When Death Occurs

In case the deceased person was not under hospice care, it is necessary to immediately inform the police. The police will then visit the house, and get in touch with the coroner/medical examiner. The coroner/medical examiner will take the body and determine if any further action is required. It is important to note that the body can only be handled by a funeral home once it has been released by the coroner/medical examiner.

The staff of a care facility such as a hospital or a nursing home will notify you and the necessary authorities immediately after a death has occurred. If a funeral home has been provided to the hospital or nursing home, they will be notified at the time of death. If you are present at the hospital when the funeral director arrives, they will ask a few questions and set up a time to come into the funeral home to make arrangements, however, if you are not present a funeral director will contact you by telephone to discuss these arrangements.

After obtaining clearance from the proper authorities, the next step is to contact the funeral home of your choice.

You should meet with a funeral director within 24 hours of a death to begin to make final arrangements for your loved one. Deciding on these final arrangements may seem like a very daunting task, especially when you are in heightened emotional state, but, funeral home staff have years of experience dealing with these issues, and strive to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.

First the Funeral Director will gather information required for the death certificate. This includes:
 • Full Name and Address
 • Marital Status
 • Race/Ethnicity
 • Date and City of Birth
 • Highest Level of Education
 • Father’s Name, Mother’s Name (including maiden name)
 • Name of Spouse (if married or widowed)
 • Occupation and Employer

The funeral director will also need pertinent documents required to do all the legal paperwork, those documents include:
 • Beneficiary Designations
 • Life Insurance Policies

If no pre-planning has been done, necessary arrangements need to be made for the funeral service. These include:
 • Scheduling the location, date and time of the visitation and funeral service
 • Selecting burial or cremation
 • Choosing Funeral Products
 • Selecting and purchasing a cemetery plot directly with the cemetery of choice
 • Preparing an obituary notice
Scheduling transportation arrangements