EXCERPT: The First 72 Hours Checklist ($14.95) is a 10-page step-by-step playbook for what to do when someone dies — the calls, documents, and details.
Someone you love just died. You’re standing in a hospital room — or sitting at a kitchen table at midnight — and you have no idea what you’re supposed to do first.
Nobody teaches this. And in the middle of grief, your brain isn’t working the way it usually does. Shock erases details. Decisions feel impossible. Meanwhile the phone keeps ringing and there are things that genuinely can’t wait.
This checklist tells you what to do, in order, so you don’t have to think right now — just do the next box.
What it is
The “First 72 Hours” Survivor Checklist is a 10-page priority action playbook for the worst hours of your life. It covers the first few hours, the calls that matter in the first 24 hours, the money calls at 24–48 hours, the quiet details at 48–72 hours — and just as importantly, what NOT to decide yet.
You get six files in one download: flat printable PDFs in US Letter and A4, ink-friendly black-and-white versions of both for near-free home printing, a fillable PDF you can type into on your phone, and an .xlsx action tracker spreadsheet that works in Excel and Google Sheets — enter the date of death and every due date fills in automatically.
Why it was created
In the first hours after a death, two things are true at once: some things genuinely need to happen soon (the calls, the documents, protecting accounts), and almost nothing permanent needs to be decided yet. Grieving people get both of these wrong — they miss the urgent and rush the permanent — because no one ever handed them a list.
This checklist was created to be that list. It sequences the hours so the urgent gets handled and the permanent gets parked. PEACE means ORDER IN THE WORST HOURS — and order starts with one box checked at a time.
Who it’s for
- Anyone who just lost a family member, partner, or close friend and doesn’t know what to do first
- The person everyone is looking at to “handle things” — the one who needs a plan right now
- Adult children, spouses, and siblings facing funeral arrangements, accounts, and paperwork
- Anyone who wants to gift something genuinely useful to a grieving friend or family member
What’s inside
Every page does one job:
- The First Few Hours — 10 numbered steps in order, plus a write-it-now facts box (shock erases details)
- First 24 Hours — the calls that matter: family, employer, funeral home, landlord, clergy, care for kids and pets
- Two Who-to-Call Worksheets — family and close circle, funeral home, banks, cards, insurance, benefits
- 24–48 Hours: The Money Calls — short scripts for what to ask, with a “protect yourself” warning box
- 48–72 Hours: The Quiet Details — death certificates, mail, keys, subscriptions, the phone you must not reset
- Documents to Find — a 19-document checklist with the one-folder rule
- What NOT to Decide Yet — the 8 permanent-choice traps and the rule of thumb for each
- Service & Farewell Worksheet — obituary, speakers, music, flowers, food
- Taking Care of You — eat, sleep, water, parked decisions, passwords and notes
The spreadsheet side gives you an action tracker (enter the date of death; every due date fills in automatically, with completion % at the top), a contacts directory for everyone you called, and a documents checklist mirroring the page so you can check items off as you find them. Demo data is included so you see it working in 60 seconds.
How to use it
Open it on your phone in the hospital — the fillable PDF works with no printing required. Start at page one: the 10 steps for the first few hours, and the write-it-now facts box. When you’re home, print the black-and-white version if that’s easier, or keep working on the phone.
Work forward through the hours. When someone asks you to decide something big — sell, move, sign, cancel — turn to “What NOT to Decide Yet” first. The checklist’s rule of thumb protects you from the permanent-choice traps that grief makes tempting. And when the money calls start, use the short scripts: you don’t need the right words right now, they’re already written.
One gentle note: this checklist is a planning tool, not legal or financial advice. When money or property questions get complicated, a local attorney or advisor is worth one conversation.
Get the kit
You don’t have to think right now — just do the next box. Get the First 72 Hours Checklist (When Someone Dies) for $14.95, or find DealShore on Etsy.
Get free sample pages + new kit alerts — email contact@dealshore.com