After Your Loss - Checklist
[ ] Collect valuables and personal items before leaving the patient’s room.
[ ] Decide on time and place of funeral or memorial services.
[ ] Make a list of immediate family, close friends, employers or business colleagues to be notified by phone.
[ ] If flowers are to be omitted, pick an appropriate memorial to which gifts may be made.
[ ] Write an obituary.
- You can include: age, place of birth, cause of death*, occupation, college degrees and memberships held, military service, outstanding work and list of survivors in family. Give time and place of services. Deliver in-person, or by phone or e-mail to local newspapers. *Including cause of death is optional, but helpful if you would like to direct funds toward an organization or a charity.
- To place an obituary in the San Diego Union Tribune, call 866.411.4140, visit www.utsandiego.com/memoriams/ or contact your local community newspaper for information regarding an obituary.
[ ] Arrange for members of family, or close friends, to take turns answering the door or phone, keeping a careful record of calls and visits.
[ ] Arrange appropriate childcare, if applicable.
[ ] Seek help in coordinating the supply of food for the next days.
[ ] Consider special needs of the household, such as cleaning.
[ ] Arrange hospitality for visiting family and friends.
[ ] Select pallbearers and notify.
[ ] Notify lawyer and executor of the will.
[ ] Plan for disposal of flowers after funeral (hospitals or rest homes).
[ ] Prepare list of people to receive acknowledgements of flowers, calls, etc. Send appropriate acknowledgements.
[ ] Check all life and casualty insurance and death benefits, including Social Security, credit union, trade union, fraternal and military. Check also on income for survivors from these sources.
[ ] Promptly check on all debts and installment payments. Some may carry insurance clauses that will cancel them. If there is to be a delay in meeting payments, consult with creditors and ask for more time before payment is due.
[ ] If deceased is living alone, notify utilities and landlords.
[ ] Tell post office where to send mail.
[ ] Check with the Health Department or mortuary regarding the death certificate number.
Checklist: Who to notify
Government Agencies:
[ ] Social Security Administration, 800.772.1213
[ ] Veteran’s Administration 800.827.1000 (if decedent was formerly in the military)
[ ] Defense Finance and Accounting Service, 800.269.5170 (military retiree receiving benefits)
[ ] Office of Personnel Management, 888.767.6738 (if decedent was not a U.S. citizen)
[ ] State Department of Motor Vehicles (if decedent had a driver’s license or state ID)
Financial Companies:
[ ] Credit card and merchant card companies
[ ] Banks, savings and loan associations and credit unions
[ ] Mortgage companies and lenders
[ ] Financial planners, stockbrokers and pension providers
Credit Reporting Agencies:
Immediately contact all three national credit agencies by telephone to report the death. Instruct them to list all accounts as “Closed. Account Holder is Deceased.” Follow up with a letter to each agency sent via certified mail. Be sure to retain a copy for your records. You may also request a credit report to obtain a list of all creditors and to review recent credit activities.
A sample notification letter is available at www.PalomarHealth.org/Bereavement.
[ ] Experian
Phone: 888.397.3742
Address: P.O. Box 9701, Allen, TX 75013
[ ] Equifax
Phone: 800.525.6285
Address: P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348
[ ] TransUnion
Phone: 800.680.7289
Address: P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
Memberships (examples):
[ ] Professional associations and unions
[ ] Health clubs and athletic clubs
[ ] Automobile Clubs
[ ] Public Library
[ ] Alumni Clubs, Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Veterans’ organizations and clubs
[ ] Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)
Do Not Contact Lists:
For a small fee, you can list the decedent’s name on the Deceased Do Not Contact List that is maintained by the Direct Marketing Association.
[ ] Direct Marketing Association (register at www.ims-dm.com/cgi/ddnc.php)