice where your share and theirs pull apart.

Courts say this plainly, and yours will have its own version. California requires every personal representative to sign for a one-page form, Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative, before letters issue; it says in so many words never to deposit estate funds in a personal account, and that failing to perform the duties can cost you compensation or the office. Ask the probate court clerk in the decedent's county whether that court publishes an equivalent — it is free, short, and the clearest statement you will find of what you are taking on. Court practice, not federal law; what binds you is set by the decedent's state.

If the debts may be larger than the estate

An estate with more debt than assets is an ordinary outcome, not a failure, and it does not become your debt. But it changes what the person administering the estate may safely do, because states set an order of priority for who gets paid out of what is left, and a personal representative who pays a lower-priority creditor first — or distributes anything to family — can end up personally responsible for the difference.

If that may be the situation, the safe sequence is short. Stop paying anything from estate funds, and pay nothing from your own. Keep every statement and claim letter. Ask the probate court clerk in the decedent's county what that state's priority order is and how creditor claims are made there. Then get advice from a probate attorney licensed in that state before the first payment goes out. This is the clearest single trigger on the page for paid legal help, and it is one of the few places where paying for an hour of advice reliably costs less than the mistake.

Update insurers, housing, utilities and recurring services

Continuity comes first here, cancellation second. Coverage that lapses while the family sorts things out can cost far more than a few unused months of premium.

Notifying an insurer or a provider tells them what happened. It does not by itself claim, transfer or end anything. What to watch, category by category:

• Life insurance and annuities — notice opens a claim; it is not an automatic payment.
• Health coverage — confirm the end date before dependents are uninsured.
• Auto insurance — do not cancel while anyone is still driving the car.
• Homeowners or renters — tell the insurer if the home will be empty, which usually changes the policy.
• Long-term care and umbrella — long-term care or hospice billing may still be in progress.
• Mortgage or landlord — notice is not a transfer; title and authority control that.
• HOA or condominium — unpaid assessments can become a lien.
• Utilities — keep service on while the home is occupied, secured, winterized or being sold.
• Subscriptions and memberships — check refunds, and whether the household still uses it.

For life insurance, notice and claim are two different actions. Notice tells the insurer; the claim is a separate submission by the person entitled to be paid, with its own forms and documents. How to make a life-insurance claim covers what to gather and what the process looks like.

If you believe a policy exists but cannot find it, use the free regulator route first. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Life Insurance Policy Locator takes a request using the deceased person's name, Social Security number, date of birth and date of death from the death certificate and forwards it to participating insurers through a secure portal. A company contacts you only if it finds a match and you are a beneficiary or have legal authority, and the NAIC's own guidance is that searches may take 90 business days or more and that no response arrives at all if nothing is found. The NAIC holds no policy information itself, and finding nothing does not prove nothing exists. The state insurance department where the person lived is the next free stop. Do not pay a company to search for policies or accounts on your behalf. As of July 29, 2026.

For subscriptions and memberships, many providers accept a photocopy or an emailed image, so this is the group where you should not spend certified copies. Before canceling, check whether a refund is owed and whether anyone still relies on the service — a phone line, a security system, a cloud backup holding family photos.

Handle mail, credit files and digital accounts carefully

This is the group where moving too fast destroys evidence you will need. Mail and email are how most families find the accounts nobody knew about. Preserve first, close second.

Mail addressed to someone who died

If you shared an address with the person who died, the U.S. Postal Service's position is that you may open and manage the mail, and may forward a single piece by crossing out the address and writing "Forward to" and the new address on the front. To redirect all of the mail elsewhere, you have to go to a Post Office in person and show documentation that you are the appointed executor or administrator authorized to manage it — a death certificate alone is not enough. That is a clean illustration of the difference between reporting a death and having authority. To reduce advertising mail, register the name on the Deceased Do Not Contact list through DMAchoice; expect a few months before volume drops.

Expect solicitation mail as well, and do not read it as official. Probate filings are public records in most places, and companies buy them: offers of cash now against an expected inheritance, offers to buy the house quickly, offers to "help" with paperwork the court will hand you free. None of it comes from the court, and none of it needs an answer.

Placing a deceased notice on the credit file

A deceased notice on the credit file blocks new accounts from being opened in the person's name. TransUnion's published instructions ask for a mailed letter with a copy of the death certificate and identifying details for the person who died, sent to TransUnion, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016; it says it will note the file as deceased within five business days and notify the other two agencies, then send a confirmation letter (institution policy, as of July 29, 2026). A surviving spouse can request a copy of the report; another requester is asked for identification and documentation of their role. Reviewing the report is often the fastest way to find accounts you did not know about. Because cross-bureau handling is the bureau's own policy rather than a legal guarantee, check the other two files yourself a few weeks later, and keep the confirmation letter.

Searching state unclaimed property for free

Old bank balances, uncashed checks, insurance proceeds and safe-deposit contents are turned over to the state after a period of inactivity and sit there until claimed. Searching is free through each state's official program, and the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators keeps a directory of all of them. Check every state the person lived or worked in, and never pay a finder a percentage for a search you can run yourself.

Email, cloud storage and online accounts

Inventory before you close anything. Bills, tax records, business records, insurance correspondence and irreplaceable family photos often live in an email account or cloud drive, and closing it can end access permanently. Do not log in as the person who died, use their saved passwords, or work around a device lock; platforms treat that as unauthorized access, and it can complicate a legitimate request later.

Use each platform's official route, and be clear which request you are making — memorialization, deletion, a copy of data and access are four different things with different requirements. Google will work with immediate family and representatives to close a deceased person's account and may in some circumstances provide content after review, but it will not provide passwords or login details, and it warns that once you ask it to close the account it cannot later hand over the contents. Apple treats a Legacy Contact access key as the straightforward path; without one, access generally requires a court order, and permanent deletion is a separate request with its own documentation. A device locked with a passcode cannot be unlocked by Apple without erasing it. Other platforms publish their own processes; look for "deceased," "memorialize" or "legacy contact" in their help centers. As of July 29, 2026.

Use a notification log and know when to pause

This work runs over months, across dozens of organizations, usually through more than one family member. The log prevents duplicated calls, lost reference numbers and the feeling that something was missed. A notebook works; so does a spreadsheet.

Field	What to record	Why it matters
Organization	The name, and the specific team	"Estate services" is a different queue from customer service
Category	Government, employer, bank, insurer, household, credit, digital	Shows whole groups at a glance
Account reference	Last four digits, or the statement nickname	Enough to identify; never the full number
Purpose	Notification, application, claim, cancellation or transfer	Different actions need different proof
Channel	Phone, secure portal, mail, in person	Portals and certified mail leave better records
Date	When you contacted them	Anchors every follow-up
Person	Who you spoke with	Names shorten the second call
Documents sent	What you sent, certified or copy	Tells you what to replace if it is not returned
Confirmation	Case or reference number, email receipt, letter	The most valuable field on the sheet
Next step	Exactly who owes what	Stops both sides waiting on the other
Follow-up date	A real date	Most delays are silence, not refusal
Status	See below	Makes unfinished work visible

Use plain status labels rather than colors: not started, waiting for proof, notified, more authority needed, claim or transfer in process, complete, disputed. Keep the evidence with the log — reference numbers, confirmation emails, portal receipts and a copy of anything you mail. If you send a certified copy, note whether that organization returns it.

Common mistakes this prevents

• Calling Social Security to report a death the funeral home already reported
• Mailing original certified copies without asking whether they come back
• Canceling insurance or utilities on a property still occupied, stored or being sold
• Paying an estate debt with personal money because a caller sounded certain
• Distributing money or belongings before claims and taxes are settled
• Losing a reference number and starting a two-month process again
• Closing an email account before the statements and tax documents inside it are saved
• Holding the original will in a drawer past your state's deadline for handing it over

Choosing the right kind of help

Most of this checklist can be done without paying anyone. Where help is worth it, the question is what kind of help, not which company. No provider is named or ranked on this page, and nothing here is a paid placement.

• Best for finding out what a court actually requires: the probate court's self-help center or clerk's office in the decedent's county, free. Court staff cannot give legal advice, but they can say which forms the court uses, what it charges and how filings are made. USA.gov's court directory locates state, county and municipal courts.
• Best for proof of death: the vital-records office in the state where the death occurred, which sets its own fee and eligibility rules.
• Best for a benefit question: the agency that pays the benefit — Social Security, the VA, the Office of Personnel Management or the state agency. They answer for free, and no intermediary can bind them.
• Best for a policy you cannot find: the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator, then the state insurance department. Both are free.
• Best for a legal question official sources cannot settle: a probate attorney licensed in the decedent's state who offers limited-scope representation and will put the fee basis in writing — flat, hourly, a percentage set by state law, or quoted after a consultation. If cost is the obstacle, USA.gov's legal aid page and the state bar's lawyer-referral service come first.
• Best when you are not sure yet: pause and get professional review before acting. Waiting a week is almost always recoverable; paying a debt personally, distributing early or signing away a claim often is not.

Avoid anything offering cash now against an expected inheritance, charging to retrieve documents you can order from a state office, or charging to "find" accounts or policies the free official channels already search.

When comparing anyone, use the questions already on this page rather than a new checklist: the four situations near the top, the five to establish on a first contact with an institution, and the confirmation fields in your log. Anyone worth paying will answer them in writing, tell you which parts the court or an agency does for free, and put the fee basis on paper before you engage.

Frequently asked questions

Does the funeral home notify Social Security, or do I have to?

Funeral homes generally report a death to the Social Security Administration, and the SSA's guidance is that a family member typically does not need to. Ask the funeral director whether the report was made and on what date, and note it. If no funeral home was involved, or the report was not filed, call the SSA with the person's name, Social Security number, date of birth and date of death.

Who gets the $255 Social Security death payment?

The amount is $255, not the $250 that often appears in search results. A surviving spouse who was living with the person has the first claim; a spouse living apart may qualify if already entitled to benefits on that record. If there is no eligible spouse, it may go to a child who was eligible for benefits on the record in the month of the death. A surviving divorced spouse is not eligible. It is not paid automatically: in most cases someone must apply within two years of the death, and after that the payment is generally not made, though the Social Security Handbook allows the filing period to be extended in limited circumstances. Ask the SSA what applies to your family.

How many certified death certificates should I order?

There is no correct universal number, and the common advice to buy ten or twenty is a guess. Certified copies are generally needed for federal agencies, banks and credit accounts, and insurance or pension claims; a photocopy is often accepted for things like canceling a subscription. List the organizations, ask each what it accepts and whether it returns originals, then order against that count.

Do I have to pay for the funeral?

Funeral costs are generally paid from what the person left, if there is enough. The exception matters: whoever signs the funeral contract may be personally bound by that contract regardless of what the estate holds, so read what you are signing before you sign it. Under the Federal Trade Commission's Funeral Rule, a funeral provider must give you an itemized price list, must quote prices over the phone if you ask, and cannot require you to buy a package when you only want particular items.

Are a person's debts forgiven when they die?

No — the debts do not vanish. They are generally paid from what the person left behind, under the law of their state, and if there is not enough, some go unpaid. That is different from you owing them. Exceptions exist for co-signed debts, genuinely joint accounts, some spousal and community-property situations, and secured debt. If a collector suggests you owe it personally, get advice before paying anything.

How long does all of this take?

Notifications themselves often take a few weeks of steady calls. The estate's overall timeline is set by its slowest dependency, not your pace: the decedent's state creditor-claim period, the court's calendar and when it appoints a personal representative, any inventory or appraisal, the sale of real property, tax filings and clearances, and any dispute. Ask the probate court clerk in that county about its own steps and waiting periods; how probate works explains the stages.

What does this part cost?

Keep the pieces separate. Certified copies are priced by the state vital-records office where the death occurred. Court filing fees are set by the state or county and published in that court's own fee schedule. Depositing an original will is often free or a nominal clerk's fee, and is charged separately from opening a probate case. Publication or notice costs, a bond premium and an appraisal are separate line items again. None of those are attorney fees, which may be flat, hourly, a percentage set by state law, or quoted after a consultation — ask which basis applies, in writing.

Your next step today

Write down the first three organizations you need to confirm — most families start with the funeral home, the state vital-records office and the bank where the everyday account sits. Open your log, put those three at the top, and make one call. Note the date, the person and the reference number. If the original will is in your house, add one more line: call the county probate court clerk and ask what the state wants you to do with it.

That is enough for today. When the notifications are underway and you are ready to look at the wider job of settling the estate, the executor checklist picks up from here.

Sources and last verified date

Last verified: August 3, 2026

Next review: October 19, 2026.

How this page is verified. Legal, court, benefit and program claims come from the governing federal agency, the official court form, the state statute, or the state body that sets the rule. Claims about how a particular company handles a death come from that company's own published documentation and are labeled institution policy with the date read, because they are policy and not law. No figure appears here without its source, its layer — federal, state, court, or institution — and the date it was checked. Inline dates are item-level check dates; the date above is the most recent full sweep. Apart from the will-delivery deadlines, which cover eighteen of fifty-one U.S. jurisdictions and say so, state-level figures are deliberately not published on this page; the routes above lead to the body that sets each one. Next scheduled verification: October 19, 2026.

How this page is funded. Estate Made Clear is supported by advertising and, on some pages, disclosed referral links. This page carries no referral links and no sponsored placement, and no provider is named, ranked or paid for inclusion anywhere on it; if a compensated link is added to this page, it will be disclosed here. Corrections and source questions are welcome at hello@estatemadeclear.com.

• What to do when someone dies — Social Security Administration — Funeral homes generally report deaths; how and when to report directly; contact numbers; reporting from outside the United States.
• Lump-sum death payment — Social Security Administration — The $255 amount, spouse and child eligibility order, and the two-year application window.
• Social Security Handbook §1517, Time Limit for Applying for Lump-Sum Death Payment — Social Security Administration — The two-year filing period, the circumstances in which it can be extended, and the widow or widower who need not file.
• How Social Security Can Help You When a Family Member Dies (Publication 05-10008) — Social Security Administration — Returning benefits received for the month of death and later months, by direct deposit or check.
• Agencies to notify when someone dies — USAGov — Medicare notification through Social Security, and the list of conditional federal, state and local agencies.
• How to get a certified copy of a death certificate — USAGov — State vital-records routing, certified copy versus photocopy, who may request, and the Consular Report of Death Abroad.
• Where to Write for Vital Records — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — Directory of state and territorial vital-records offices.
• Managing Someone Else's Money: help for agents under a power of attorney — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — An agent's authority ends at death, and the agent should notify the institutions involved.
• What happens if I have a joint bank account with someone who died? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — The outcome depends on how the account is held.
• Can a debt collector contact me about a deceased relative's debts? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Who a collector may contact, and the bar on implying personal responsibility.
• Does a person's debt go away when they die? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Debts are paid from the estate; survivor liability is the exception, not the rule.
• The FTC Funeral Rule — Federal Trade Commission — Itemized price list, telephone price quotes, and the right to buy only the goods and services you want.
• Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative (form DE-147) — Judicial Council of California — One state court's official statement of a personal representative's duties: prudent management, keeping estate funds out of personal accounts, record-keeping, and the consequences of failing to perform.
• An Employer's Guide to Group Health Continuation Coverage Under COBRA — U.S. Department of Labor — Death of a covered employee as a qualifying event, the employer's 30-day notice duty, the 60-day election period and the 45-day first-payment period.
• A Worker's Guide to Health Benefits Under COBRA — U.S. Department of Labor — Which plans COBRA covers, who qualifies after a death, the 36-month maximum for survivors, and state mini-COBRA laws.
• Mail addressed to the deceased — United States Postal Service — Options when you shared an address, the in-person requirement and proof of appointment for forwarding, and advertising-mail removal.
• Reporting a death of a family member — TransUnion — Provider process for flagging a credit file as deceased, the five-business-day statement and cross-bureau notification.
• Search for your unclaimed property — National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators — Directory of every state's official unclaimed property program, and the point that searching through the official state program is free.
• Submit a request regarding a deceased user's account — Google Account Help — Official request routes, review, no release of passwords, and the effect of closing the account.
• Request access to a deceased family member's Apple Account — Apple Support — Legacy Contact access key, the court-order route, the separate deletion request, and passcode-locked devices.
• Learn how to use the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator — National Association of Insurance Commissioners — Free regulator search, the information required, and how the request is handled.
• NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator tool — National Association of Insurance Commissioners — The 90-business-day search window and the circumstances in which no response is sent.
• Federal, state, territory, county, and municipal courts — USAGov — Directory for locating the probate court in the decedent's county.
• Find a lawyer and affordable legal aid — USAGov — Free and low-cost legal help routes referenced in the help-selection section.

Will-delivery statutes read for the eighteen-state table, each consulted August 3, 2026:

• Ala. Code § 43-8-270 — Duty of custodian of will after death of testator; liability — Reasonable promptness on request; damages for willful failure; contempt.
• Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 14-2516 — Custodian of will; duties; liability — Arizona State Legislature — Reasonable promptness on request of an interested person.
• Cal. Prob. Code § 8200 — California Legislative Information — 30 days from knowledge of death; custodian liable for all damages sustained by anyone injured by the failure.
• Colo. Rev. Stat. § 15-11-516 — Duty of custodian of will; lodging of will after death — 10 days after death or as soon as the death becomes known; where to lodge; damages for willful failure.
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-282 — Custodian of will to deliver it after testator's death. Penalty — 30 days from knowledge of the death; fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment of up to one year, or both.
• Fla. Stat. § 732.901 — Production of wills — The Florida Senate — 10 days after receiving information that the testator is dead; costs, damages and attorney's fee against a delinquent custodian.
• Haw. Rev. Stat. § 560:2-516 — Duty of custodian of will; liability — Reasonable promptness on request; damages, with treble damages available; contempt.
• 755 ILCS 5/6-1 — Duty to file will — Illinois General Assembly — Filing immediately upon the death; willfully secreting a will for 30 days is a Class 3 felony; § 5/6-3 gives a named executor 30 days to petition or decline.
• Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 190B, § 2-516 — Duty of custodian of will — Massachusetts General Court — Delivery within 30 days after notice of the death.
• Mich. Comp. Laws § 700.2516 — Delivery of will or codicil by custodian — Michigan Legislature — Reasonable promptness after death; damages for neglect without reasonable cause; contempt.
• Minn. Stat. § 524.2-516 — Duty of custodian of will; liability — Minnesota Revisor of Statutes — Reasonable promptness on request; damages; contempt.
• Nev. Rev. Stat. § 136.050 — Delivery of will after death — Nevada Legislature — 30 days from knowledge of the death for any custodian, and 30 days for a person named as personal representative.
• N.M. Stat. § 45-2-516 — Duty of custodian of will; liability — Delivery as soon as the custodian is informed of the death; damages after reasonable notice; contempt.
• N.D. Cent. Code ch. 30.1-11 — Custody and deposit of wills — North Dakota Legislative Branch — Reasonable promptness on request; damages for willful failure; contempt.
• Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 21 — Delivery of will to district court by custodian — Oklahoma State Courts Network — 30 days after receipt of information of the death, to the district court or the executor named in the will; responsibility for all damages.
• Tenn. Code § 32-1-113 — Mailing or delivery of will to personal representative or clerk of court — Original to the named personal representative as soon as the holder knows of the death, with a photographic copy to the clerk.
• Tex. Est. Code ch. 252 — Safekeeping and custody of wills — Texas Statutes — § 252.201 requires delivery to the clerk on receiving notice of the death; §§ 252.203 and 252.204 provide for confinement until delivery and for damages.
• Wash. Rev. Code § 11.20.010 — Notice of will — Washington State Legislature — 30 days from knowledge of the death for a custodian, 40 days for an executor holding the will; damages for willful violation.