Our Weekly Tip: Use A Checklist of Priorities When Someone Dies

Credit: choice.com.au

Our Tip of the Week: Even when a death is expected, the moments and days following a loved one’s passing are often experienced in a fog-like, altered state. Keeping track of the necessary paperwork and logistical matters required of you can seem like an overwhelming challenge, which is why SevenPonds has compiled a checklist of things you need to do or take into consideration when someone dies. Use this document to guide you if you live in the United States.

Credit: our SevenPonds “Immediate Help” checklist available in our “Planning Guide” under “6. Checklist”

How-to Suggestion: Take your time reading through the checklist. Print a hard copy and keep it with your personal documents in a safe place in your home so that it is on hand when you need it. The checklist covers such topics as obtaining the personal information of the person who has died; determining who is legally able to make decisions regarding disposition of the body; important documents that you will need; which authorities you will need to contact, and more. There is a lot of information in the checklist, so be gentle with yourself as you go through it. Take breaks. Drink water and reflect. And above all, consider this process as a labor of love that will help you carry your responsibility more lightly.