The First 48 Hours After a Death: What Matters Now, and What Can Wait
If you found this page in the last few hours, we're sorry. Whatever you're feeling right now — grief, shock, exhaustion, or a strange numb calm — is completely understandable.
This guide covers only what matters in the first 48 hours. Not the full estate process, not the legal and financial steps that come later. Just what needs to happen now, what needs to happen soon, and what can wait until you have more time and more energy.
You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to do anything perfectly. Most of the hard administrative work that comes after a death unfolds over weeks and months — not hours.
In this guide:
The one thing that has to happen first
Organ and tissue donation — timing matters
Who to call, and in what order
If the death happened at home
If the death happened in a hospital
If the death happened under hospice care
Notifying family — doing it with some care
The will and the home
What can wait
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Frequently asked questions
What has to happen first: a legal pronouncement of death
Before anything else can proceed — death certificates, funeral arrangements, any legal process — someone with the authority to do so must officially pronounce the person dead. This confirms the death and records the legal time and date.
This is different from the death certificate. The pronouncement happens at the scene. The death certificate — which records the cause of death and gets you the certified copies you'll need for banks, insurance companies, and courts — comes later through the funeral home.
Who pronounces death depends on where it happened:
At home under hospice care: Call the hospice 24-hour line, not 911. The on-call nurse comes to the home and makes the pronouncement.
At home without hospice: Call 911. Paramedics respond and must attempt resuscitation unless a valid out-of-hospital DNR or MOLST form is physically present at the scene. A living will or healthcare proxy document alone isn't sufficient in this situation.
In a hospital: The attending physician or authorized clinician handles this. The hospital manages the immediate paperwork.
In a nursing home or assisted living: The facility's physician is notified. Staff manage the initial steps — this is routine for these facilities.
One important note about home deaths without hospice: police will also respond because any unexpected or unattended home death is treated as such until confirmed otherwise. This is standard procedure and not a sign anything was wrong. The coroner or medical examiner gets involved, and they must authorize the body's release before a funeral home can transport it.
Organ and tissue donation: the window is short
If the person was a registered organ donor — listed on their driver's license or in a state registry — that registration is legally valid consent. If they weren't registered, the family may be asked.
Organ donation happens only in a small number of circumstances — primarily hospital deaths where the patient is on life support. The medical team will coordinate with the regional Organ Procurement Organization (OPO), which contacts families directly. Transplantable organs survive only hours: hearts and lungs around 4–6 hours, kidneys 24–36 hours. These decisions happen quickly.
Tissue donation — corneas, skin, bone, tendons — has a wider window of 12–24 hours and can occur after a death at home. One tissue donor can help more than 75 people.
Brain donation for research requires notification within about 2 hours of death and needs to be arranged in advance through a brain bank program.
If no one asks you about donation, it means the person didn't meet the criteria — not that an opportunity was missed.
Who to call, and in what order
There's a practical order to this, and it helps to think of it that way.
Immediately:
If hospice: the hospice 24-hour line
If home without hospice: 911
If hospital or facility: the nursing staff or attending physician handles the immediate steps
Within the first few hours:
One or two immediate family members or close friends — people who can help make the next calls, and who should hear from you personally rather than from someone else
A funeral home. You don't need to have this chosen in advance; most funeral homes take calls around the clock. They will transport the body once they've been authorized to do so (the hospital or coroner handles that authorization)
Within the first day or two:
Close family and close friends — personally, before anything goes on social media
Decide who will be the "point person" for incoming calls and questions. This protects the people who are most deeply grieving from having to repeat the news over and over
If the death happened at home without hospice
Call 911. When paramedics arrive, they will assess the situation. Unless a valid out-of-hospital DNR or MOLST form is physically present and properly executed, they are legally required to attempt resuscitation.
Police will also arrive — this is standard procedure for any unattended home death. They're not treating it as suspicious; they're following protocol. The coroner or medical examiner will be notified and will assess whether an autopsy is needed or whether the attending physician can sign the death certificate. This process can take several hours.
You don't need to rush to have the body removed. Once the coroner has cleared the scene, you can take some time. The Hospice Foundation of America notes that families often feel pressure to call the funeral home immediately, but there is no requirement to move quickly. It's appropriate to sit with your person for a while if you need to.
If the death happened in a hospital
The hospital handles the immediate medical steps: pronouncement, post-mortem care, and the medical portion of the death certificate. They'll also notify the OPO if relevant.
Your responsibilities in the first 48 hours: choose a funeral home (hospitals typically hold a body 48–72 hours), provide demographic information for the death certificate, collect personal belongings, and make initial decisions about burial or cremation. The hospital may offer a social worker or chaplain — you can accept or decline that support.
If the death happened under hospice care at home
Call the hospice 24-hour line. Do not call 911.
The on-call nurse will come to the home. They make the official pronouncement, contact the physician to sign the death certificate, and call the funeral home. There's no police involvement, no coroner, no attempted resuscitation. The hospice team will also account for and properly dispose of any controlled medications — this is required and can take some time.
One thing the Hospice Foundation of America emphasizes: families don't need to rush. You can take time to say goodbye before the body is transported. There's no pressure to move quickly, and the hospice team won't try to hurry you.
Telling family: doing it with some care
This part is hard. A few things that help:
Designate one person to make calls — someone who is grieving but can hold it together enough to reach out. This keeps the closest mourners from having to repeat the news repeatedly.
Tell close family and close friends personally, by phone, before anything goes on social media or in a group message. Most guidance from funeral directors and grief counselors suggests waiting at least 24–48 hours before any public announcement online — partly out of respect for close family who should hear first, and partly because public posts generate a wave of messages that can be overwhelming before you're ready to receive them.
When you do share news more broadly, you don't owe anyone details. "She passed away peacefully this morning" is complete information.
The will and the home
In the first 48 hours, the only thing you need to do about estate documents is find the will, if one exists, and note where it's kept. You don't need to read it thoroughly right now or do anything with it. But knowing where it is matters.
The will names the executor — the person responsible for managing the estate. That person has authority that doesn't come from anyone else, and that authority begins at the moment of death. In some states, a valid will must be filed with the probate court within 30 days of death, so knowing where it is and getting it to the executor matters within the first week or two.
If you don't know where the will is: check a home safe, a filing cabinet, with the person's attorney, or in a digital vault if they had one set up. A safe deposit box is worth checking — though be aware that many banks restrict access to a safe deposit box after the owner's death, and you may need to go through a legal process to open it.
For the home itself: lock up, make sure it's secure, and hold the mail (a USPS mail hold or forward is worth setting up soon). If the home will be unoccupied for a period, letting a trusted neighbor know is worth doing.
How many death certificates to order
Order at least 10–12 certified copies. This sounds like a lot. It isn't.
Every institution that needs notification — banks, insurance companies, Social Security, pension administrators, courts, the county recorder for real estate — requires its own certified copy. Most won't return it. Death certificates cost roughly $12–$18 per copy depending on the state, and getting more later requires going back to the vital records office, which adds weeks. The funeral home will help you order them.
The death certificate process takes about 2–4 weeks from the date of death.
What can genuinely wait
Most of the estate work can wait days, weeks, or months. You don't have to handle any of this in the first 48 hours:
Filing life insurance claims
Notifying banks, investment accounts, retirement accounts
Contacting Social Security (though it's worth doing within a week or two)
Canceling subscriptions and services
Dealing with the person's belongings and home
Any major financial or life decisions — selling property, changing jobs, moving
The National Institute on Aging specifically recommends waiting at least a year before making significant life changes after the death of a close person. Financial advisors say the same: grief impairs judgment in ways that aren't always obvious, and the most expensive decisions tend to be the ones made fastest.
A few things worth doing in the first week: begin keeping a simple list of every call you make, every institution you contact, and every document you receive. This running record becomes invaluable over the following months.
Safe After Me lets families store and access exactly this kind of information — where accounts are, where documents are, who the right contacts are — so that when a death happens, the people left behind aren't starting from zero. If the person who died had organized their information in a digital vault, now is when that matters most.
Frequently asked questions
Do I call 911 or the funeral home first when someone dies at home?
If it's an unexpected death at home and the person wasn't under hospice care, call 911 first. Paramedics respond, make the official pronouncement, and coordinate with the coroner or medical examiner. The funeral home can only take custody of the body after authorities have cleared the scene — which can take several hours. If the person was under hospice care, call the hospice 24-hour line instead of 911.
Can a hospice nurse pronounce death?
Yes. In most states, hospice nurses are authorized to make an official pronouncement of death at home. The specifics vary by state — in some, the hospice physician also signs off remotely or the nurse contacts the attending physician — but calling 911 is not needed or appropriate for a hospice death at home. The hospice agency's 24-hour line handles everything.
How long does a body stay at home before the funeral home comes?
There's no fixed legal requirement in most states to remove the body immediately. Families can take several hours, and hospice teams specifically tell families there's no rush. Once you contact a funeral home, they typically arrive within a few hours of being called. If embalming isn't planned and the home isn't climate-controlled, sooner is better — but you have time to say a proper goodbye.
What happens if someone dies without a will?
The estate goes through intestate succession — each state has laws that determine who inherits when there's no will. Generally, assets pass to the closest living relatives: spouse first, then children, then parents, then siblings. An administrator (similar to an executor) is appointed by the probate court. The process is the same as with a will but takes longer and offers no ability to honor the person's wishes about who gets what.
Should I cancel the person's phone and accounts right away?
Not immediately. The phone may hold important contacts, account information, and records you'll need over the coming months. Most estate professionals recommend keeping accounts open for 30–60 days and reviewing them for recurring charges, automatic payments, and subscription services before canceling. Rushing to close accounts can cut off information you'll need. Credit card statements, utility bills, and email notifications are often the best way to discover accounts and subscriptions the deceased had.
Do I need a lawyer right now?
Not in the first 48 hours. A probate attorney becomes relevant when you're ready to open probate (if needed) or when questions arise about the estate — often weeks or months after the death. If the estate is large, there are disputes among family members, or the person died without a will and there are significant assets, getting an attorney involved within the first month is wise.
What is the most important thing to do in the first 24 hours?
Get the legal pronouncement handled through the right channel (hospice, 911, or the hospital, depending on the circumstances), contact a funeral home, and notify close family before posting anything publicly. Everything else can follow once you've had a chance to breathe.
