Practical Checklist for When Your Spouse Dies

This is a hard list to need, and the practical tasks that follow the death of a spouse are numerous enough that every source — AARP, elder-law nonprofits, and municipal resources alike — organizes them as a checklist specifically so nothing gets missed during a period when concentrating on paperwork is genuinely difficult. The list below covers only the practical administrative steps, not the emotional ones, and is meant to be worked through over the following weeks, ideally with help from family, a friend, or an estate attorney rather than alone.

  • Practical Checklist for When Your Spouse Dies
  • Get certified copies of the death certificate
  • Notify Social Security
  • Notify life insurance companies
  • Notify the employer or pension administrator
  • Notify banks and financial institutions
  • Locate the will and consult an estate or probate attorney
  • Notify mortgage lender or landlord
  • Cancel or transfer utilities and subscriptions in their name
  • Notify credit card companies
  • Check for veteran or military benefits
  • Redirect mail
  • Update or cancel the driver's license and ID
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Why these items are on the list

  1. Get certified copies of the death certificate. order more than you think you need — most institutions require an original, not a photocopy
  2. Notify Social Security. survivor benefits and any needed adjustments
  3. Notify life insurance companies. begin the claims process; you'll need the death certificate
  4. Notify the employer or pension administrator. for benefits, final pay, or survivor pension continuation
  5. Notify banks and financial institutions. joint accounts, individual accounts, and any accounts needing retitling
  6. Locate the will and consult an estate or probate attorney. sooner rather than later, especially if probate is required
  7. Notify mortgage lender or landlord. if the home was jointly held or in the deceased's name
  8. Cancel or transfer utilities and subscriptions in their name. phone plans, memberships, subscriptions
  9. Notify credit card companies. close or transfer accounts as appropriate
  10. Check for veteran or military benefits. burial and survivor benefits are often available and often missed
  11. Redirect mail. via the Postal Service if needed
  12. Update or cancel the driver's license and ID. administrative but required by most states

The strongest sources here are PDFs meant to be printed and worked through by hand — genuinely well-organized, but static, and easy to lose track of partway through a task list that realistically takes weeks. A checkable version that a family member or executor can also see and update is a better fit for how this actually gets done, and the app format matches the pace: a few items a day, not all at once.

When to use it

This is useful any time of year — there is no strong season for it.

Sources

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