The First Week After a Death: A Calm Checklist of What Matters Most

The first week after a death can feel like you’re living in two worlds: grief that slows everything down, and logistics that demand quick answers. If you’re searching for a first week after death checklist, you’re not looking for “perfect.” You’re looking for the few steps that protect your family and prevent delays.

This guide focuses on what most families need in the first seven days—pronouncement, choosing a provider, securing the home and mail, ordering death certificates, and beginning key notifications—while also addressing common cremation decisions that can feel urgent even when they don’t have to be.

Cremation is now the majority choice in the U.S. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, the cremation rate is projected to be 63.4% in 2025, and the Cremation Association of North America reports a U.S. cremation rate of 61.8% for 2024. Those trends matter because more families are deciding not only how to arrange care, but also what to do with ashes in a way that feels respectful, practical, and true to the person they loved.

What matters most in the first week

When people ask what to do when someone dies first, they’re usually asking, “What can’t wait?” In week one, the essentials are:

• Confirm the legal pronouncement and arrange care/transportation.
• Choose a funeral home or cremation provider and clarify the timeline.
• Secure the home, keys, valuables, and the mail.
• Start the process to order death certificates.
• Begin key notifications (Social Security, employer, insurers, banks).

Everything else—closing every account, sorting belongings, choosing memorial items—can wait until your mind is less raw.

The first 24 hours: pronouncement and choosing who will help you

The first task is the legal pronouncement of death. If the death occurs in a hospital or care facility, staff usually guide the process. If it occurs at home under hospice, the hospice team can guide next steps. If the death is unexpected, emergency services may need to be contacted so the proper authorities can respond.

Once your loved one is in professional care, you can slow down. This is when basic funeral planning begins—choosing the provider and confirming the next conversation—without needing to decide every detail.

Choosing a funeral home or cremation provider, and the question of cost

Choosing a provider is one of the few decisions that truly affects everything else: the timeline, the paperwork, and the price. If you can, make two or three calls. Ask for an itemized estimate in writing and clarify what is included versus optional.

Many families ask how much does cremation cost because they’re trying to avoid surprises. Prices vary by region and by whether you choose direct cremation or a service with viewing. For national context, the National Funeral Directors Association reports a 2023 national median cost of $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial and $6,280 for a funeral with cremation. Funeral.com’s guide on how much does cremation cost can help you compare local quotes with more confidence and understand what choices tend to change the total.

Secure the home, stabilize the mail, start the paperwork

In the early days, “secure house after death” is less about being formal and more about preventing a second crisis. Confirm who has keys, safeguard valuables and sensitive documents, and address pets and medications. If you can, delegate these tasks to one trusted person so you are not carrying them alone.

Mail is another quiet priority. If you have searched something like “stop mail USPS deceased,” you are not alone. The U.S. Postal Service explains how to stop or forward mail for someone who has died, including that forwarding to a new address typically requires documented proof that you are the appointed executor or administrator. Understanding the process now helps you avoid missed bills, insurance notices, and bank statements later.

Next, start the certified death certificate process. Your funeral home can often help you request certificates through local vital records. If you need to order later, USA.gov outlines how to request a death certificate, and the CDC’s Where to Write for Vital Records directory points you to the correct state office and application guidance.

Key notifications: Social Security, employer, insurers, banks

Week one is about starting the first wave of notifications, not completing every account transfer. Begin with the institutions that reduce downstream complications and help you build an executor checklist first week that is realistic.

For Social Security, the Social Security Administration notes that funeral homes generally report a death, so you do not typically need to report it yourself. If a funeral home is not involved or does not report the death, SSA explains how to call and what details to provide. After that, contact the employer (if applicable) to clarify final pay and benefits, then take the same “ask what you need” approach as you notify banks and insurance after death. Insurers can tell you what documents they require for claims, and banks can explain how they handle accounts until the right legal authority is established.

If cremation is part of the plan: urns, keepsakes, jewelry, water

Cremation often gives families flexibility—especially when travel, timing, or family dynamics make immediate decisions difficult. If you are deciding what to do with ashes, know that you rarely have to decide everything in week one. Many providers return ashes in a temporary container, giving you time to choose a permanent memorial later.

When you are ready, choose based on how the ashes will be held and shared. Families exploring cremation urns for ashes often start with one main urn for a home memorial, columbarium, or cemetery placement. When you start comparing cremation urns, start with where the urn will live—home display, cabinet, or niche. If space is limited, small cremation urns can be a practical fit. If multiple relatives want a portion, keepsake urns are designed to share ashes intentionally (rather than improvising with containers that were never meant for memorial use). If you want a quick walkthrough on sizing and materials, Funeral.com’s guide on how to choose a cremation urn is a helpful next step.

Many families choose keeping ashes at home—sometimes temporarily, sometimes long-term. NFDA reports that among people who prefer cremation, 37.1% would prefer their cremated remains kept in an urn at home (see the “Scatter or Urn?” figures on the NFDA statistics page). If you’re considering this, Funeral.com’s guide to keeping ashes at home walks through practical considerations like safe placement, paperwork to keep, and how families navigate different comfort levels under one roof.

If your family wants a smaller shared memorial, cremation jewelry can be a gentle option. Pieces like cremation necklaces hold a very small portion of ashes and can feel comforting when family members live far apart. You can explore cremation jewelry and read Funeral.com’s cremation jewelry 101 guide for what to expect with closure styles, filling, and care.

Some families also plan a water burial or burial at sea. If that is part of your loved one’s wishes, week one is a good time to name it even if you plan the moment later. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency explains that burial at sea for cremated remains must occur at least three nautical miles from shore and must be reported to EPA within 30 days after the event. Funeral.com’s guide to water burial translates those rules into practical planning so families can focus on meaning, not measurements.

If the loss is a pet

If the death is a beloved animal, the steps can feel similar—just quieter, and sometimes lonelier. If you are arranging pet cremation, families often start by choosing pet urns and pet urns for ashes. Funeral.com’s pet urns for ashes guide explains sizing and memorial approaches, and the collections for pet cremation urns, pet figurine cremation urns, and pet keepsake cremation urns can help you browse when you’re ready.

A closing reassurance

The first week is not a test of efficiency. If you can get your loved one into professional care, secure the home and mail, start death certificates, and begin the first notifications, you have done what matters most. Everything after that can unfold at the pace grief allows.

Frequently asked questions