Grief and paperwork arriving at the same time is one of the hardest parts of loss. You don’t have to do everything at once. Here’s what usually comes first.
Do it yourself
Organize at your own pace, using the action items below as your starting point.
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With a Forward Steward · Free
Schedule a free meeting with a Forward Steward about after a loss.
Pick a time that works for you.
You don’t have to do it all at once. Start here.
Make sure the home and any pets are looked after, and let close family know. Most other tasks can wait a few days.
How Forward helps · Keep a shared list so family knows who’s handling what.
You’ll likely need several certified copies for banks, insurers, and agencies. The funeral home can usually help.
How Forward helps · Keep track of where each copy has been sent.
Look for a will or trust, insurance policies, and recent statements. If there’s a will, the named executor will usually work with an attorney or the court on next steps.
How Forward helps · Gather what you find in one place for family and professionals.
Banks, insurers, Social Security, employers, and service providers. Go at your own pace.
How Forward helps · Work through it step by step with the Executor Playbook. Open the Executor Playbook
A checklist of the first tasks after a death, the documents to look for, and the people to notify.
Tell us where to send it and we’ll email it to you: these action items, 8 documents to look for, questions to talk through, and a contact sheet.