The short answer
The first calls and the funeral work much as they did after the first death. What is new is that no parent is left to decide. The choices fall to the children together, or to you alone if there is no one else.
The first loss can come back with this one. This estate is also the last one, so anything the first death left unfinished can turn up now.
In the full chapter
The chapter explains what exists and what to ask, then ends with what to do, what can wait so you can set it aside, and who can answer the questions that are yours alone.
The rules, phone numbers and web addresses in this book were checked against the agencies’, courts’ and organizations’ own pages in October 2026. Where a rule differs by state, the book names one state as an example. Check anything you rely on with the office itself.
From Book 7: The Second Parent
This page has the short answer from chapter 1. The full chapter explains, in plain words, what exists, what to ask, and who can answer. The book covers after the second death after the death.
Questions near this one
Other questions on related subjects, from this book and the others.
- What if the first estate was never finished? Book 7, The Second Parent
- Why are we fighting when we always got along? Book 5, Siblings and the Estate
- What is the tax on selling an inherited house? Book 4, Their House
- What is it like to have no parents left? Book 7, The Second Parent
Hear when The Second Parent is out
A short note when each book is out. Five or six emails a year at most. You can unsubscribe whenever you like.