Notify Family, Friends & Care Services of a Death

At this early stage, it will be important to notify immediate family and close friends only.

If the death was expected, notifying family and friends of the loss will in most cases be slightly less confronting as the time leading up to the death provided some time to start dealing emotionally with the loss of a loved one.
If the death was unexpected, bearing the news can be more difficult as one deals with one’s own loss and will likely trigger emotions in the notified persons. The Hospital or Nursing Home may offer to notify family and friends on your behalf if you wish so you can deal with your emotions and focus on other matters.

Communicating such sad news to family and friends is best done in person and in a quiet environment if possible. Remember to think about the possible reaction of the recipient, their health and tailor your message accordingly. It may be worth writing down and rehearsing what you are going to say to feel more comfortable when delivering the news or bring someone with you.

Be prepared that the recipient of the information may request time alone; don’t feel rejected and try to understand that people deal with such a situation in very different ways.

If the death was peaceful and painless it will often help if you inform family and friends of this as it will put them at more ease.

It will be important that you request to gain access to the deceased person’s home while you inform immediate family members or can organise a day and time to visit in preparation for Step 4 – Locate the Will and Insurance Documents.

It is recommended that you as the person who will likely take on the Executor (the person nominated in the Will to administer the deceased estate) or Administrator (usually the most senior Next of Kin who will administer the deceased estate where no Will is in place) role should have a set of keys as soon as practical. It can unfortunately occur that Beneficiaries may want to gain access to the house and claim possessions, furniture and other items, which may be considered illegal. If you fear this could happen it may be appropriate to request all keys until the estate is fully understood and administered in preparation for distribution. In extreme circumstances you may even want to change the locks to ensure nothing is taken from the deceased person’s home.

As further outlined in Step 15 – Prepare an Estate Assets & Liabilities Spreadsheet you will need to establish the total value of the estate and may want to take full control of all the deceased person’s personal belongings, jewellery and valuables early on depending on your specific situation.

If the deceased was receiving care in the home or resided in a nursing home but was not there at the time of death, it will be important to inform the relevant persons to ensure the services are no longer provided. This will help you save money and allow providers to commence their administrative processes as well.

If the deceased was still working or had business dealings, it is important to inform the Human Resources department of the company, or business partners, staff and contractors if self-employed, of the death.

Companies will often have procedures in place and will most likely want to meet with a Next of Kin to pick up personal belongings and for their administrative purposes.
Don’t feel pressured to do this immediately and request for more time if this is what you need.

Once the most immediate family, friends, care providers and employer know about the death, you can communicate the news to broader family and friends. You may not to do this to each individually but may inform them via the funeral invitations, social media account or other media a bit later as you work through these steps.