HELPING YOU ALONG

When Death Occurs

Contact The Proper Authorities

Before any arrangements and decisions can be made, a legal pronouncement of death must be declared. If your loved one dies at a medical or nursing facility like a hospital or nursing home, the facility will normally contact the funeral home. If your loved one dies at home and is on hospice care, you will want to first contact hospice. They will then coordinate with the funeral home. If your loved one dies at home and is not under hospice care, you will want to contact the authorities as they will come to the home and call the local coroner before contacting the funeral home. Family members who die under hospice care can be declared dead by the hospice staff. This legal declaration must be made before the family can proceed with making any funeral arrangements or handling any legal affairs.

Begin To Make Arrangements

Once your loved one has been declared dead you and your family can proceed with making any type of funeral arrangements. Your loved one may have pre-planned any type of services, and you and your family should first look into those choices. If your loved one has not made any previous type of arrangements, and you have decided on which funeral home you would like to use for the services, you will contact them and meet with the funeral director and begin discussing options.

During this time, if the deceased hasn’t made their final wishes known, the family will need to decide if they will bury or cremate the body, and what type of service should be held. These decisions include the time, date and location of any service; what type of casket or urn your loved one needs; drafting an obituary notice; deciding on pallbearers; and make any decisions about the specifics of the service like who the minister will be, what music will be played and who will speak.

As part of the process to begin making the funeral arrangements, if the deceased was active or retired military, contact the Veterans Administration to determine if they offer any death benefits or service options.

Information Funeral  May Need

Once you have met the funeral director, they will advise you on any information or paperwork they need for the death certificate or to proceed with making final arrangements.

Information Required:

• Full name and address
  
• Marital status
  
• Race/Ethnicity
  
• Date and city of birth
  
• Highest level of education
  
• Father’s name, mother’s maiden name
  
• Name of spouse
  
• Occupation and employer

Documents Funeral Directors May Need

Funeral directors will need important documents to complete any legal paperwork. These documents include:

• Account statements
  
• Beneficiary designations
  
• Life insurance policies
  
• Military Discharge papers (form DD 214)
  
• Social Security Number

Taking Care Of Personal Property

Following the death of your loved one, there are few things you need to attend to involving the deceased’s personal life. First, secure your loved one’s property. Make sure their home and vehicle are properly secure.

If your loved one has a pet, make the necessary arrangements for the pet to be taken care of by family or friends. Any mail that comes to your loved one should be forwarded to a family member that plans to handle the deceased’s estate. Any mail that piles up at a vacant home only alarms potential intruders that a home is empty.

Make sure to contact the deceased’s boss and inform them of the death. If your loved one had any upcoming appointments, make contact to notify them about the death and to cancel the appointment.