Someone just died.Here is exactly what to do.

Final Steps Help is a free guide for the moment someone you love just died and you may be worried about how to pay for what comes next. It publishes the county-level facts nobody else collects in one place: the office that runs each county's indigent burial program, its phone number, what it covers, and what to say when you call. It is not a funeral home, a law firm, or a government agency, and nothing on it is legal or financial advice.

A traditional funeral with burial commonly costs $7,000 to $12,000 or more, and most families never learn the county can help. The county where the death happened typically takes responsibility through an indigent burial program, usually providing a simple cremation or burial. Find your county page on this site for the exact office and phone number.

Yes. Apply before signing anything with a funeral home. In many counties, once a family signs a contract or takes responsibility for the body, the county considers the family able to pay and denies the application. Call the county program first.

Every county, parish and borough in all 50 states has its own help page. Texas is fully mapped with verified county programs, and more states are being researched and verified now. Every page shows its last-verified date so you can judge freshness yourself, and a page is only marked verified after a human confirms the details with the office or its official materials.

Social Security pays a one-time lump-sum death payment of $255 when a worker who paid into Social Security dies. It will not cover a funeral, but it takes ten minutes to claim. You cannot apply online. Call 1-800-772-1213 or visit a Social Security office, and apply within two years of the death.

Most veterans discharged under conditions other than dishonorable, plus spouses and dependent children in many cases, can be buried in a VA national cemetery at no cost. The gravesite, opening and closing, perpetual care, headstone or marker, burial flag, and Presidential Memorial Certificate are provided at no cost, and the family still pays the funeral home for preparation and transport. The VA burial allowance is up to $2,000 for a service-connected death, and amounts adjust annually, so check the VA page for current figures. Before paying for anything, call the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-800-535-1117.

Yes. The help is free and always will be, with no signup. The site may earn from clearly-marked advertising and, in the future, from optional paid checklists and referrals. No county program, government benefit, or charity listed here pays us, and money never changes what we recommend.