How to Protect Your Home During a Funeral

Why Funerals Create a Burglary Risk

Obituaries are public. They announce the deceased's name, where they lived, and exactly when the funeral service will take place. For most people reading, this is information they need to pay their respects. For criminals, it's a schedule of when the deceased's home — and often the family's homes — will be empty and unattended.

This isn't a theoretical concern. Law enforcement agencies across the country have documented cases where burglars targeted homes specifically during funeral services. The crime is low-risk for the perpetrator: they know nobody is home, they know approximately how long the service will last, and they can identify the address from the obituary's location details or a quick property records search.

The risk applies to two properties: the deceased's home, which may already be vacant, and the homes of close family members who are attending the service.

Before the Service

Ask someone to stay at both properties. The most effective deterrent is human presence. Ask a neighbor, a friend who isn't attending the service, or a hired house-sitter to stay at the deceased's home during the funeral. Do the same for your own home if the obituary could connect you to the address.

Leave lights, radios, or televisions on. Timed lighting or smart home devices that cycle lights in different rooms create the appearance that someone is home. If the deceased's home has a security system, make sure it's armed and that you have the access codes.

Lock everything. Check every door, window, and garage access point at both properties. This sounds obvious, but during the chaos surrounding a death, routine security checks get skipped. The deceased's home in particular may have been left partially open by visiting family members.

Secure or remove visible valuables. If the deceased's home has visible electronics, jewelry, or other high-value items near windows, move them out of sight. Lock important documents — death certificates, financial statements, estate paperwork — in a safe or take them with you.

Hold or redirect mail. An overflowing mailbox signals an empty house. Contact the local post office about holding or redirecting the deceased's mail before the service. Formal forwarding may require proof of executor status and photo ID.

Write a Privacy-Conscious Obituary

The obituary itself is a key vulnerability point. You can honor the deceased without publishing the exact details that criminals need.

Omit the exact home address. State the city or neighborhood if you want, but don't include a street address. If people need to send flowers or cards, provide a funeral home address or a P.O. box.

Don't publish exact birth dates. Full birth dates — month, day, and year — are a cornerstone of identity verification. "Born in 1952" provides context without handing over a data point that can be used to open credit accounts.

Leave out maiden names and mother's maiden names. These are common security questions for bank accounts, insurance policies, and online services.

Don't specify exact service times if avoidable. If the funeral home posts the schedule anyway, you can't control that. But your own published obituary doesn't have to include "services at 2:00 PM on Saturday" — "services will be held Saturday afternoon at [funeral home name]" is enough for anyone who genuinely intends to attend.

During the Service

If you've arranged for someone to be at both properties, there's nothing additional to do during the service itself. If you haven't, and you have a security camera or doorbell camera, keep your phone accessible so you can check it if you receive a motion alert. Some families designate one person to monitor cameras during the service.

Don't post real-time service updates on social media. A post that says "Beautiful service for Dad — we're all at [funeral home] now" confirms to anyone watching that the family homes are empty.

After You Return

Check both properties when you get back. Walk through each room of the deceased's home and verify that nothing has been disturbed. If anything seems off — a door that was locked is now unlocked, items have been moved, or a window shows signs of tampering — don't enter further. Call the police and let them clear the property.

In the weeks after the funeral, the deceased's home remains a target, especially if it's visibly vacant. Continue mail holds, keep lights on timers, maintain the yard, and consider having someone check the property daily until it's occupied, rented, or sold.

Physical security is one component of protecting the deceased's estate. The digital side — credit bureau notifications, IRS filings, data broker removals, and account closures — runs on a parallel timeline. The Identity Theft Prevention After Death toolkit covers both physical and digital protection in a single chronological action plan, including an obituary safety checklist designed to minimize the information criminals can harvest.