When A Death Occurs

Immediately following the death of a loved one, there are many decisions that must be made. At this time, you may find that your emotions are heightened, and for that reason, it is a good idea to seek help in making those decisions and arrangements.

Contact The Proper Authorities

Before any arrangements and decisions can be made, a legal pronouncement of death must be made. If your loved one dies inside a medical facility like a hospital, nursing home, or hospice facility their staff will handle getting this pronouncement made. If your loved one dies at home, you need to immediately contact the local emergency officials so a legal pronouncement can be made. 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 a pronouncement has been made, you and your family can begin making funeral arrangements.  At this time it is advisable to locate a copy of a pre-need contract, life insurance policy, or other final wishes documentation. If you have a Boxwell Brothers Trust Funded Pre-Need Contract it is not necessary to locate your copy as we maintain the original document. If your loved one has a pre-need contract with

another funeral home and you want us to honor that contract, please bring it with you to the arrangements meeting.

During this time, if the deceased hasn’t made their final wishes known, the family 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 make any decisions about the specifics of the service like who the minister will be, what music will be played and who will speak.

Information Funeral Directors May Need

When you meet with your funeral director, the following information will beneeded to complete the death certificate:

• Full legal name and address
  
• Marital status
  
• Race/Ethnicity
  
• Date and city of birth
  
• Highest level of education
  
• Father’s name, mother’s maiden name
  
• Full legal name of spouse
  
• Occupation and employer
• Social Security Number

Documents Funeral Directors May Need

Funeral directors may need important documents to complete any legal paperwork. These documents include:

Taking Care of Personal Property

Following the death of your loved one, there are a 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 who 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 has any upcoming appointments, make contact to notify them about the death and to cancel the appointment.