The first weeks after a death are for protecting what your person left and learning who is allowed to act. They are not for dividing the house or closing every account.
The short answer
In the first few days
- Ask the funeral home for more certified death certificates than you think you need. Ten is a common start.
- Secure the home, the vehicles, and any pets. Keep the insurance in force.
- Find the original will, any trust, the deeds, and a recent tax return.
- Start a list of accounts from the mail, not from memory.
- Tell close family what you have found, and what you still cannot find.
Who is allowed to act
Being named in a will does not, by itself, let you sign for the estate. The court has to appoint you through probate and issue letters. Until then, a bank is right to refuse a withdrawal.
A successor trustee of a funded living trust is in a different position. The trust, not the court, is the source of authority over assets the trust owns. Assets left outside the trust can still require probate.
A joint owner, or a person named on life insurance or a retirement account, can often claim that one asset without waiting for the estate.
What should wait
- Selling the house
- Dividing furniture, jewelry, and family papers
- Closing accounts that may still receive a deposit
- Paying debts you have not confirmed
A Social Security or pension payment that arrives after death often has to be returned. Notify the payer before anyone spends it.
Keep one set of papers
Use one folder for the death certificates, the will, the trust, letters from the court, and a running list of every call. Write the date, the person, and what they said. That list matters later, whether you are the personal representative, the trustee, or the person helping them.
This guide is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change, and every family is different.