What You Need To Do When Someone Dies

Here you can learn what to do if a friend or loved one has just died or if death is expected sometime soon. The following guides will take you through the steps of arranging a funeral.

1. First Call. The deceased is still at the place of death and a "first call" needs to be made to arrange for transportation of the deceased to a funeral home or other funeral service facility. See First Call.
2. Deceased Transportation. The First Call results in an initial transfer of the deceased from the place of death to a funeral home or other facility. In some cases, a second transfer may be required either — locally to another funeral home — or to another city for ceremonies and burial. See Deceased Transportation.
3. Funeral Arrangements. Planning a funeral involves making many decisions concerning funeral ceremonies, funeral products and final disposition of the body. For assistance in arranging funerals people usually turn to funeral directors. See Funeral Arrangements.
4. Cemetery Arrangements. If cemetery property has not already been purchased, it will be necessary to meet with a cemetery representative to purchase a burial or entombment space. In some cases, the funeral director can make these arrangements on behalf of a family. See Cemetery Arrangements.
5. Funeral and Memorial Products. There are various options for purchasing caskets, grave markers, and other funeral merchandise. These products are available through a funeral home, cemetery, monument company, or other retailer. See Funeral and Memorial Products.
6. Estate, Financial and Administrative Matters. Following the funeral, the affairs of the deceased must be put in order. These matters range from sending death notices to filing death benefit claims to changing title of the deceased's assets. See Estate, Financial and Administrative Matters.

Making Arrangements when Death is Imminent

If a friend or loved one is seriously ill and expected to die in a matter of days or weeks you may want to make funeral arrangements in advance. You can use our Find A Funeral Home / Cemetery to locate a funeral home and cemetery.

When you make arrangements with the funeral home and cemetery, you'll be making various choices and selections. To prepare yourself for this process, we suggest that you go to Print Funeral Planning Guide and print out our Arrangement Questionnaire to give you an idea of types of information you need to provide, and the choices you will likely need to make.

See related topics:

Funeral Planning Guides
Planning a Funeral Ahead of Time
Controlling Funeral Costs
Creating Meaningful Funerals
Print Funeral Planning Guide