What to Do First When Someone Dies: Financial Steps

The First 48 Hours

Nothing about finances needs to happen in the first few hours. Focus on the immediate — coordinating with the funeral home, notifying close family, and letting the initial shock settle.

When you're ready, usually within the first day or two, these are the financial containment actions that prevent problems down the line:

Order 10 to 15 certified death certificates. Request them from the funeral director or the county vital records office. Every bank, insurance company, government agency, and financial institution will need their own certified copy — the kind with a raised seal or security watermark. Standard photocopies are rejected. At $10 to $25 per copy, this runs $100 to $375, but running out mid-process means delays of weeks while you order more.

Secure the home and mail. If the deceased lived alone, make sure the property is locked and that mail doesn't pile up visibly. Go to the local post office with a death certificate and request mail forwarding to your address. Monthly bank statements, credit card bills, and tax documents that arrive at an empty house are targets for identity theft and provide criminals with everything they need to exploit the estate.

Don't touch the bank accounts. This is the hardest one. The checking account might have auto-pay set up for the mortgage, utilities, and insurance. It might have plenty of money to cover funeral costs. But the moment you use a deceased person's debit card, write a check from their account, or log into their online banking, you're potentially committing bank fraud — even if you're spending the money on their funeral.

The First Two Weeks

Notify the Social Security Administration. Call 1-800-772-1213. The funeral director is supposed to submit a death report, but confirm it went through. This adds the deceased's Social Security Number to the Death Master File, which credit bureaus use to block new credit applications. It also stops Social Security retirement, disability, and survivor benefits: no payment is due for the month of death or any later month, though a payment received after death may cover an earlier month. SSI is different: the payment for the month of death is payable, but payments for later months must be returned.

Flag the credit bureaus. Send certified mail to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion requesting a "Deceased — Do Not Issue Credit" alert on the deceased's credit file. Include a certified death certificate and your court letters (if you have them yet). This prevents identity thieves from opening new accounts using the deceased's information.

Locate the will and identify the executor. Check the deceased's home, safe deposit box, and attorney's office. If there's a will naming an executor, that person needs to begin the probate process. If there's no will, a close relative will need to petition the court for Letters of Administration.

The First Month

Apply for an EIN from the IRS. An estate is a separate taxable entity and needs its own Employer Identification Number. Apply online at irs.gov — it takes about 15 minutes and you receive the EIN immediately. You'll need this to open an estate bank account.

Open an estate checking account. Bring the EIN confirmation letter (Form CP 575), your Letters Testamentary or Administration, a certified death certificate, and two forms of government-issued ID to a bank. The account will be titled "Estate of [Decedent's Full Legal Name]." All estate income and expenses flow through this account — never commingle estate funds with your personal money.

Begin the asset search. Pull the deceased's tax returns from the last three years and look for Form 1099-INT entries — every interest-bearing account leaves a tax trail. Check email for digital bank statements. Search the house for checkbooks, safe deposit box keys, and financial statements. Run a search on MissingMoney.com for unclaimed assets in any state where the deceased lived.

What to Defer

Equally important: what not to do yet. Don't distribute anything to family members. Don't sell the house. Don't pay off credit cards or personal loans. Don't make any major financial decisions while you're still in the acute phase of grief.

The creditor claim window hasn't opened yet, tax returns haven't been filed, and you don't know the full picture of what the estate owes versus what it owns. Rushing leads to mistakes that can make you personally liable as executor.

The Bank Accounts & Financial Claims After Death toolkit provides a day-by-day timeline that maps every financial task to the right window, so nothing gets missed and nothing gets rushed.