After the funeral: the work that keeps going
Once the service is over, the remaining work is mostly notification and closure: telling institutions, claiming what is owed, closing or transferring accounts, and handling property. It is rarely urgent, but it is long, and it is easier when the same record follows you through it.
The short version
- 01Make one list of every account and policyBank, credit, insurance, pension, utilities, subscriptions, memberships, vehicles, property.
- 02Notify the benefits agency and employerThere may be a death benefit, a final payroll, or continuing coverage for dependants.
- 03Start insurance claimsLife, funeral, accidental death and any employer or union policies.
- 04Deal with property and vehiclesInsurance on an empty home often has conditions. Check before assuming coverage continues.
- 05Handle digital accountsEmail, photos, cloud storage, social profiles and anything with a stored payment method.
- 06Find out whether a formal estate process appliesThis depends on what the person owned and how it was held.
Common things families forget
- Automatic payments still running on a closed-looking account
- Insurance on a home nobody is living in
- Small pensions from an early employer
- Mail redirection, which prevents identity theft
- Loyalty, airline and credit-card points, which are sometimes transferable
Pace matters more than speed
Very little in this phase has a same-week deadline. What creates stress is not the size of the list but re-establishing context every time you pick it up. Keeping the answers, reference numbers and who-said-what in one place turns a months-long project into a series of short tasks.
You don't have to hold all of this in your head.
Tell AndWithYou what happened and we'll turn it into a short, prioritized path, and keep track of the rest as things change.
See what AndWithYou can help withPrivate by default. Free for families to start.