When Death Occurs
No matter if a death is sudden, or if it was something that was a long time coming, the loss of a loved one makes us feel emotional and overwhelmed. No amount of preparation can fully prepare you for the loss of a loved one. When you are in a heightened emotional state, even the most basic decisions can seem staggering. The following is a rough guideline of what needs to be done within the first 24 hours after death.
When death occurs at home
If the death occurs at home either a Doctor or Paramedic should be called. They will attend and advise as to when the Funeral Director can be contacted. We will discuss when you wish for us to arrange to transfer the deceased into our care.
When a death occurs at a hospital/nursing home/hospice facility
The staff of a care facility such as a hospital or a nursing home will notify you and the necessary authorities immediately after a death has occurred. If a funeral home has been provided to the hospital or nursing home, they will be notified at the time of death. If you are present at the hospital when the funeral director arrives, they will ask a few questions about the deceased wishes and set up a time to come into the funeral home to make arrangements, however, if you are not present a funeral director will contact you by telephone to discuss these arrangements.
Informing a Funeral Director
Once everything has been cleared with the proper authorities, the next call you place should be to a funeral director. We are here to help you obtain a death certificate, transport the body, and in the event pre-planning was not done, select a coffin or casket and arrange the funeral service. Our staff are here to help and advise you and will work very hard to relieve the stress and logistics involved in funeral planning.
Meeting a Funeral Director
Ideally you should meet with a funeral director within 24 hours of a death to begin to make final arrangements for your loved one. Deciding on these final arrangements may seem like a very daunting task, especially when you are in heightened emotional state, but, our staff have years of experience dealing with these issues, and strive to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Registering a Death
Normally, a Register Office requires you to make an appointment. It will be useful to gather the following information required for the Registration. This includes:
- Full Name and Address
- Marital Status
- Date of Birth
- Date of Death
- Place of Death
- Father’s Name, Mother’s Name (including maiden name)
- Name of Spouse (if married or widowed)
- Occupation
If no pre-planning has been done, necessary arrangements need to be made for the funeral service. These include:
- Scheduling the location, date and time of the funeral service
- Selecting burial or cremation
- Choosing Funeral Products (Coffin/ Casket, Flowers, Orders of Service Booklets etc)
- Arranging a cemetery plot (if a burial is to take place or internment of Ashes)
- Preparing an obituary notice (optional)
- Scheduling transportation arrangements
A funeral director will guide you through all these steps, using your wants, needs and desires as a foundation to create a memorable funeral for your loved one. From here the funeral services can be personalised. Did your loved one have a favorite sports team? What was their favorite type of music? What activity was your loved one known best for? Recalling fond memories assists with the grieving process and will help honor the life of your loved one.
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