What to Do When a Parent Dies
The inevitable day you’ve been dreading has come to pass. One of your parents has moved on into the next life.
In their passing, they’ve left many broken-hearted loved ones, open bank accounts, pets, and unpaid bills that you have to take care of all while going through the grieving process. You’re not sure what to do when a parent dies or where to begin. All you do know is that you’ve got a lot on your plate.
They Must Be Pronounced Legally Dead
Before you can begin the funeral preparations, your parent must be legally pronounced dead. You can’t get an official death certificate otherwise.
If they pass away in the ER, hospital staff can perform this task. The same goes if they die at home in the presence of a hospice worker. If they pass away at home under your care, you’ll need to call 911 so they can be taken to the hospital to go through the process.
From there they will be taken to a funeral home so you can begin to make the arrangements and handle their affairs.
Let Their Family and Friends Know
One of the hardest steps to take when someone dies is informing their family and friends. If you’re not sure who all your parent was friends with, check their address book or phone contacts.
If they were a religious individual, let the members of their church know. If your parent was still working, tell their boss and co-workers about their passing.
Lastly, make a page on social media. Here you can inform people about your parent’s death and keep loved ones updated on the funeral arrangements.
Contact Their Life Insurance Company
Paying for the entire funeral out of pocket can feel impossible. That’s why you’ll want to reach out to their life insurance company if they had a policy before passing.
When you submit a copy of their death certificate to the policyholder they will give you all the payout information. You can then distribute the money for their funeral arrangements as you see fit.
Keep in mind that if your parents opened a policy together, you might not get the full payout amount if one of them is still alive. Still, every little bit helps.
Make the Funeral Arrangements
Check and see if your parent has any written record about how they wished to be put to rest. If they don’t then it’s up to you to decide between cremation vs burial. Once you’ve decided which one you want to go with, talk to the funeral home about where you want the service to take place and order their urn or tombstone.
If they were part of the military or some kind of group, see if they will perform any funeral services for your parent.
It’s hard to do all of this by yourself so contact family to help you out. You’ll need pallbearers and someone to write the obituary. You can either get an experienced writer to do it or ask a family member who was close to them to perform the task.
Secure Their Property
Going to your parent’s house after they’ve passed will shake you up a bit so take all the time you need to go through their things. Some people wait over a year before making decisions on what to do with their parent’s heirlooms and other valuables.
After you’ve gone through the place lock it up and have their mail forwarded to a family member. If you don’t burglars will take the piles of mail as a sign that nobody lives on the property and seize their chance to break in.
Find a Place for Their Pets to Go
If your parent had any pets, they’ll have to be rehomed. They can’t watch over themselves after all and their owner’s sudden lack of presence in the home will be tough on the animal.
You can board them at a kennel until you find a more permanent solution, look for a relative who would be willing to take them in, or house them yourself if it’s possible.
Turn Off Their Utilities and Cancel Their Subscriptions
Another reason why you want to have your parent’s mail forwarded to yourself or a family member is so you can have a list of magazine subscriptions and utilities that need to be canceled.
Even though your parent has passed away, their social security checks will still come in the mail or get direct deposited into their account. Inform social security about your parent’s passing right away and don’t cash any of the checks that come in. If you do, you will face penalties.
If they have any credit cards or bank accounts open, you’ll want to cancel those as soon as possible as well.
Learn What to Do When a Parent Dies So You Can Begin the Grieving Process
Dealing with the death of a parent is never easy. There is a long checklist of what to do when a parent dies that can be hard to get through while you’re still in the grieving process.
Use the information that you’ve read here to get all your parent’s affairs in order so you can get through this difficult time without any problems. If you do run into issues, check out our blog for more articles like this one.