5. You miss them
One of the simplest explanations for why you dream of a dead relative is that you miss them. You’re probably thinking of the time you used to spend together and how much you liked it when they were there with you; knowing that they’re gone, you feel a little lost.
Your brain knows that they can’t come back to this land, so you project their image when you sleep, fulfilling that psychological and emotional need for their presence.
Besides that, your dreams might also be helpful to process all those sad feelings of emptiness and grief. If it hasn’t been such a long time since that person’s gone, your dreams are a way of saying goodbye, and it’s their method of comforting you.