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 inside of a medical or nursing facility like a hospital or nursing home, the staff will handle getting this declaration made. If your loved one dies at home, you need to immediately contact the local emergency officials to come and take them to a hospital where they can be legally declared dead. 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 Directors 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, including maiden name when applicable
• Current physical home address
• Place of birth
• Date of birth
• Father’s full name
• Mother’s full name and maiden name
• Social Security Number
• Highest level of education
• Primary occupation when working and in what industry
• Affiliations
• Religious or church
• Fraternal, service or union
• Special achievements or recognitions
• Hobbies and interests
• Veteran information
• War/Conflict tours
• Branch and rank
• Date & place of enlistment
• Date & place of discharge
• Serial number
• Copy of DD214 or Discharge Certificate
• List of family members who preceded your loved one in death
• List of surviving family members (you may also include spouses and towns of residence if you wish)
• Date and place of marriage
• Photo for the obituary
• Clothing
• Funeral preferences
• Do you want a viewing?
• Do you want a visitation?
• Visitations can be held the evening before or the same day of the ceremony
• Ceremony preferences
• Date/Time/Location
• Clergy
• Pallbearers
• Video slideshow

(We have a photo portal we can send to you for uploading digital photos. Ask your Funeral Director.)

• Burial property information
• Life Insurance Information (if assigning for our expenses)
• Name of company
• Policy number
• Names of all beneficiaries
• Social Security numbers and dates of birth for beneficiaries
• Copy of state-issued ID of beneficiaries
  

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.