What Do I Need To Know Before Planning a Funeral?

Overwhelming is a small word to describe how it can feel if it falls on your shoulders to do the funeral planning after the death of a loved one. You have to deal with your grief and all the seemingly endless details and decisions that must be made. 

The first step you will need to take will involve paperwork. Even if it is the last thing you want to be thinking about, the first item of documentation you will need is a legal pronouncement of death. This document can be obtained from the medical professional in charge at the time of death, or from the funeral home that picked up your loved one if no medical professional was present. 

Keep in mind that navigating the after-death and funeral planning process may be new to you, but there are experts who deal with the paperwork and bureaucracy of death daily. Do not be afraid to ask for help from funeral homes or the medical professional who declared death. 

After you have the legal pronouncement of death, funeral planning can begin. If you have not already discussed the departed’s wishes, or if you do not have a document with their funeral plans, many decisions will fall on your shoulders. Do not hesitate to recruit the help of close family members if your loved one did not clearly lay out their wishes on paper. Do not overthink the many choices you will need to make. If you have your loved one in mind and good intentions, it will all work out. 

After assessing the departed’s insurance, will, assets, and any prepaid funeral plans, it will be time to budget the funeral costs. If you do not have the ability to pay, financial funeral assistance may be available. 

You will likely be surprised at all the decisions and details that need to be navigated after death. You will likely be the one to write your loved one’s obituary, plan any family gatherings pre and post-funeral, and handle all the paperwork related to death. Do not be hesitant to delegate tasks to others who you trust.

We understand and want to do all we can to assist you through this time. Remember as you go through the process that we at funeral homes are caring experts when it comes to planning a funeral, applying for funeral assistance, and many of the other things you must check off of your to-do list. Feel free to contact us if you feel lost in the process after the death of your loved one. 

Categorised in: Funeral Planner

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