AFTER · AFTER A LOSS
The part nobody warns you about.
The paperwork outlasts the casseroles. Here is the order it usually goes in.
HOW TO USE THIS PAGE
One step, not the whole week.
Work down the first list. The second can wait until someone is with you.
THE FIRST MONTH
What cannot wait long
Notify the agencies and the accounts
Social Security, banks, insurers, pensions, the DMV — in roughly that order.
Read the guide →Claim the Social Security payment
A surviving spouse or child may be owed a lump sum and ongoing benefits.
Read the guide →Find out whether probate is needed
Many estates never go through it, and small ones often have a shortcut.
Read the guide →Leave the house alone for now
Nothing should be sold or given away before you know what the estate owns.
WHEN YOU ARE READY
There is no schedule for this
Clear the house
An estate sale company handles the sorting, for a share of what sells.
Read the guide →Choose a marker
Cemeteries set what is allowed, and the foundation fee is usually separate.
Read the guide →Hold a gathering, if you want one
Months later is normal, and often easier for everyone than the week of.
Read the guide →Get support for the grief itself
Groups, counsellors, and hospice bereavement programmes, many of them free.
Read the guide →