Call or text 988
Immediate crisis or suicidal thoughts. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. US and Canada.
Free resources for planning a death, arranging a funeral, and getting through the grief that follows.
This is currently a US-focused list, and most of the resources will not apply to individuals who do not reside in the US. To propose additions to this list, contact us.
Nothing on this page is medical, legal, or mental-health advice. If you’re in a crisis right now, the Crisis Support numbers below will connect you with appropriate support.
Crisis Support4 entries
Free, confidential, and answered around the clock. If you are in immediate danger, start here rather than anywhere else on this page.
Text HOME to 741741
Text-only crisis support. Crisis Text Line. US, UK, Canada, and Ireland.
Call 1-800-662-4357
Mental health and substance use. SAMHSA National Helpline. Information and referral, not counselling.
Call 1-800-959-8277
Military and veteran survivor loss. TAPS Helpline. Survivors of military and veteran loss, including suicide.
If someone just died3 entries
Official checklists and consumer-protection resources for the first calls, forms, and cancellations.
US government checklist
The official first-calls-and-paperwork list. Factual, not warm.
AARP checklist
The most-used practical US checklist. No membership needed.
Funeral Consumers Alliance
First 24 hours + how to price-shop a funeral home.
Planning ahead4 entries
The documents that give your medical team and family instructions when you can't speak for yourself.
State advance directives
CaringInfo. The single most reliable free source for state-legal forms.
AARP directive forms
Backup source if CaringInfo is unavailable. Same rules apply.
FreeWill directive tool
Free for-profit tool funded by charitable-giving planning. Read the terms.
NIA · plain-language primer
What each document is — living will, proxy, POLST, DNR. Read this before the form.
Your rights as a funeral consumer3 entries
The federal law that protects funeral consumers, and the nonprofits that enforce it.
Funeral Consumers Alliance
60 years old. Local memorial societies, price surveys, Funeral Rule explainers.
The FTC Funeral Rule
Homes must itemize, quote by phone, and let you buy only what you want.
Funeral Pricing Surveys
What "normal" costs in your metro — and which homes are opaque.
Home & family-directed funerals2 entries
Home funerals are legal in every US state. The paperwork varies. These are the two primary resources.
Home Funeral Alliance
Free Home Funeral Guidebook PDF plus state-specific rules. National nonprofit.
Order of the Good Death
Plain-language primer — what it is and isn't. Pair with HFA for procedure.
Benefits & paperwork3 entries
Social Security survivor benefits and Veterans Affairs burial benefits.
Social Security survivors
$255 lump sum + ongoing spouse and dependent benefits. Report by phone only.
VA burial & memorial
Free burial in a VA national cemetery for eligible veterans and dependents.
AARP · veterans' survivors
Plain-language rundown of what survivors are actually entitled to.
Grief support · general5 entries
Communities, education, and peer support for people grieving. Not a substitute for a therapist.
Modern Loss
Written by people who've lost, not clinicians talking about them.
What's Your Grief
Practical, plain-language grief education. Hundreds of specific situations.
The Compassionate Friends
For parents, siblings, and grandparents. In-person & virtual chapters.
GriefShare
Explicitly Christian framing throughout. Widely available and genuinely free.
Find A Helpline
Chat, text, and phone options. Not a hotline itself — a way to find one.
Grief support · by type of loss8 entries
Loss-specific communities. Held by people who have been there.
The Dinner Party
Small-group "tables" plus LGBTQ+ affinity tables. Virtual + in-person.
AFSP · Suicide Loss
Survivor groups + Healing Conversations with trained peer volunteers.
Alliance of Hope
Online community, not a hotline. For people bereaved by suicide.
GRASP
In-person and online support after overdose or substance-related death.
TAPS
Helpline, peer mentorship, retreats. Any cause including suicide.
Star Legacy Foundation
Virtual groups, phone/text support, and "pregnancy after loss" classes.
Share
Long-running national organization with in-person and virtual groups.
Soaring Spirits
Any age, any marital status, any cause of death. LGBTQ+ inclusive.
Grief support · children & teens3 entries
Children grieve differently than adults, and often without adults noticing.
The Dougy Center
Peer groups for ages 3–18 in Portland; affiliates nationwide; free downloads.
Judi's House
Clinical services in Denver plus the Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model.
Comfort Zone Camp
Weekend camps for children who lost a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver.
Digital legacy3 entries
What happens to your accounts, files, and passwords when you die.
FCA · Your Digital Legacy
What a digital legacy is and how to leave access without leaving passwords lying around.
Platform legacy tools
Legacy Contact / Inactive Account Manager. Ten minutes each. Set up now.
Password manager access
Trusted contact gets vault access after a waiting period (which you can veto).
This list is US-focused, free at the point of use, and maintained. We check every link quarterly. If you find one broken, if you know a resource we should include, or if a resource we’ve listed has changed and is no longer free — tell us.
Last reviewed · August 2026Review cadence · QuarterlyEntries · 38