Checklist After the Death of a Spouse (Free Printable): The First Week, the First 90 Days, and What Not to Do Yet

If you're reading this for yourself, I'm sorry. This page is written so you don't have to read it in one sitting. Everything is in order, the first week comes first, and nothing here has to happen today except what's in the short box below. If you're reading it for a parent or a friend, the short box is the part to print and hand over.

Press Print at the top and this page prints as a checklist, no signup. There's also a free PDF version with a call log to fill in. One honest line first: I'm not a lawyer, an accountant, or a financial advisor. This is an organizer's list — what to gather, who to call, what to check. Where a number or a rule matters, it links to the government page it came from.

1. The first week

The first week is phone calls. Almost none of them are decisions. Keep one notebook — or the call log in the printable — and write down every call: who, when, what they said, what they need from you. You'll repeat yourself less.

• The funeral home — they file the death certificate and usually report the death to Social Security. Order at least 10 certified copies here; it's the cheapest and fastest place to get them.
• Social Security, 1-800-772-1213 — ask two questions: am I eligible for survivor benefits, and am I eligible for the one-time $255 payment? If your spouse was already receiving benefits, ask what happens to the payment for the month they died. (SSA survivor eligibility)
• Their employer, or their pension — final paycheck, unused vacation pay, a pension survivor option, any life insurance through work.
• Each life insurance company — ask what they need to start a claim. Usually a death certificate and a claim form.
• Your health insurance — if you were covered through their job, their death is a qualifying event for COBRA at employers with 20 or more employees. Ask the plan for the COBRA notice and the deadline to choose. (Department of Labor)
• One credit bureau — it places a death notice that reaches all three, which helps prevent identity theft in their name (Experian).
• Each bank where they had an account — ask what happens to joint accounts and accounts in their name alone. Don't close anything yet; just ask.
• One friend — to sit with you on the calls. Not to make them. Just to be there and write things down.

2. The first 90 days

This is when the paperwork arrives. Work through it slowly. Most of these have deadlines measured in weeks or months, not days — ask each office what yours is.

• Find the will, and whoever is named executor. If that's you, the court in their county handles probate; the county clerk can tell you how to start.
• Survivor benefits, in person or by phone. Social Security says a surviving spouse can generally get benefits at 60 or older (50 to 59 if disabled), if you were married at least 9 months and didn't remarry before 60. The amount runs from 71.5% of their benefit at 60 up to 100% at full retirement age. (SSA survivor amounts)
• If you get your own Social Security too, SSA doesn't add the two together. Ask them to show you both numbers — in some cases you can take one now and switch later.
• Everything in both your names — the eight items in section 4. Each one needs a call and, usually, a death certificate.
• Their debts — make a list. Don't pay yet. See what not to do.
• Their mail — open it all. Statements you've never seen are how most people find the accounts nobody mentioned.
• Subscriptions on their card — streaming, memberships, apps, the gym. Cancel the ones you don't want. Keep a list of what you cancelled.
• Their digital accounts — if they set up a Legacy Contact on iPhone, that person can ask Apple for access with the access key and a death certificate. Our Legacy Contact guide covers what Apple and Google each allow.

3. The first year

• The tax return for the year they died. The IRS says you can generally file a joint return for that year, unless you remarry before the year ends. A special filing status may apply for the two years after; IRS Publication 559 lists the conditions. (IRS Pub. 559)
• Retitle what's still in their name — the house, the car, any account that didn't transfer on its own.
• Their things — there is no deadline. Many people wait a year. Nobody gets to rush you.
• Your own plan — the part everyone forgets. See section 6.

4. Eight things in both your names

Married couples share more than they realize. Each of these needs a call. Most will ask for a death certificate:

• The house deed — how it's titled decides what you need to do. The county recorder's office has a copy.
• The car title — your state's DMV handles the change.
• Joint checking and savings — ask the bank to take their name off.
• Credit cards — cards in their name, and cards in both names. Call each issuer.
• Utilities — electric, gas, water, internet, in whose name.
• The phone plan — move the plan to your name, but keep their number for now.
• Insurance — home and auto policies list a named insured. Tell each insurer.
• Subscriptions and autopay on their card — these keep charging until someone stops them.

5. What not to do yet: six things to leave alone

This is the section the bank checklists skip. Each of these feels like tidying up. Each one can cost you later.

• Don't cancel their phone number. The two-step sign-in codes for their bank, email, and Apple or Google account may go to that number. Cancel it and you may lock yourself out of everything else.
• Don't close their email. It's where password resets land and where you'll find the accounts you didn't know about.
• Don't pay a debt that was only in their name — yet. The FTC says debts are generally paid from the estate. You may owe it if you cosigned, live in a community property state like California, your state requires certain debts such as healthcare to be paid, or you're the executor and skip the state's probate steps. Collectors can contact a spouse; you can tell them in writing to stop. (FTC)
• Don't throw away their mail for the first year. Annual statements, insurance renewals, and old accounts show up once a year.
• Don't make big decisions you can't undo in the first weeks. Selling the house, moving, lending money to family. There's time.
• Don't sign anything because someone is rushing you. A real deadline comes in writing. Pressure on the phone is a reason to hang up.

6. The paperwork folder: ten documents you'll be asked for

Put these in one folder before the calls pile up. You won't need every one for every call. You will need most of them for something.

• Certified death certificates — 10 or more
• Your marriage certificate
• Both birth certificates
• Both Social Security numbers
• The will, or the trust
• The house deed
• The car title
• Every insurance policy — life, home, auto, health
• Last year's tax return
• Their DD-214, if they served — veterans' burial benefits need it. Our funeral planning checklist covers which benefits most families never claim.

7. Your own plan, now solo

For most couples, each person was the other's backup. You were probably their beneficiary, their healthcare proxy, their emergency contact — and they were yours. Now that line is blank. This is not for this month. Put it on the list for later in the year:

• Your beneficiaries — your life insurance, retirement accounts, and bank accounts probably name your spouse. The form on file can matter more than the will.
• Your healthcare proxy — who makes medical decisions for you now?
• Your financial power of attorney — if it named your spouse, it names no one.
• Your will — if everything went to each other, it needs a second line.
• Your phone's Legacy Contact and emergency contact — it takes three minutes.
• Tell one person where your folder is. You just learned what it's like when nobody knows.

The six documents themselves — what each does and which ones you can do without a lawyer — are in our estate planning checklist.

Ways to do this, honestly compared

Common questions

What should be done immediately after the death of a spouse?

The five things in the short box at the top: order 10 or more death certificates, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213, notify one credit bureau, call their employer or pension, and keep their phone number on. Everything else can wait for the first 90 days.

What not to do after your spouse dies?

Don't cancel their phone or close their email, don't pay a debt only in their name before checking, don't throw away their mail for the first year, don't make big decisions you can't undo in the first weeks, and don't sign anything under pressure. Section 5 has the reason for each.

What paperwork is needed after the death of a spouse?

The ten documents in section 6: death certificates, your marriage certificate, both birth certificates, both Social Security numbers, the will or trust, the deed, the car title, every insurance policy, last year's tax return, and their DD-214 if they served.

Is there a free printable checklist after the death of a spouse?

This page is one — press Print at the top and it prints with the checkboxes intact. The free PDF adds a call log and a folder cover sheet, and there's a no-email download link under the form.

Am I responsible for my spouse's debts?

Generally not, according to the FTC — debts are paid from the estate. The exceptions are listed in section 5: cosigned debts, community property states, certain state-required debts, and executor duties. If you're unsure, that's a question for a lawyer in your state, not for a checklist.

Other lists worth reading: Social Security's survivor benefits pages and the IRS's Publication 559 are the primary sources for the money questions. If a parent has died rather than a spouse, our checklist after the death of a parent is the one to use. Nothing here is legal, financial, or tax advice.

For later, not for now

The hardest part of this list is the hunting — for accounts, passwords, papers, wishes. In Case Anything Happens is a printed planner that holds all of it in one place, so this list is short for whoever comes next. Some people fill it in during the year after, as part of section 7. $59 printed and mailed, 365-day keep-the-book guarantee.

See the planner →