It may not be a conscious decision to pass this responsibility over to your family. Most likely it’s something you don’t want to think about, so you put it off, and then the unexpected happens and your family is saddled with the task of making your final arrangements. Or you may tell your family that you don’t want a funeral — but is that really helping them?

To Plan or Not to Plan

Before you decide to leave your funeral planning for another day, or to leave it to your family, here are 5 things you should consider.

1. It isn’t just about you. Your funeral is vitally important for your family’s emotional well-being. They need to mourn and to give you a meaningful tribute. The funeral of a loved one is an essential milestone in the healing process. It’s a time to remember, say goodbye, and begin moving on. Telling your family that you don’t want a funeral does not make it easier on them. Instead it gives rise to indecision and doubt because they won’t know whether to honor that wish or do what they feel is most appropriate and that may be to give you a funeral.
2. It’s much easier with a plan. Making arrangements at the time of the funeral is the most difficult time to plan a funeral. Decisions need to be made quickly and emotions are running high. Under stress and time pressure it’s easy to overspend and to take shortcuts on the ceremonies. Having a funeral plan in place will be a great help to your family when the time comes to make your funeral arrangements.
3. Your plan doesn’t need to be complicated. Even a simple funeral plan will be very helpful to your family. By specifying your wishes, even in basic terms, you will give your family a road map for planning your funeral. It avoids disagreements and guides the decisions and choices they will need to make.
4. Payment is due at the time of the funeral. If you haven’t made arrangements in advance to cover your funeral costs, your family will be responsible for paying the bills. Will they be able to cover the cost? Will they have access to your bank accounts?
5. Funeral planning doesn’t have to be difficult. When you are planning ahead you can take advantage of funeral planning tools that make it easy to do it yourself. You can do your research, get step-by-step guidance and do it at your convenience in much the same way you shop for other products and services using the web.

Funeral Planning — Quick, Easy and Free

It feels good to take care of something important, especially if you’ve been putting it off. Creating a funeral plan is one of those things that you’ll feel good about getting done. It’s easy to get started with our Funeral Quick Plan. You can create a basic funeral plan in just a few minutes. It’s FREE and there’s NO OBLIGATION. So why wait? Get started now.

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Plan your funeral the Funeralwise way. Watch this short video to see how.

Learn more about funeral planning.

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What organizations need to be notified when a loved one dies?
Depending upon your particular circumstances, the following notifications should be made when someone dies. Copies of the Death Certificate may be needed for some of these.

• Employers — to make them aware of the death and determine if any death benefits are available.
• Attorney — to commence estate or probate proceedings.
• Insurance companies — to apply for benefits, change, or stop coverage. Also, policy beneficiaries may need to be changed.
• Social Security Administration — to apply for survivor benefits.
• Veteran’s Administration — to apply for benefits.
• Pension plans or retirement funds — to apply for benefits
• Workman’s compensation if the death was job-related.
• Unions and fraternal organizations — to apply for benefits
• Banks and other financial institutions — to change or re-establish accounts. Be aware that, once the institution has been notified of the death, some accounts and lockboxes may not be accessible to you without approval of the Probate Court.
• Stock brokerage firm — to change ownership of jointly or solely owned stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.
• Mortgage companies and other lenders — to change or re-establish accounts.
• Credit card companies — to change or re-establish joint accounts.
• Department of Motor Vehicles — to change the title to cars and other vehicles. Do the same for watercraft with the appropriate agency.
• Religious, social, civic, fraternal, alumni, and other organizations — to make them aware of the death so they can make the roster change and notify members.
• Utility, telephone, cable, newspaper, and other services — to change accounts from the deceased’s name.

• Accountant/tax preparer — to provide the information they’ll need to file the tax returns.

Death Certificates

A death certificate is issued by local authorities when a person dies. It serves as evidence that someone has died and is needed for various purposes, including claiming life insurance benefits, closing bank and investment accounts, transferring titles, and claiming social security survivor benefits. Generally, your funeral home will request copies of Death Certificates for you.

A certificate of death should be on file in the governing locality where the death occurred. Death records are kept permanently on file either in a State vital statistics office or a city/county office. The Federal Government does not maintain death records.

You may be able to obtain copies of the death certificate by visiting the local office where the death occurred, such as the County Recorder’s Office or Local Health Department. Your other option is to apply to the State’s Vital Records office. To find the State office for Vital Records, go to the Centers for Disease Control website at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/howto/w2w/w2welcom.htm for contact information and application requirements for each State.

You will need the following information when applying for a copy of a Death Certificate:

1. Full name of the deceased person whose record is being requested.
2. Sex of the deceased.
3. Parents’ names, including mother’s maiden name.
4. Month, day, and year of birth.
5. Month, day, and year of death.
6. Place of birth or death (city, county, state; and hospital name if known.
7. Reason for requesting copies of the Death Certificate.
8. Applicant’s relationship to the deceased.

A small fee is charged for copies of Death Certificates. Sometimes you can get copies quickly by paying an expedite fee.

Claiming Death Benefits

What types of death benefits are available to help cover funeral costs?

Financial assistance may be available from Social Security, the Veteran’s Administration, retirement plans, and other organizations such as unions and fraternal organizations. In some cases, the deceased’s family members may be eligible for a lump-sum death payment from Social Security. In most states, some public aid assistance is available from the state, county, or city. Funeral Directors can help gather the information needed to apply for the applicable death benefits.

What death benefits are available to veterans?

Veterans’ benefits are available to U.S. Armed Forces members who die on active duty. They are also available to those who were separated from active duty, not dishonorably discharged, and completed the required period of service. Spouses and dependent children of eligible living and deceased veterans and armed forces members may also be eligible.

Veteran’s Benefits include:

• Free burial grave in a national cemetery plus opening/closing the grave and perpetual care
• Free headstones and markers
• Burial flag
• Free grave liner for casketed remains
• Presidential Memorial Certificate
• Lump-sum payment up to $300 to families of eligible retiree veterans and up to $1,500 for veterans who die of a service-related disability.

For additional information, call the Veterans’ Affairs office at 800-827-1000 or log on to their website at www.va.gov.

What death benefits are available from Social Security?
To be eligible for Social Security benefits, the deceased worker must have credit for work covered by Social Security, ranging from one and one half to ten years depending on the age at death.

Monthly benefits are available for:

• A widow or widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled), or at any age if caring for an entitled child who is under 16 or disabled.
• A divorced widow or widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled) if the marriage lasted ten years, or if caring for an entitled child who is under 16 or disabled.
• Unmarried children under age 18 and age 19 if they are attending a primary or secondary school full time.
• Children who were disabled before reaching 22, as long as they remained disabled.
• Dependent parent or parents 62 or older.

Lump-Sum Death Payment

A one-time payment of $255 is paid in addition to the monthly cash benefits described above. The lump-sum death payment is paid in the following priority order:

• 1. A surviving spouse who lived in the same household as the deceased person at the time of death.
  2. A surviving spouse is eligible for social security benefits on the deceased’s earnings record for the month of death.
  3. Children eligible for benefits for the month of death when there is no surviving spouse.

An application must be filed to receive benefits. You may apply at any Social Security office or, if you wish, you may apply by telephone. Just call 1-800-772-1213. More information is available by logging on to the Social Security Administration website at www.ssa.gov.

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Depending on local regulations, funerals that occur soon after death may not require embalming. Embalming is a method of temporarily preserving the body to:

• Make it easier to transport the body over a long distance.
• Give survivors ample time to schedule and hold funeral services.

Refrigeration can also preserve the body, but it’s not always available. If it’s necessary to transport unembalmed remains, they may be packed in ice. Laws in most states require that the deceased be embalmed or placed in refrigeration within 24 hours of death. Federal law prohibits funeral providers from misrepresenting the legal necessity of embalming.

2. How should the deceased be dressed?

The deceased can be dressed according to their wishes. If no preference was prearranged, apparel is usually chosen by the family. Often a favorite suit or dress is selected, as well as jewelry and eyewear. On the other hand, family members may purchase an entirely new outfit for their loved ones. Religious practices may dictate that a simple garment be used for burial. Of course, articles of clothing and jewelry can be worn for visitation and funeral ceremonies and then removed for burial.

3. Should any personal items be buried with the deceased?

Personal items can be buried with the deceased according to their wishes or those of the family. Some caskets have unique drawers to hold jewelry, medals, awards, or mementos.

4. Why should a DNA sample be taken before interment?

Advances in genetic research and technology make it possible to create a unique genetic profile of each of us from our DNA. Many scientists believe that many, if not all, diseases and disorders are rooted in our genes. The genetic history of a family can be used to assess a predisposition to certain diseases among current family members and future descendants. This valuable information can be used to prevent and treat diseases and disabilities. A DNA profile may also be used to establish parentage, which may help resolve estate issues.

Your Funeral Director can help you make arrangements with a firm specializing in DNA profiling. The best time to take the sample is before interment. And if cremation is performed, the opportunity to sample
the DNA will be lost.

5. Under what circumstances should an autopsy be performed?

An autopsy is a post-mortem examination of the body, both externally and internally, to diagnose disease and injury and determine the cause of death. Autopsies may also include laboratory analysis of tissue, cell samples, and body fluids. Pathologists and forensic pathologists are medical specialists trained to perform autopsies.

An autopsy may be ordered by the coroner or medical examiner to determine the cause or manner of death or to recover potential evidence, such as a bullet or alcohol content in the blood. Families may elect to have an autopsy performed to identify any diseases that may be inherited, thereby posing a potential risk for family members. Also, a family may authorize a hospital autopsy to determine the extent of the known disease and assess the effects of therapies used to treat the condition. This would be beneficial from a medical research standpoint.

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