Sahvelo guidance
After a Death
There is a great deal to handle and very little of it has to happen today. Start with the few things that are genuinely time-sensitive; the estate, the accounts, the benefits and the property can be worked through in order after that.
Start here
If the death was recent, begin with the first days, death certificates, and whether probate is needed.
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The first days
What actually has to happen in the first few days, and the much longer list that does not.
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Death certificates
How to work out how many certified copies you need, and who is allowed to order them where you are.
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Do I need probate?
Whether an asset goes through probate depends on how it was titled, on beneficiary designations and trusts, and on the state. Work out what is left before assuming you need it.
Short answer
Very little has to happen in the first day or two. Getting prices in writing before agreeing to funeral arrangements is what saves real money, and asking each institution what it requires before ordering certified copies is what saves weeks.Source 1
Much of the rest can be worked through in order. Whether the estate needs probate depends on what was held in the sole name: an asset held jointly with survivorship, one carrying a valid beneficiary designation, one payable on death each has a route of its own. Work out what is left before assuming the answer.
Verified where marked: 16 C.F.R. §453.2 (Price disclosures) — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (opens in a new tab) checked 2026-08-12
What comes next
Work through these as they become relevant. When the answer changes by state, the guidance says so.
The arrangements, and telling people
What a funeral home may and may not charge for, and the long list of organizations that have to be told — in the order that actually saves work.
- Funeral price rights A federal rule gives you prices by telephone, a printed list to keep, and the right to buy only what you want. Nothing makes a provider volunteer it, and the difference it makes is money.
- Notifying companies Social Security's death file is closed to uncertified organizations for three years, so the telling falls to the family. What some companies owe you once you have told them — and the request that starts it.
- Mail and utilities Redirecting mail needs more than a death certificate — and canceling the phone can lock you out of the accounts you still need.
Authority to act, and whether probate is needed
Who is allowed to sign for the estate, what the will does and does not decide, and the routes that avoid a full probate where the estate qualifies.
- The will Where to look, what a photocopy is worth, who has to hand it over and by when, and what happens when the original cannot be found.
- If there is no will Who inherits when there is no will — and why the answer for a spouse and children changes from state to state.
- Being an executor What the job actually is, what you are personally on the hook for, and the order to do it in.
- Small estate procedures The affidavit route that replaces probate for modest estates, and how it works in each state.
- Trusts after a death What a successor trustee actually has to do — including a notice that in one state starts a 120-day clock.
- Do you need a probate lawyer? A specific and fairly short list of facts is what makes an estate one that needs a lawyer — and knowing which of them you have is worth more than any recommendation.
Accounts and money
Banks, investments, retirement plans, pensions and final pay: what moves on a beneficiary form, and what waits for the court.
- Bank accounts How the account was held decides the route. Plus the FDIC’s six-month deposit-insurance grace period.
- Investment accounts Transferring shares and funds — and why the capital gains tax the family is dreading is usually not owed.
- Retirement accounts The ten-year clock most beneficiaries are now on, and the five categories exempt from it.
- Pensions Whether a pension continues was decided at retirement — and giving up a spouse's share required that spouse's notarized signature.
- Final pay and employer benefits The last paycheck, unused vacation and expenses can often reach a spouse without probate — with a signed affidavit and no court, where the state provides that route.
- Claiming as a beneficiary You are named on something. What that actually means, and who you have to deal with.
Benefits and insurance
What may be payable to survivors, what has to be reported and when, and how to find a policy nobody can put their hands on.
- Social Security Reporting the death, the $255 payment, survivors benefits, and the money you have to give back.
- Veterans benefits Burial allowance, a national cemetery place, a headstone, a flag — and the two-year deadline on a claim where the death was not service connected.
- Federal and railroad benefits If they worked for the federal government or a railroad, the survivor benefits are not Social Security — different agency, different forms, different thresholds.
- Health insurance If you were covered on their plan you have longer than you think — up to 36 months, and the clock starts at the notice.
- Finding life insurance Nine places to look for a policy nobody can find, in the order worth trying them.
The home, and who owns it now
A will does not change a deed. What actually moves a house out of somebody's name, what the mortgage and the taxes do meanwhile, and what to do with a house nobody is living in.
- The house is still in their name A will does not change a deed. What actually moves a house out of a dead owner's name, and what happens while it has not.
- Inheriting a home with other people Several people, one house, and decisions that generally need agreement. What to establish before anyone argues about the outcome.
- Inheriting a mortgaged home The servicer says it cannot talk to you because you are not on the loan. Federal rules say otherwise — in writing, with three specific things in the letter.
- Selling the house while the estate is open Whether the executor can put the house on the market, who is living in it, and what a buyer actually gets. Three states read, and they do not agree.
- Keeping or selling inherited property The house is yours between you. Deciding what happens to it is a different job from being allowed to decide.
- An empty house after a death The largest thing the estate owns is now standing empty, and the insurance on it may quietly stop working. This is the call to make first.
- Property taxes after a death The tax bill does not stop when the owner dies, the notices go to their name, and the county's remedy is against the house.
Belongings, and clearing the house
What is worth what, who is entitled to it, what a clearing company should cost, and the box at the bank nobody has the key to.
- Personal property The ring, the tools, the photographs. A handwritten list can decide who gets them — but whether it binds anyone depends on your state.
- Clearing a home A houseful of things, four possible destinations and one rule that decides the order: write down what is there and what it is worth before any of it leaves.
- Estate sale fees The commission is the number families compare first. What the percentage is taken of, what comes off before the family is paid, and what happens to whatever does not sell are the terms that decide what a proposal is worth.
- Safe-deposit boxes The will is in the box and the bank wants the will to open the box. The four states read here each provide a way out — and the first move is different in each.
Land kept in the family
Property passed down without a deed being changed, what puts it at risk, and the protections that exist for it, which no step in an informal transfer announces.
- Heirs' property A house that was never legally transferred, owned in fractions by people who have never met, and worth less to the family than it looks.
- Protecting inherited family property What puts family property at risk, what protections may exist, what must not be ignored, and who can actually help.
- Can one owner force a sale A co-owner can ask a court to end the co-ownership. What that means, what protections may apply, and what has a deadline on it.
- Black land loss and heirs' property How land bought in a single generation was lost over four, what the law has changed, and what a family can do now.
- The house in grandmother's name Six relatives, an old deed, taxes behind, somebody circling a share, and nobody sure whether probate ever happened. Where to start.
Debts, taxes and closing the estate
Which debts belong to the estate and which belong to nobody, and what has to be filed before it can be finished.
Not sure which of these applies to you?
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Sahvelo gives information drawn from statutes, agency guidance and official forms. It is not legal advice for your particular situation. Terms & disclaimer.
What actually needs attention now
Very little has to happen in the first day or two, and the things that do are smaller than the moment makes them feel. Much of the rest — the accounts, the estate, the house, the benefits — can be worked through in order, and starting early does not usually make it finish sooner. Where a deadline does exist it is set by the state or by the institution, so check before treating something as open-ended.
The first weeks, in the order they actually matter
- Day 1–2 Decide who is handling the arrangements, and get prices in writingFuneral costs are where the most money is lost in the first week. A provider must give you prices over the telephone if you ask, and must hand you a printed price list to keep as soon as arrangements are discussed in person.
- Day 1–3 Order certified copies of the death certificateSome institutions require a certified copy and do not return it; others accept a photocopy. Ask what each one needs — adding to the first order costs less than ordering them one at a time later.
- First week Tell Social Security — one call also tells MedicareThe funeral director usually reports the death, and it is worth confirming rather than assuming. The same call is where you ask about survivors benefits.
- First week Secure the home, the car and the mailNot because anything is due, but because a death notice is public and an empty house is a known target.
- Within 60 days If health insurance came through their job, decide about COBRAA death is a qualifying event, and the family's election period runs at least 60 days from the later of losing coverage or being given the plan's notice. Coverage can run up to 36 months — double what follows an ordinary job loss.
- When you have authority Banks, the estate, the house, the taxesNone of this can begin properly until somebody has the standing to act, and that is a separate question with its own answer.
Two things surprise families. Redirecting the deceased person's mail is not something a death certificate alone will do — USPS requires documented proof that you are the appointed executor or administrator, presented in person. And the benefit paid for the month of death generally has to go back, including a payment that arrives after it.
Source 1Source 2Source 3Source 4Source 5What changes depending on your situation
Most of what follows is decided by four facts. None of them requires a lawyer to establish, and knowing them turns a long list into a short one.
| The fact | Why it changes the answer | Where it leads |
|---|---|---|
| How each thing was owned | A joint owner or a named beneficiary usually takes an asset outright, outside the estate and outside the will. This is why two families with identical estates can face completely different amounts of work. | Bank accounts · Do I need probate? |
| Whether anyone has authority yet | Being named executor in a will is a nomination. A bank or a court acts on an appointment, which is a document somebody has to obtain. | Being an executor · Small estate procedures |
| Which state governs | The state sets the probate threshold, the waiting period, the forms and the court. For a vehicle it is the state on the title, which is not always where the person lived. | Small estate procedures · Vehicle title transfer |
| Whether there is a surviving spouse | It changes survivor benefits, pension elections, health coverage, tax filing status and, in most states, who inherits when there is no will. | Social Security · If there is no will |
If you do not know one of these yet, that is normal and it is not a reason to wait. The first-week list above does not depend on any of them.
What can wait, and what should not be rushed
Many administrative tasks can wait beyond the first few days without anything being lost. The ones that cannot are the ones with a stated deadline, and those are set by the state or by the institution rather than by whoever is asking.
- Probate is rarely a race. Filing on the first available morning does not usually move it along, and several states set a waiting period before the simplified route may be used at all. Where a deadline does exist, it is the state’s.
- Distributing belongings early is the hard one to undo. Sorting, cleaning and keeping things safe are fine. Giving things away before it is settled who inherits them is the part that causes trouble.
- An estate pays its own debts. They are paid in an order the state sets, and some do not have to be paid at all — which is why paying one out of your own pocket is worth pausing on.
- How an account was held decides whether it needs closing at all. A joint account may not, and a sole account cannot be closed by somebody without authority.
- The final income tax return is on an ordinary schedule. It is due on the normal date for the year they died.
The exceptions are the things with a clock on them: an insurance policy that lapses if a premium is missed, a tenancy where rent keeps running, a vacant home whose policy may not cover it, and the COBRA election above. Those are worth attention early.
Less common situations
These will not apply to everyone. If one does, it can change what you need to do next.
Vehicle title transfer, by state
The one topic where the whole procedure differs by state, so Sahvelo publishes each state separately.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Each page carries that state's form, threshold and waiting period. Compare all 50 states.
Sources
The rules on this page are federal and quoted from the agency or the regulation that sets them. Anything decided by state law is named as such and lives on the page for that topic.
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16 C.F.R. §453.2 (Price disclosures) — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (opens in a new tab)
That a funeral provider must give prices by telephone and a written price list to keep.
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USAGov — report a death: Social Security and Medicare (opens in a new tab)
That reporting a death to Social Security also notifies Medicare.
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29 U.S.C. §1165 (Election) — Legal Information Institute (opens in a new tab)
The COBRA election period, and when it begins.
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29 U.S.C. §1162 (Continuation coverage) — Legal Information Institute (opens in a new tab)
That continuation coverage after a death runs up to 36 months.
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USPS — Mail Addressed to the Deceased: How to Stop or Forward Mail (opens in a new tab)
What USPS requires before it will redirect a deceased person's mail.
Where a source is marked pending re-verification, the page says so wherever the claim appears.
Still in research
Digital accounts
Email, photos, subscriptions and social media after a death. The authoritative layer here is platform policy, which changes faster than Sahvelo re-verifies, so this needs a currency strategy before it ships.
Transferring a house or land
Deeds, title transfer and ancillary administration in another state are decided by state law, and Sahvelo has read too few states for a general answer. What is published is the rest of it: an empty house and its insurance, inheriting a mortgaged home, and how a home passes when it was planned for.
Inheritance tax beyond New Jersey
New Jersey is published. The other states that levy an inheritance tax are not, and each sets its own classes and rates.