The first 72 hours after a death: a practical checklist

The first three days after a death are the most disorienting. This checklist is intended as a hand to hold, not a race. Do the things marked now, in order. The rest can wait for the second week, when the fog is a little thinner.

Hour one

1. If the death was expected and at home, call the GP or palliative care team.
2. If it was sudden or unexpected, call 000.
3. Do not move the person or their belongings until you have been told you can.
4. Sit down. Call one person who can be with you.

Day one

1. Obtain a life-extinct certificate from the attending doctor or paramedic.
2. Contact a funeral director. You are not obligated to use the first one you call.
3. Look for a will. Try the home safe, the top drawer of the desk, and the solicitor.
4. Find the executor's name.
5. Notify immediate family, in whatever order feels right.

Day two

1. Meet the funeral director to discuss burial or cremation, service, and notices.
2. Locate the deceased's original identity documents: birth certificate, marriage certificate, Medicare card.
3. Locate the 72-Hour Priority Card, if there is one, or start listing key contacts.
4. Contact the workplace, if the deceased was employed.
5. Decide who will handle immediate practical tasks: pets, children, the mail.

Day three

1. Order at least five certified copies of the death certificate through the funeral director.
2. Contact the main bank to freeze sole accounts. Ask about paying the funeral director from the frozen account.
3. Call the super fund and the life insurer, if there is one. Ask about the beneficiary nomination.
4. Notify Centrelink, if the deceased was receiving payments.
5. Cancel any recurring appointments or commitments in the diary for the next two weeks.

What can wait

• Probate can begin from week two.
• Selling assets, closing accounts, and transferring property all wait for probate.
• Notifying every utility and subscription is a week-two task.
• Grief admin is a marathon. Nothing legal has to happen in the first fortnight beyond what is on this list.

Take help when it is offered

When friends ask what they can do, give them a real answer. Meals, school pickups, a driver for airport runs, a person to sit with the phone. This is what people mean when they say they want to help.