Six things not to do in the first week after a death
Most mistakes after a death can be fixed. These six usually can't, and all six tend to happen in the first week.
5 minute read · Updated October 2026
Almost everything after a death can wait a week. These six are the exceptions: they tend to happen in the first few days, while nobody is thinking straight, and they are very hard to undo.
1. Canceling the phone line
The two-factor codes for the bank, the brokerage and the email account all go to that number. Once the carrier releases it, those accounts can take months to reach, and the number itself may be given to a stranger. Keep it active until the accounts are sorted.
2. Giving things away before anyone writes down what was there
Once belongings leave the house, the inventory becomes guesswork, and family members remember the contents of a house very differently. Walk through and write a list (or take photos) before anything goes.
3. Ending health coverage too early
Claims for care given before the death can keep arriving for months. If the coverage is ended early, those bills can become the estate's problem.
4. Paying whichever creditor calls loudest
Estates generally have an order in which debts must be paid, set by state law. Paying out of order can leave the executor personally responsible in some states. Write down every bill that arrives, but don't rush to pay them.
5. Shredding paperwork
An unopened envelope from an insurer is often the only sign a policy exists. Keep every statement and letter for at least a year.
6. Closing the email account
The email inbox is the best record of a person's financial life: every subscription, institution and renewal notice. Close it and that record is gone. Keep it open and check it regularly.
And one thing to do
If the person received Social Security, any payment for the month of death has to be returned. Let the bank know, so a payment landing after the death is not spent. The funeral home usually reports the death to Social Security; it costs nothing to ask whether they have.
None of these are mistakes of carelessness. They are mistakes of week one, and a family holding one page of written guidance makes almost none of them. Our free first-week checklist covers the seven things worth doing.
