The first steps, wherever you are
Before any country-specific paperwork, this is the part that is the same almost everywhere. Very little of it is urgent, and knowing which bits are is most of the battle.
What to do when someone dies
Nobody is ready for this, and the information is scattered across a dozen government sites. These guides put it in one place, in the order things actually happen. All free, no account, nothing tracked.
What to do when someone dies in Spain
Spain has a fast first 24 hours and a slow, expensive tail. This is everything, in the order it actually happens, with the deadlines that cost money if you miss them.
What to do when someone dies in the UK
The UK gives you one enormous shortcut (Tell Us Once) and two hard deadlines. Here is the whole path, in order.
What to do when someone dies in the United States
Almost everything in the US runs on one document, and most families order far too few copies of it. Here is the whole path, in order.
If someone dies abroad
A death abroad adds a layer: local law decides the process, your insurer usually decides what it costs, and the consulate can advise but cannot pay. Start with the travel insurance.
Money you may be owed after a death
Some of this expires. Bereaved families miss survivor pensions, death-in-service cover and one-off payments simply because nobody tells them the money exists.
Who to notify when someone dies
The list is long, but a lot of it collapses into a few shortcuts. Work out which ones your country has before you start dialling.
Scams that target the bereaved
This is not paranoia. Obituaries and public records are actively scanned, and the fraud usually starts before the funeral. Five patterns cover almost all of it.
Someone to talk to
The admin ends. Grief does not run on a schedule. You do not have to be "bad enough" to call any of these.
Get your affairs in order
Everything else on this site is for people sorting out a death that has already happened. This one is the opposite: an hour now saves your family weeks later.