Upon Death

1. Obtain Legal Pronouncement of Death

If the death occurs in a hospital or hospice setting, the staff will handle this step. If the death occurs at home, call 911 (or your local emergency number): a medical professional will come to make the official pronouncement. Don't worry about proof of death documents: you will get those later from the funeral home or the government (see Proof of Death).

2. Take a Moment

Before diving into logistics, give yourself – and others close to the deceased – a moment to process what has happened. Not everything needs to be handled right away. Winding up the deceased's life and settling his or her affairs unfolds over weeks and months, not hours. Your goal in the first 48 hours is simply to handle urgent matters and begin putting things in motion.

3. Deal with Organ Donation

In most provinces, the surviving family will be asked to consent to organ donation whether or not the deceased consented in advance to donate his or her organs (note that Nova Scotia operates under a "deemed consent" law, which means the deceased would need to have opted out in advance... unlike other provinces, which operate on an opt-in model).

4. Notify Close Family and Friends

Start with immediate family and those closest to the deceased, keeping the message simple (details can come later). It's often helpful to ask a trusted family member to help spread the word: you don't need to contact everyone personally:

Don't broadcast the death to the world, though. You're not ready for that, and there are some things that should probably be done first, like securing the home.

5. Arrange Handling of the Body

In most cases, you will contact a funeral home or cremation provider (see Funerals for more information). If the person had a prepaid funeral plan or expressed specific wishes, try to honor those, and keep in mind you don't need to make all these decisions right now... you just need to figure out where to send the body.

6. Arrange Care for Dependents

If the deceased had children or pets, and is not survived by a spouse or other caregiver, arranging interim care for these is a top priority. You don't need to figure out who the children will live with for the rest of their childhoods right now: you just need to figure out who is going to watch them for the next couple of nights.

7. Secure the Home and Personal Property

If the deceased lived alone, take basic steps to protect their property, like locking the doors and windows. You might also want to secure particularly valuable items, like cash, jewelry, important documents, etc., but other than that, you can take a couple of days before you really get into it (see Secure the Assets for more information).

8. Start a Simple Record of What You Do

Even in the first 48 hours, it can help to keep a basic log:

• Who you contacted
• What arrangements were made
• Any expenses incurred

This will make things much easier later when you begin formal estate administration. Tools like EstateExec can help you stay organized from the very beginning, but even a simple notebook is enough for now.