Who to Notify When Someone Dies: Free Tracker

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First, within a day or two

Before any of the paperwork, these come first.

Immediate family and close friendsA funeral home or cremation providerThey collect the body and help you get certified death certificates.Order 10 or more certified death certificatesMost banks, insurers, and agencies want an original with a raised or printed seal.The person's employerFor final pay, benefits, and any life insurance through work.

Government

Benefits stop, and some are owed to survivors.

Social Security AdministrationThe funeral home usually reports the death — confirm it did. A surviving spouse or child may be owed survivor benefits and a one-time $255 payment.Medicare or MedicaidUsually handled by the same Social Security report. Confirm coverage is ended.The VA, if the person was a veteranFor burial benefits and survivor pension or DIC.State DMVCancel the driver’s license to help prevent identity theft.Local election officeCancel voter registration.The IRS, through the final tax returnThe executor files a final income-tax return later; you do not call the IRS now.

Financial

Accounts to close, claims to file, cards to stop.

Banks and credit unionsMortgage company and other lendersCredit card companiesLife insurance — to file a claimCheck work, private policies, and any through a bank or union.Health, auto, and home insurersPension or retirement plan, and any former employer

Credit bureaus — the anti-fraud step

This is the one people skip, and it is how estate identity theft happens.

Notify one credit bureau with a copy of the death certificateEquifax, Experian, or TransUnion. By law that bureau must tell the other two and flag the file "deceased," which blocks thieves from opening accounts in the person’s name.

The rest, when you have time

None of these are urgent. Work through them over the coming weeks.

UtilitiesPhone and internetSubscriptions and membershipsThe post office, to forward mailOnline and social media accounts

The full walkthrough

For who reports what, the survivor benefits, and the credit-bureau fraud step in plain language, read who to notify when someone dies and how to close accounts after a death.

Who to notify when someone dies

First, within a day or two

Government

Financial

Credit bureaus — the anti-fraud step

The rest, when you have time