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What to Do After a Death

What Should You Do After the Death of a Love One?

125 Tasks After a Death Has Occurred

What to Do After a Death
125 Tasks After a Death of a Loved One

A. Secure Vital Statistics

  1. Full legal name, address, telephone number, and email address
  2. Religious name (if any)
  3. Date of birth
  4. Place of birth
  5. Marital status
  6. Name of spouse (if married)
  7. Spouse’s maiden name (if wife)
  8. Educational attainment
  9. Citizenship
  10. Father’s full legal name
  11. Father’s birthplace
  12. Mother’s name and maiden name
  13. Mother’s birthplace
  14. Full names, phone numbers, and addresses of all children, grandchildren, and/or great-grandchildren
  15. Acquire Social security number
  16. Obtain Veteran’s serial/service number
  17. Determine date and place of military service
  18. Date of military discharge
  19. Research how long at current residence and former residence(s)
  20. Occupation, job title, nature of work, and employment history
  21. Workplace name, address, phone number, and email address
  22. Ensure family origin

B. Pay Some or All of the Following

  1. Estate/Inheritance taxes
  2. Funeral and burial costs
  3. Purchase a family cemetery burial plot, estate, mausoleum, crypt, cremation niche, or other
  4. Permanent resting place
  5. Monument and marker engraving details
  6. Funeral Director
  7. Clergy
  8. Organist and vocalist
  9. Funeral Flowers
  10. Obituary
  11. Clothing preferences
  12. Long distance telephone service
  13. Food
  14. Transportation and removal costs
  15. Doctors
  16. Nurses
  17. Medical practitioners
  18. Ambulance
  19. Hospital or nursing home
  20. List of all medications and drugs
  21. Current and urgent bills (mortgage/rent, taxes, car payments, debts, utilities, etc.)

C. Collect Documents and Paperwork

  1. Last Will (check to see if any final wishes were specified)
  2. Prepare legal papers, death certificates, state permits
  3. Birth certificates and/or any legal forms of proof of age
  4. Citizenship papers
  5. Social Security card or number
  6. Marriage license
  7. Veteran’s discharge certificate
  8. Submit all insurance policies (life, funeral/burial, health, long-term care, etc.) and also necessary government forms
  9. Disability claims
  10. Bank books and listing of all accounts
  11. Records of other financial documents (outside of bank)
  12. Property deeds
  13. Cemetery deed or proof of ownership
  14. Auto titles or bill of sale
  15. Income tax returns, receipts, and cancelled checks

D. Decide and Arrange Within a Few Hours

  1. Make cemetery arrangements
  2. Secure interment space and location of burial disposition
  3. Arrange for opening and closing of the grave/mausoleum/crypt/estate/niche space
  4. Secure endowment care
  5. Arrange graveside committal service
  6. Secure use of cemetery chapel for committal prayers
  7. Decide on embalming and other preparations of the deceased
  8. Choose restorative art
  9. Funeral Home preference
  10. Location of funeral service
  11. Service type (religious, fraternal, military, etc.)
  12. Time and place of visitation and funeral service
  13. Arrange any special religious services
  14. Choose person and provide information for funeral eulogy
  15. Select from casket (open or closed?)
  16. Select outer burial container and/or burial vaults
  17. Select cremation urn and niche space (if cremation)
  18. Provide vital statistics of deceased for the newspaper obituary
  19. Choose clothing for the deceased
  20. Choose jewelry and glasses for the deceased
  21. Select cosmetology and hairdressing for deceased
  22. Selection of Scripture, readings, poems, etc.
  23. Choose preferred clergy to officiate
  24. Marking of grave (either temporary or permanent)
  25. Select memorial market/monument setting and inscription
  26. Select charitable contributions in memory of the deceased
  27. Register book, memorial/prayer cards
  28. Select pallbearers
  29. Floral arrangements and transportation (before and after)
  30. Select funeral music
  31. Organist, pianist, vocalist
  32. Arrange for funeral coach
  33. Arrange for limousine for family and pallbearers
  34. Arrange funeral car list for family and guests
  35. Clothing for you and children
  36. Decide who will look after children and/or pets
  37. House cleaning
  38. Extra chairs
  39. Transportation for family and guests
  40. Review and sign all paperwork (burial permits, etc.)
  41. Answer innumerable phone calls, emails, letters, and visitors
  42. Meet with Funeral Director, Cemetery Director, clergy, lawyer, CPA, financial advisor, insurance agent, etc.
  43. Arrange transportation and lodging for out-of-town guests
  44. Acknowledge and thank those who help in a special way (flowers, food, donations, etc.)
  45. Decide how many certified copies of death certificates to order
  46. Food for family and out-of-town relatives and guests
  47. Items for memento display and/or memorial board
  48. Decide on memorial video tribute production, pictures, music
  49. Arrange for writing thank you notes

E. Plan to Notify ASAP

  1. All family members
  2. All relatives
  3. All friends
  4. Minister and church
  5. Funeral Director
  6. Pallbearers
  7. Cemetery
  8. Doctor
  9. Employer of deceased
  10. Employers of relatives not going to work
  11. Organist, musicians, and vocalists
  12. Newspapers regarding obituary notices
  13. Social Security Administration
  14. Veterans Administration
  15. Insurance Agents and Financial Advisors
  16. Religious, fraternal, civic organizations and unions
  17. Attorney, accountant, financial planner, and executor of estate
  18. Credit card companies, mortgages, utility bills, etc.

Need more information or help?
Please contact us at info@funeralresources.com

Your End of Life Plan is the Gift of a Lifetime

End of Life Plan

Creating an End of Life Plan…

And Leaving the Gift of a Lifetime!

Sometimes I feel as if I am the only person in America who is speaking about one of the most important plans you can create, an End of Life Plan. The harsh reality is that very few individuals, families, or even financial professionals are regularly teaching, practicing, or implementing End of Life Plans.

Nothing Good Comes Easy

Why is that that more than 80% of people in America die without leaving behind their End of Life Plan and preferences?  I believe it is because these are the only types of plans that directly addresses death and dying.  Therefore, most people would prefer to overlook or ignore this type of conversation.  The problem is that, in doing so, you are leaving these matters to your spouse, children, and/or family members – to pile on top of what is already one of the most difficult times of their lives.

The fact of the matter is that an End of Life Plan should be a standard and routine part of a comprehensive financial  or retirement plan.  Period.  It is the missing piece to the financial services puzzle that needs to be fixed.

Fact:  Some Day You Will Die

Sure, the last thing any of us want to do is talk or think about is how to plan a funeral. And this is not just “a funeral”, but rather your own personal funeral.  So I get it.  I fully understand why an End of Life Plan is not such an easy and comfortable discussion.  However, some day every single one of us will die (hopefully later versus sooner), but we will die.  So this means that “someone” is going to be forced to deal with planning your End of Life Plan and preferences.

So ask yourself this question; “Would you rather take care of your final arrangements yourself, or leave it to your loved ones who are already suffering from the grief and loss of your death compounding insult to injury?”

We all know for a fact, with absolute certainty, that we are all going to die some day, right?  So why is it that most people are not talking about this?  Why are financial planners not learning the best ways to plan their clients and families for their inevitable death?  Why is it that, at the very least, everyone is not taking a few minutes to simply document their End of Life Plans and preferences for our loved ones?

 

Financial Planners Should Encourage an End of Life Plan

In addition to being the Founder of this website, I have worked as financial planner for over 23 years and currently own my own Wealth Management practice.

I mention this because, for the most part, the financial planning industry overlooks and ignores End of Life Plans, Pre Need Plans, and Final Expense Plans.  These plans are not widely-recognized as an all-important additions to a comprehensive financial and retirement plan.

To prove this point, here is a fact:  Prior to losing a loved one and experiencing how to plan a funeral myself, I had never heard some talked about this subject.  This includes all of my 20+ years of studying, training, attending classes, getting licenses and certifications, and more.

How About You and Your Financial Plan?

Has your financial planner discussed this with you? Does your financial plan include your End of Life Plans and preferences?  Are these details documented and written down in a safe place?  Do you currently have a plan in place for your pre-arranged funeral or cemetery arrangements?  Have you created a plan to specifically designate which monies will prepay funeral expenses and funeral costs?  Do the people you love know what you really want?  Have you notified them regarding the fact that you have taken care of these End of Life Plan details?  Do they know where these plans and details are located?

You are Not Alone

If you do not currently have an End of Life Plan in place, you are not alone.  Given my personal experience, I can tell you that losing my mother was, by far, the toughest day of my life. And like our situation, here is what happens in most cases.  Just about the time when it starts to “sink in” that your loved one is really gone, and your emotions begin to elevate, all of a sudden you find yourself sitting in a Funeral Home or Cemetery, reviewing all of their funeral home services and planning a funeral.  This is probably the last thing anyone wants to be doing during a difficult time like this. 

Just Some of the Funeral Planning Challenges

• How do you transport the body?  Where do you transport it?  How soon?
• What vital statistics do we need to gather, and how soon?
• How soon afterwards should the funeral and/or memorial service be?
• How do you determine which Funeral Home, Cemetery, or Funeral Director?
• What if the deceased lives out of town?
• Sitting down with a Funeral Director to review all the details and options
• Try to figure out what your loved one “would have wanted”
• Making some incredibly difficult financial decisions
• Trying to figure out what type of memorial service your loved one “would have wanted”
• Did they want to be cremation or traditional burial?
• Choosing among many different types of caskets or cremation urns
• Where should the final resting place of their body or ashes be?
• How do you coordinate this with your religion/Church?
• Who should be invited, and how do you invite them?
• Arranging travel and accommodation plans for out-of-town guests
• Who will give the funeral eulogyHow to give a eulogy?
• How will this be paid for?  Were there any burial insurance or funeral insurance policies?
• Who will speak at the memorial services? Which songs and prayers do you use?
• Do you have a gathering afterwards?
• How do you place an obituary? Who does this?
• Do you want funeral flowers or donations?
• Arranging funeral programs, sending “thank you” cards, and much more…

End of Life Plans Save Money

Another huge benefit to creating an End of Life Plan is that, in addition to saving your family from going through emotional challenges and making difficult decisions, you could very likely save your family thousands – or even millions – of dollars. The reason why is when someone dies, there are many financial matters that accompany the funeral planning such as funeral estate planning, estate taxes, death taxes, capital gains taxes, income taxes, insurance policy proceeds, investments, real estate, bank accounts, mortgages, other debts, and much more.

Plan Now – Don’t Wait!

A wise man once said, “The difference between failure and success is largely determined by the amount of time and preparation put into preparing for the future.”  By creating a solid End of Life Plan – and then adding this as a part of a sound and comprehensive financial plan – nothing could be further from the truth!

Christopher P. Hill, Founder
FuneralResources.com