Several persons and  entities should be notified as soon as possible. If the deceased had a will or living trust, the personal representative and contingent trustee must obviously be contacted.  On occasion,  the deceased may have instructed the estate planner to retain the original documentation; this, in my experience, is commonly  the case when the decedent wants to address the issue of "where do I keep or store the documents?" and feels comfortable knowing the estate planner will have everything needed. Unfortunately,  too often the decedent fails to coordinate a procedure or mechanism to be sure the estate planner is in fact notified; sometimes this well intended belief of the decedent is in fact impossible to be accomplished. If the estate planner has retained the documents pursuant to the decedents instruction but no family member or "beneficiary"  is informed of this fact by the decedent, how will the family or beneficiary know who the contact person is and the fact that the planner has the original documentation?

Normally in the course of creating a comprehensive estate plan, the client will have a Durable Power of Attorney executed designating an Attorney in Fact (recipient of the power), notification to the Attorney in Fact must be made as soon as possible because the power bestowed on the Attorney in Fact terminates upon the death of the principal. Also, if applicable, notification to the Veterans Administration and

Social Security Administration must be made.  All banking institutions, or other financial entities, that the decedent dealt with must be notified; also administrators of pensions or retirement plans such as IRAs and 401s, life insurance companies, credit card companies and the Motor Vehicle Commission must be notified

The funeral arrangements must be addressed; this is a broad and private issue; however, a determination must quickly be made whether cremation or other special requests of the decedent have been made. I strongly commend to my clients that they complete the forms " Executor's Instructions" and "Statements of Assets" (available on this website) in order to preserve the decedents intentions and disclose important information to the contingent trustee as well as Executor.

The representative of the estate and or successor trustee, if applicable, should immediately proceed with the task of gathering the assets and liabilities of the decedent.  As soon as practical, the estate representatives must consult with the attorney, or other professional, in order to commence the estate proceedings in an orderly fashion; this is probably one of the most important meetings regarding the issues of the estate and if properly formatted, this meeting will set the course of the estate finalization as well as allow the estate proceeding to be finalized smoothly and without unnecessary  expense. At the initial meeting the attorney, or other professional, should be provided certified as true death certificates (obtained through the funeral director) as well as copies of every asset and liability of the decedent. The comprehensive turnover of all assets and liabilities permits the professional to commence the estate process correctly.