I like to play fate as it lands. If I still want the Sim in my game, I'll look for their ghost (and with Life and Death, they're a lot more fun!) to play or resurrect. If I don't care that much about the Sim, I'll just let them haunt around at their leisure.
I once had a favorite Sim die unexpectedly and I went with the story. The widow started dressing all in black, in constant mourning, and the daughter swore revenge on the Grim Reaper one day. (She's all grown now, with a child of her own, but she hasn't forgotten her vow so she wears a grim tatoo.)
The widow decided to do everything in her power to bring her husband back, so she obsessively gardened and cooked to get her levels up until she could make Ambrosia. In the meantime, she met someone else who moved in to help care for the child, but the ghost of her husband had bonded with his growing daughter, so the widow stopped the new romance before it could really begin. She did end up succeeding in bringing him back, which felt like a huge accomplishment because it was a lot of work to get to those levels. The lover/nanny ended up being a good caregiver so they kept him in the family, not wanting to upset the daughter by sending him away. And the couple had more children. The grown daughter may soon get a job with Grim and try to reap the Reaper.
Sometimes running with the unexpected can lead to some fun tales. But I'm an avid Occult player, so it fits my play style.
