Arranging a funeral -What to expect

Perhaps you’d like another member of the family to come along with you. Or maybe you’d rather have a friend, or close neighbour join you in the first visit to the funeral home. Alternatively, we are happy to meet with you at your home.

It’s important to know exactly who is legally responsible for making the funeral arrangement decisions for a deceased person. If the deceased has not expressed their wishes through a written document such as enduring Power of Attorney for Health Care, or a Last Will and Testament, where the deceased has designated a person to fulfill their wishes; then the chain of command is commonly as follows:

• Executor/s or administrator of estate
• The spouse or domestic partner
• The eldest living child
• The eldest living grandchild or great-grandchild
• The eldest living brother or sister
• The eldest living parent
• The eldest living grandparent
• The eldest living aunt or uncle
• The eldest living nephew or niece
• The eldest living cousin
• The eldest living blood relative

The person designated as the informant, whoever they may be, needs to be present to make decisions, and sign documents. If you have questions about the accepted descending order of precedence, or are unclear as to who is the responsible person in funeral planning, please call us.

While assigning responsibility is an important part of funeral planning, it’s also very important to include any children, friends, or other family who would like to be a part of arranging the funeral, and perhaps share in the cost of a funeral. Despite the fact that they may not have any legal decision-making rights, their input could be very valuable to the process.

Assisting in making the final funeral arrangement decisions can be very empowering, and help someone come to terms with the loss. If there are people in your life who you feel should be asked to participate, make sure you ask them. They can always decline.

The Funeral Director will tell you that the first step in caring for your loved one involves completing, and filing, the Death Certificate and Burial or Cremation permit.

These documents need to be completed as accurately as possible and if you are not prepared with the necessary information, then most of your initial meeting will be spent retrieving this information.

We will require;

• Deceased's full name and date of birth
• Deceased’s place of birth
• Deceased’s place of death
• Deceased’s date and time of death
• Full name of the deceased’s spouse and date of marriage and age at marriage
• Mothers maiden name and birth date
• Deceased parents names and occupations
• Deceased’s children’s names and date of birth

If you’ve got questions please contact us.