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When Death Occurs
After a loved one’s passing, many decisions must be made, and emotions can run high. Seeking help with arrangements is wise. Funeral home staff are ready to assist and guide your family through the process.
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 for next steps. If a death occurs at home while someone is receiveing hospice care, the death can be pronounced by a nurse practitioner or doctor who has been providing this care. 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 their 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 to be guided through the next steps.
When meeting with the funeral director, if the deceased has not made their final wishes known, the person in charge 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 any other decisions about the specifics of the service.
Information Funeral Directors Will Need
When you meet with a funeral director, they will be able to provide you with all the information needed. Below is a list of the standard information required so you can have it prepared in advance.
- Full legal name, including middle names:
- Maiden name, if applicable:
- Date of birth:
- Residential address:
- Social Insurance Number:
- Is a pacemaker present? Yes/No
- City and province of birth. If born outside of Canada, please state the country:
- Marital status (applicable even if separated, divorced, or widowed):
- Name of spouse, including maiden name:
- Type of work performed for most of your working life, prior to retirement:
- Type of industry worked in for most of your working life:
- Father’s first, middle, and last name:
- Father’s city and province of birth. If born outside of Canada, please state the country:
- Mother’s first, middle, and maiden name:
- Mother’s city and province of birth. If born outside of Canada, please state the country:
- Is there a will? If possible, please bring a copy of the will to your appointment.
- Name, address, and phone number of executor:
- Name of person completing the document:
- Relationship:
- Address, email, and phone number (if different from the executor):
Documents Funeral Directors May Need
Funeral directors will need important documents to complete any legal paperwork. These documents include:
- Beneficiary designations
- Life insurance policies
- Canada Pension Plan (CPP)
- Social Insurance 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 employer 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.
Should you wish to have assistance with these matters, please see our Post-Service Care page to learn more about this service that we offer.
