A Timeline for Settling an Estate in the First 90 Days

The first three months after a death are a mix of urgent tasks that genuinely cannot wait and a much longer list of things that feel urgent but are not. This timeline separates the two. It is organized by when most families find it practical to do each step, not by legal deadline, because deadlines vary by state and by estate. Treat it as a map, not a rulebook, and confirm specifics with a licensed probate attorney in the state where the person lived.

Days 1 to 7: immediate needs

Obtain death certificates. The funeral home usually orders them. Ask for ten or more certified copies; banks, insurers, pension administrators, the DMV, and the court each want one, and ordering more later takes weeks.

Secure the home and vehicles. Collect keys, lock up, and consider changing locks if keys are unaccounted for. Move vehicles somewhere safe. Photograph every room before anything is moved.

Care for dependents and pets. Arrange immediate care for anyone or anything that depended on the person.

Locate the will and any trust. Check the home office, a safe, and the filing cabinet. Ask the person's attorney, if known. If there is a safe deposit box, find out what the bank requires to open it; rules vary by state.

Notify the employer, if the person was working, and ask about final pay, benefits, and life insurance through work.

Keep paying essential bills: mortgage or rent, utilities, insurance. Use the person's accounts only if you are a joint owner or already have legal authority; otherwise keep receipts for reimbursement from the estate later.

What can wait: everything about the contents of the house, decisions about selling, and almost every creditor.

Days 7 to 21: notifications and paperwork

Social Security. The funeral home often reports the death, but confirm. Benefits paid for the month of death may need to be returned. A surviving spouse or dependent children may be eligible for survivor benefits.

Other government agencies and payers. Veterans Affairs if applicable, pension plans, annuity providers, and Medicare or Medicaid.

Insurers. Life insurance claims can be filed now with a death certificate. Notify the homeowners and auto insurers of the death; ask about vacancy provisions for the home.

Financial institutions. Notify banks, brokerages, and credit card issuers. Do not close accounts yet; the estate may need them for incoming deposits and outgoing payments. Ask each institution what documentation they require.

Credit bureaus. Request that the person's credit file be flagged as deceased to deter identity theft.

Mail. Set up forwarding. Incoming mail over the next two months will reveal accounts, debts, and subscriptions you did not know about.

Begin an inventory. A simple spreadsheet of assets (real estate, accounts, vehicles, valuables) and debts (mortgage, loans, cards, medical bills) with approximate values. The attorney and the court will need this.

Consult a probate attorney. Even if you ultimately handle things yourself, a consultation in the first few weeks clarifies whether probate is needed, which type, and what the timeline looks like. Our guide on how to choose a probate attorney explains what to ask.

Days 21 to 45: open the estate

File to open probate, if required. The executor named in the will (or a family member petitioning to be appointed if there is no will) files a petition with the court. The court issues documents, often called letters testamentary or letters of administration, that give the executor authority to act. The wait for appointment ranges from days to months depending on the state and county.

Obtain a tax ID for the estate and open an estate bank account once appointed. Estate income and expenses flow through this account, which keeps the accounting clean.

Publish and send creditor notices as state law requires. This starts the clock on the creditor claim period, which is a major driver of how long probate takes.

Address the home's contents, in order. With authority established, give family members a defined window to identify keepsakes. Pull all paperwork, photographs, cash, jewelry, firearms, and medications. Then decide between an estate sale and a cleanout; see Estate sale vs. estate cleanout.

Confirm the home's insurance. If the house is vacant, the policy may lapse or exclude certain losses after a set period. Arrange a vacancy endorsement or a vacant-property policy.

Cancel what should be canceled. Subscriptions, memberships, phone plans, and recurring charges that serve no purpose for the estate. Keep utilities and insurance active.

Days 45 to 90: stabilize and decide

Hold the estate sale if one makes sense. Lead times of two to four weeks are normal, so a sale booked in week five or six often happens in week eight to ten.

Schedule the cleanout for after the sale, or sooner if there is no sale. A typical home takes one to three days. See Estate cleanout cost: what families actually pay for what to expect and Who pays for the estate cleanout? for how reimbursement works.

Decide what happens to the house. Sell, rent, or keep. If selling, interview agents experienced with inherited homes and ask whether to sell as-is. Our article What to do with a house after a parent dies walks through the decision.

Gather tax information. The person's final individual income tax return will be due at the normal filing deadline for the year of death. The estate may also need its own income tax return if it earns income (interest, rent, sale gains) above a modest threshold. A federal estate tax return applies only to estates above a high exemption amount, but some states have estate or inheritance taxes with lower thresholds and their own deadlines. A tax professional can identify what applies.

Review creditor claims as they arrive. Legitimate debts are generally paid from the estate in an order set by state law. Do not pay heirs before creditors and expenses are addressed, and do not pay debts personally unless you were a co-signer or joint account holder.

Communicate with heirs. A short monthly update about what has been done, what is pending, and what the estate has spent prevents most family conflict.

What happens after 90 days

By the end of the third month, a well-organized estate typically has probate open, creditor notices published, the home cleared or scheduled, and a plan for the property. What remains is largely waiting: for the creditor period to close, for the house to sell, for tax returns to be filed, and for the court to approve the final accounting and distribution. Uncontested estates commonly close somewhere between six months and a year or more after death, driven by statute and court schedules rather than by how hard anyone works.

Things that can wait

• Distributing money or property to heirs (wait until creditors and expenses are handled and the attorney says it is appropriate)
• Closing bank accounts (the estate needs somewhere for refunds and deposits to land)
• Deciding what to do with every sentimental item (keepsakes can go into labeled boxes for later)
• Responding to unsolicited offers to buy the house (get a market opinion first)
• Cleaning out the house in the first two weeks (secure it, photograph it, and move deliberately)

Grief does not follow a schedule, and neither does probate. The goal of the first 90 days is not to finish; it is to protect the estate, establish authority, and make the big decisions thoughtfully.