02/16/2025
What to Do when Someone Dies in Florida: A Checklist
1) Get a legal pronouncement of Death
If your loved one has died in the hospital, a doctor can take care of this for you. However, if your loved one passed at home or in another location, you will need to know who to call. If they passed away while in hospice care, call your hospice nurse. If your family member wasn't at a hospital or in hospice, call 911.
2) Arrange for organ donation, if applicable.
Check your loved one's driver's license and or their advance directive to see if he or she was an organ donor. If so let hospital staff know immediately
(or call a nearby hospital if your loved one died at home). Organ donation is time sensitive, so this is one area where it is important to act quickly.
3) Notify close friends and family
Every family member is different, and there is no one right way to do this. For some families, sharing the news in person or over the phone is critical. For others, an email or text message may be alright. If possible, split up the task between several family members.
4) Decide what you would like to do with your loved one's body and arrange transportation.
First, check to see if your loved one expressed any wishes about final disposition or had made payments to a funeral home or crematory. Ideally, there will be documentation. If no wishes or plans have been started, you have 3 main options:
* Call a funeral home
A funeral home can help you arrange either a burial or cremation, We recommend checking reviews and prices for a few different funeral homes before making a decision, as both can vary widely. A few minutes of research can save you thousands and reduce unwanted surprises.
* Call a direct cremation company.
While you can arrange cremation through a funeral home, there are also cremation-specific companies that will work with you directly if you are not interested in the added services of a funeral director. A direct cremation through a cremation company can be 1/3 of the cost of a direct cremation through a funeral home.
*Call a full body donation organization.
Your loved one may have already registered to be a body donor, so check for paperwork. If he or she has not there are still many programs that will accept donations, from next of kin. Many University medical programs rely on body donations, and other forprofit companies, such as Science Care and BioGift, will cover most costs and coordinate with other research programs. Body donation is often a good option for families who want their loved one to be able to continue to help others after death or who are looking for a more economical alternative to a traditional funeral.
5) Arrange care for any pets or dependents.
If your loved one was responsible for caring for one or more people or pets, quickly find someone who can care for them temporarily while you figure out long-term plan.
6) Secure major property.
If your loved one lived on their own, make sure his or her home and vehicles are locked up. If it will sit vacant for some time, consider notifying the landlord and or the police, so they can help to keep an eye on it. Locate and keep safe your loved one's computer, iphones, and other smart devices. Look for APPS that lead you to financial and banking institutions. Search for usernames and passwords. Locate and safeguard your loved one's financial records and recent up to 3 years of tax returns.
7) Notify the person's employer.
If the deceased was employed (or actively volunteering), call to let them know that your loved one has passed away. This is also a good time to ask about, benefits and life insurance.
8) Decide on funeral plans.
If you decide to work with a funeral home, get in touch with a funeral director to go through your options. Also call your place of worship (church, synagogue, etc.) to coordinate funeral service. If you opt for an immediate burial (burial without a view or funeral beforehand), cremation or donation to science, you may also choose to hold a memorial service or celebration of life at a later date. Some people prefer to give themselves more time to plan a meaningful event when they've had more time to process the death.
9) Order a casket or urn.
Historically, most people purchased caskets and urns directly through their funeral home, usually paying a substantial markup. However, with the emergence of online shopping, it's easy to cut your costs roughly in 1/2 by purchasing a casket or urn online. Ever Loved offers a wide selection of high quality caskets and urns at affordable prices.
10) Ask the post office to forward mail.
If the person lived alone, this will prevent mail from piling up and showing the property is not occupied. The mail may also help you identify bills that need to be paid and accounts that should be closed. You will need to file a request at the post office and show that you are appointed executor and authorized to manage his or her mail.
11) Perform a more thorough check of the person's home.
Throw out any food that will expire, water plants, and look for anything else that may need regular care.
12) Create a memorial website.
A memorial website will make it easy for you to share a death announcement and any funeral plans with a larger circle of people. This can become your primary place to share important information with everyone.
13) Write an obituary.
Draft an obituary for your loved one and get feedback from friends and family. If you are not sure where to start, try using an obituary template. Once it's complete, determine whether you'd like to pay to have it published in your local newspaper. Be prepared to spend a few hundred dollars if you'd like to publish it in the paper, but remember you can always publish an obituary online for free.
14) Determine whether you'll need financial assistance.
The average funeral costs about $9,000.00 which is an enormous burden on families. While there are many ways to save money on a funeral, you may want to consider financial assistance. Crowd-funding campaigns for funerals are increasingly common, and you can set up a free funeral fundraiser on your memorial website on
"Ever Loved".
15) Look into veteran's benefits.
If your loved one was a veteran, you may be able to get financial assistance with the funeral or burial. Find more information on www.va.gov
16) Choose your funeral participants.
If you want friends or family members to give eulogies, do readings, sing, be a pallbearer, or participate in another fashion, reach out and discuss this with them.
17) Set the funeral schedule.
Determine the time and place for many events, and write down an order list of everything that will happen.
18) Determine whether you'd like to livestream the service.
Many people are unable to or choose not to attend a live service. As a result, many people are choosing to livestream funeral events, so friends and family can participate from home. You can set this up yourself with Zoom, You tube, or Facebook Live. Your funeral home may also have a streaming option available, but they're likely to charge extra for this.
19) Order printed materials and flowers.
If you want programs, praying cards, flowers, or other items at the service, order them a few days in advance. You can often order them directly through the funeral home, which will minimize coordination on your part, but you'll often be able to find a better deal by shopping around. A memorial website can act both as an online funeral program and a guest book.
20) Order a headstone.
Since headstones are rarely ready in time for a burial, you can save this task until after the funeral when you have some more time. You'll generally be able to order a headstone through the cemetary, but you'll have more options (and often lower prices) if you look online.
21) Order several copies of the death certificate.
You'll likely need anywhere between 5 and 10 copies or more, depending on the accounts your loved one had open. Your funeral director may be able to help you order them, or you can order the death certificates yourself five to 10 days after the death of your loved one from the vital statistics office. In Florida order additional 2 death certificates without cause of death.
22) Contact the Social Security office.
Your funeral director may have already done this, so find out if this is the case. If you need to contact the Social Security office yourself, you can reach them by phone at 1-800-772-1213. Through the Social Security office, you may be able to apply for survivor benefits if applicable. Visit the Social Security website (ssa.gov) to learn more about their process and find any forms that you may be required to fill out.
23) Start the Probate process with locating the Will and or Trust.
Keep the documents in a safe place until you, the named Personal Representative in the Will, and the named Successor Trustee arrange for an appointment to discuss the Administation of the Estate and Trust with an Attorney. If the Personal Representative and or Successor Trustee cannot attend the meeting in person, most attorneys can arrange a Zoom meeting
24) Notify any banks or mortgage companies.
If you are unsure of what accounts may be open, use their mail or any online accountants you have accessed to identify what accountants still may be open. Then take copies of the death certificates to each bank and change ownership of the accounts
25) Reach out to financial advisors or brokers.
Try to identify any additional financial and investment accounts that your loved one held. Work with each one to transfer ownership. You'll likely need a death certificate for each account.
26) Contact a tax accountant.
You will need to file a tax return for both the individual and the estate.
27) Notify the insurance companies.
Fill out the claim form for any insurance policies that the deceased had before his death. Also, suggest that friends and family who may have listed your loved one on their life insurance policies to update their policies.
28) Cancel insurance policies.
This could include health insurance, car insurance, homeowner's insurance, or anything else. Depending on the policy, reach out to either the insurance company or your loved one's employer to stop coverage. If the deceased was on Medicare, the Social Security office will inform them of the death, but if your loved one had Medicare (Part D) Prescription coverage, a Medicare Advantage plan, and/or a Medigap policy, you may need to call yourself to cancel.
29) Identify and pay important bills.
Make a list of bills that are likely to be due (mortgage, car payments, electricity), and do your best to track down via person's mail and online accounts. Setup a plan to ensure these bills continue to be paid on time.
30) Close credit card accounts.
Leverage your loved one's mail, wallet, and any online accounts you have access to identify open credit card accounts. For each one, you'll likely need to call customer service and then email or mail a copy of the death certificate.
31) Notify credit card reporting agencies.
Provide copies of the death certificate to Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion to minimize the chances of identity theft. It's also a good idea to check your loved one's credit history in another month or two to confirm that no new accounts have been opened.
32) Cancel the person's driver's license.
This will also help to prevent identity theft. Go online or call Florida's DMV for instructions. Have a copy of the death certificate ready. Notify the local election board. This helps reduce the risk of voter fraud in your area.
33) Close email accounts.
Once you feel confident that you have the necessary information on other accounts, it's a good idea to permanently close your loved one's email accounts as an additional step to prevent fraud and identity theft. Every email provider has their own process, so do a quick online search to figure out the steps you need to take.
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