The first responder family checklist: what to have ready
The papers a first responder’s family will need fit on one list: your work details (agency, badge or employee number, HR contact), your benefits (pension and beneficiary, life insurance and association policies, line-of-duty benefit contacts), your family records (marriage certificate, divorce decrees, children’s birth certificates), your funeral and honor-guard wishes, and who to call first. These are the same things ERS, the federal PSOB program, pension systems and insurers ask families for.
Fill this out together, on a calm day. It takes an afternoon, and it means the person you love won’t have to search for anything.
What work information should your family have?
- Your agency’s full name and address, and your rank or title.
- Your service dates (when you started, and when you left) and copies of any exposure reports. The federal PSOB benefit now covers certain job-related cancers diagnosed up to 15 years after the last day of service, and the family has to prove the dates. (IAFC)
- Your badge number and employee number.
- Your HR or benefits contact, by name and phone.
- Your supervisor and the department’s family liaison or chaplain, if there is one.
- Your union or association, and your member number.
What benefit and pension details should be written down?
- Pension: the system (TMRS, TCDRS, a local fire fighters’ fund or another plan), your member number, and the beneficiary on file. TCDRS, for example, pays survivor benefits based on your beneficiary designation (TCDRS).
- Group and supplemental life insurance: insurer, policy or group number, amount, beneficiary.
- Association or union death benefits: who pays and how to claim.
- Private life insurance: company, policy number, agent.
- Line-of-duty contacts: ERS for Chapter 615 at (877) 275-4377 and the PSOB Office at 1-888-744-6513 (ERS).
- Workers’ compensation: your employer’s insurance carrier, if you know it. Family claims use DWC Form-042 (TDI).
What family papers will be needed?
The federal PSOB claim, for example, asks the family for these (BJA):
- Your current marriage certificate.
- Divorce decrees from your earlier marriages, and from your spouse’s.
- Death certificates for any earlier marriage that ended in death.
- Birth certificates for each child, plus adoption or guardianship papers if they apply.
- School enrollment records for children 19 to 22 who are full-time students.
Also keep Social Security numbers for everyone in the family, the deed to your home (for the homestead exemption), and your will or trust, if you have one.
What are your funeral and honor-guard wishes?
- Burial or cremation, and where.
- Whether you want a department funeral, honor guard, flag presentation, bagpipes or a last call.
- Your faith community or the person you’d like to lead the service.
- Who should speak, and who should be told first.
- Anything you do not want, so your family doesn’t have to guess.
Which forms and claim pages should your family have ready?
Download them now and keep a copy with your papers. Your department’s HR office or chaplain can help fill them out. PSOB and COBRA are federal and work in every state; the others are Texas. In other states, line-of-duty and workers’ comp claims go through that state’s own agencies, so ask your HR office which ones apply.
- PSOB death claim checklist (PDF): what the federal PSOB Office needs after a line-of-duty death. Questions: 888-744-6513.
- Texas Chapter 615 (ERS): line-of-duty survivor benefits. The employer or the family calls ERS at 877-275-4377 to start the claim.
- DWC Form-042 (PDF): claim for workers’ comp death benefits. File within one year of the death. Spanish version (DWC-042S).
- TMRS beneficiary: check or change who you named, in MyTMRS or on the TMRS-BENE form.
- Texas tuition exemption: tuition, fees and textbooks at Texas public colleges for the spouse and children.
- COBRA: how your family keeps job-based health coverage. Questions: 866-444-3272.
- Concerns of Police Survivors and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation: support for families after a line-of-duty death.
Who should the family call first?
After a line-of-duty death, the department usually reaches the family first and helps start the claims. Keep this list where your family can find it:
- The department’s liaison or HR. They complete the agency parts of the PSOB claim (BJA) and can start the Chapter 615 claim with ERS (ERS).
- ERS: (877) 275-4377.
- PSOB Office: 1-888-744-6513.
- The pension system: TMRS 800-924-8677 (they’ll ask for name, Social Security number, date of death, family contact and marital status) (TMRS); TCDRS 800-823-7782 (TCDRS); or your local fund.
- Each life insurer on your list.
- The county appraisal district, for the homestead exemption (Texas Comptroller).
What each benefit pays is in Texas line-of-duty death benefits.
Where should you keep the list?
Somewhere your spouse or a trusted family member can reach without you: one place for the originals, a list of who holds copies, and the phone numbers above. Review it once a year, and any time you change jobs, marry, divorce or have a child.
▶ Watch how to set it up, step by step.
Keep it all in one place
FamiliaLista keeps your documents, instructions and who-to-call list organized in one place, and delivers them to your family when they need it. By message and email, in English and Spanish.
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Frank Flores gives free family-readiness workshops, in English or Spanish.
Frequently asked questions
What documents does a first responder’s family need after a line-of-duty death?
Certified death certificates, the marriage certificate, divorce decrees from earlier marriages, the children’s birth certificates, Social Security numbers, pension and life insurance beneficiary information, and the agency’s HR contact.
Who does the family call first after a line-of-duty death in Texas?
The department’s liaison or HR, then ERS at (877) 275-4377 for Chapter 615, the PSOB Office at 1-888-744-6513, the pension system and each life insurer.
Should I write down my funeral and honor-guard wishes?
Yes. Writing them down lets your department and family carry them out without guessing, and it is one less decision for them on the hardest days.
How often should I update my checklist?
Once a year, and any time you change jobs, marry, divorce, have a child or change a beneficiary.
Sources
- ERS: Chapter 615 survivor benefits (rev. 2/2/2024)
ers.texas.gov/PDFs/Chapter615 - BJA: PSOB benefits and how to apply
bja.ojp.gov/program/psob/benefits - BJA: PSOB death claim checklist
bja.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh186/files/media/document/death_claim_checklist.pdf - TMRS: Report a death
www.tmrs.com/report-a-death - TCDRS: Survivor benefit
tcdrs.org/library/survivor-benefit - Texas Department of Insurance, DWC: Death and burial benefits
www.tdi.texas.gov/wc/employee/deathben.html - Texas Comptroller: property tax exemptions (Tax Code 11.134)
comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/property-tax/exemptions/
Updated November 2026. Every figure on this page was checked against the sources above.
General information, not legal or financial advice. Rules and amounts change; check the official sources above or talk to a licensed professional about your situation.
More guides to get your family ready
Chapter 615, PSOB, pension, workers’ comp, insurance and the homestead exemption, with who to call for each.PSOB: the federal benefit for families of fallen public safety officers
The $477,336 federal benefit for deaths since Oct. 1, 2026: who qualifies, who receives it, the documents and the filing deadline.Texas first responder pensions and survivor benefits: TMRS, TCDRS and fire fighter pensions
How TMRS, TCDRS and local fire fighters’ systems handle a member’s death, what survivors file, and where to call.Guides for veteran families
VA burial, survivor and records guides for military and veteran families.See all guides →
Every guide to get your family ready, in one place.