What to Do When Someone Dies at Home: First Steps

If someone you love has just died at home, take a breath. You do not have to do everything tonight. The first call depends on one question: was the person under hospice care? If yes, call the hospice’s 24-hour number. If not, call 911. Everything else can wait until you are ready, and we are here whenever you are ready.

TL;DR

• With hospice: call the hospice provider’s 24-hour line, not 911. A hospice nurse will come, confirm the death, and help with next steps.
• Without hospice: call 911. Show any DNR or POLST/MOLST form to the responders when they arrive.
• Nothing else is urgent. You can sit with your loved one, call family, and take time before you call a funeral home.
• In California, some deaths at home are reviewed by the coroner or medical examiner. That is routine, not a sign that you did anything wrong.
• Our line is open 24/7. Bravo Family Mortuary serves all of San Diego County, and you can also start arrangements online at any hour.

Table of Contents

• Quick Answer: Who to call when someone dies at home
• First, a moment for you
• If your loved one was in hospice care
• If there is no hospice
• Who confirms the death, and why it matters
• When the coroner or medical examiner gets involved
• What to avoid before help arrives
• Calling the funeral home
• Death certificates and paperwork
• Our perspective
• When you are ready to talk with us
• If you are planning ahead
• FAQ
• Sources

Quick Answer: Who to call when someone dies at home

First, a moment for you

Before any checklist: there is no wrong way to feel right now. Some people cry, some feel numb, some feel relief after a long illness and then guilt about that relief. All of it is normal.

If you are alone, call someone who can come be with you. A sibling, a neighbor, a friend, a faith leader. The practical steps below are easier with another person beside you.

If your loved one was in hospice care

This is the gentlest situation, because a team already knows you. The Hospice Foundation of America says hospice families should call the hospice provider’s 24-hour number rather than 911 when a death is believed to have occurred. Calling 911 can bring paramedics who are required to try to help, which is not what most families want in this moment.

Here is what the hospice team typically does:

1. Comes to the home and confirms the death. According to the Hospice Foundation of America, a team member will come to confirm the death and help with final arrangements.
2. Helps with the body and the room. After any required authority releases the body, hospice staff may help with bathing or removing tubes and lines if you wish, and can help dispose of leftover medication safely.
3. Contacts the funeral home when you say you are ready. Hospice can call or help you find a funeral home, prepare the body for transport, and stay with you until funeral-home staff arrive when possible.

Texas Children’s guidance adds something many families need to hear: you can spend as much time as you need with your loved one before the funeral home is called. There is no clock running.

We wrote a separate guide on this handoff: Hospice Transition to Funeral Home: Steps for Families.

If there is no hospice

When death happens at home and the person is not in hospice care, Memorial Sloan Kettering advises families to call 911. If your loved one has a DNR or MOLST form, have it ready to show the EMTs when they arrive. In California, the equivalent is usually a POLST form or a prehospital DNR form, often kept on the refrigerator or in a bedside folder.

It helps to know what to expect, so it does not feel frightening:

• Responders may begin resuscitation unless a valid out-of-hospital DNR is shown. Texas Children’s explains that without that form, responders may start CPR and the person may be taken to an emergency department, where a physician makes the official pronouncement.
• Police officers often arrive along with paramedics. This is standard for a death at home without hospice and does not mean anyone suspects you.
• Someone will ask questions: the person’s name, age, medical conditions, medications, and when you last saw them well. Gathering a medication list in advance helps.

The National Institute on Aging says that when a death happens at home without hospice, you can talk through next steps with the doctor, the local medical examiner or coroner, the local health department, or a funeral-home representative. In practice, 911 is the right first call because someone with authority needs to confirm the death.

What to have ready for responders

• The person’s full name, date of birth, and address
• Any DNR, POLST, or MOLST form
• A list of current medications and the names of doctors
• The name of the hospice or home health agency, if there is one
• A phone number for a family member who can be reached

Who confirms the death, and why it matters

A death must be officially pronounced before anything else can happen. The National Institute on Aging says this must be done as soon as possible by an authorized person, such as a doctor or hospice nurse, who also completes the forms certifying the cause, time, and place of death. Those forms are what make the death certificate possible.

The national death certificate form shows how many separate steps are involved. It records the date and time pronounced dead, the signature and license number of the person who pronounced, the place of death, and whether a medical examiner or coroner was contacted. Pronouncement, certifying the cause, and deciding what happens to the body are separate decisions, often made by different people.

When the coroner or medical examiner gets involved

This is the part that surprises families most, so we want to explain it plainly.

California law requires the coroner to look into certain deaths. Under Government Code section 27491, this includes violent, sudden, unusual, and unattended deaths, and deaths where the person was not attended by a physician, or by a registered nurse on a hospice team, in the preceding 20 days. The same law requires a funeral director, physician, or other person in charge of the body to notify the coroner right away when a death falls into those categories.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s office describes the same principle for reportable deaths: any death where an injury or intoxication contributed in any way, and deaths that happen more than 20 days after the person was last seen by a physician, must be reported.

What this means for you:

• A review is routine. If your parent was elderly but had not seen a doctor recently, or if the death was sudden, the medical examiner may review the case. It is a procedure, not an accusation.
• The body may be taken to the medical examiner’s office and released to a funeral home afterward. Releases can take time, so your funeral home will coordinate with the office for you.
• You may be asked not to move anything. If responders or investigators ask you to leave the room as it is, follow their lead.

This is the reason families often feel the process is out of their hands in the first hours. It is. A funeral director can explain the status and timing once you are ready to call.

What to avoid before help arrives

There is much less formal guidance on this than you would expect, so we offer our own plain-spoken advice from years of helping families. Treat it as common sense, not law.

• Do not rush to clean up or throw things away. Pill bottles, notes, and medical equipment may be useful to responders. Hospice staff can help with disposal of medication later.
• Do not move your loved one far unless responders or the hospice nurse tell you to. Gently closing their eyes or covering them with a blanket is fine for most families.
• Do not feel pushed to sign anything or choose a provider on the spot. You decide when to call a funeral home and which one.
• Do not drive anywhere alone if you are shaken. Ask someone to take you.
• Do not make big financial decisions tonight. Nothing about estates, accounts, or services needs to be settled in the first hours.

If you are unsure whether a situation is an emergency, calling 911 is always acceptable. If there is any reason for concern about the circumstances, tell the responders what you know.

Calling the funeral home

Once the death has been confirmed and any authority has released the body, the next call is to a funeral home. The National Institute on Aging says you can contact the funeral home directly or arrange pickup yourself or through a friend or family member, when the family is ready and according to local laws.

When you call, you can expect a few simple questions: the person’s name, where they are now, who is the next of kin, and whether a coroner or hospice is involved. You do not need to know what kind of service you want. Many families say “we don’t know yet,” and that is a fine answer.

Here is a calm order for the first 24 hours:

1. Call hospice, or 911 if there is no hospice.
2. Wait for the death to be confirmed and for any required authority to release the body.
3. Call close family and, if you want, a faith leader or friend.
4. Make arrangements for children and pets if needed.
5. When you are ready, call the funeral home. Transport can happen at any hour.
6. Rest. Eat something. The arrangements conversation is easier after sleep.

If you are looking for what happens once the funeral home takes over, our guide to how the funeral process works walks through it in order. For a wider look at the first practical steps after a death, this checklist of what to do when someone dies covers notifications and next tasks in one place.

Death certificates and paperwork

The funeral home usually files the death certificate with the county on your behalf, after the doctor or coroner completes the medical portion. You will want certified copies, because banks, insurers, and government agencies each ask for one. We explain how many to order in Order 8 to 12 Certified Death Certificates: Step by Step Checklist, and how the process works locally in How to Get a Death Certificate in San Diego.

If you are also settling an estate, the role of a funeral home in estate settlement explains which tasks the funeral home can take off your plate.

Our perspective

At Bravo Family Mortuary, we are an independent, family-owned funeral home on Rainier Avenue in San Diego, and we answer to the families we serve, not to shareholders. Most of the people who reach us in the first hours after a death at home are exhausted and frightened, and often reading on a phone in the middle of the night.

What we want those families to know is that the first call is the only one that cannot wait, and it is not to us. It is to hospice or 911. Everything after that can move at your pace. When you do call us, we will explain each step in plain language, in English or Spanish, and we will tell you what things cost before you decide anything.

We also believe that grief and money should not collide at the worst moment. That is why our prices are published, and why you can complete arrangements securely online through our PartingPros portal at any hour, with no in-person visit and no sales pressure. For veteran families, we coordinate VA burial benefits paperwork at no additional charge.

— Steve Olsher

When you are ready to talk with us

When the time comes, our team can arrange transport and guide you through each choice. Our published prices include:

• Immediate Burial: $2,995
• Natural Burial: $3,995
• Direct Water Cremation (aquamation): $4,200
• Memorial Ceremony + Cremation: $5,495
• Traditional Burial: $6,499
• Traditional Cremation & Ceremony: $6,995

Simple Cremation is also available, and you can see every option on our pricing page. A weekend and holiday services surcharge of $695 applies, mileage beyond 30 miles is $5 per mile, and an assignable insurance policy administrative fee of 4% applies if a policy is assigned. Details on our funeral and cremation services are online, and a funeral home contract should always spell all of this out in writing.

We are here whenever you are ready.

If you are planning ahead

If you are reading this because someone in your family is ill, or because you want to spare your own family this night, a plan helps. Writing down wishes, naming a funeral home, and keeping DNR or POLST paperwork where responders can find it makes the first hours calmer. You can learn more about funeral pre-planning at your own pace.

FAQ

Who do you call first when someone dies at home?

If the person was in hospice, call the hospice provider’s 24-hour number. If they were not, call 911. After the death is confirmed and any required authority releases the body, you can call a funeral home.

Can you call a funeral home first?

It is not the right first call for most families, because the death must be officially pronounced by an authorized person such as a doctor or hospice nurse. Once that has happened, the funeral home can arrange transport. If you are unsure, a funeral home can tell you which call to make first.

Do you have to call 911 if someone dies at home under hospice?

Usually not. Hospice families are advised to call the hospice’s 24-hour line instead, and the nurse will come to the home. If you are unsure whether your loved one is enrolled in hospice, check the paperwork by the bedside or call 911.

Will the coroner come if someone dies at home in San Diego?

Possibly. California law requires the coroner to look into sudden, unattended, and certain other deaths, including some where a physician or hospice nurse had not seen the person in the preceding 20 days. This is a routine review, and your funeral home can help you through the timing.

How long can a body stay at home after death?

There is no need to call a funeral home within minutes, and you can take time with your loved one. But a body should not stay for long, and responders or hospice can advise on timing for your situation. Call us at any hour and we will help you decide.

Sources

• What To Do After a Loved One Dies, Memorial Sloan Kettering
• If your loved one dies at home, Texas Children’s
• What To Do After Someone Dies, National Institute on Aging
• When death happens at home, Hospice Foundation of America
• U.S. Standard Certificate of Death, CDC
• California Government Code section 27491
• Reportable Deaths, San Diego County Medical Examiner

Recommended

• How the Funeral Process Works: A Step-by-Step Guide
• How Remote Funeral Planning Works: A Family Guide
• Arrange a Funeral Entirely Online: Your Step-by-Step Guide
• Online Memorial Service Planning Steps for Grieving Families