First Steps After Someone Dies
First Steps After Someone Dies
When a loved one passes away — no matter how expected their passing might be –the list of things that need to be done can be overwhelming.
That is why it is important to share the load with friends and family. The only way to get through it all is to divide and conquer.
Hopefully, your loved one did some planning prior to their passing. Ideally, they have prepaid for all funeral arrangements, or at least left a document explaining their wishes. If no plans or designation has been made, then someone will have to be the person to make all the decisions.
For those who don’t have immediate family to handle these arrangements, or have special requests that they want to make sure are fulfilled, in Rhode Island, anyone, regardless of relation, can be designated responsible for funeral arrangements. If a designation has not been made, the spouse, surviving partner, or closest surviving relative will be responsible for such decisions.
For those who don’t have immediate family to handle these arrangements, or have special requests that they want to make sure are fulfilled, the state of Rhode Island offers an official funeral planning designation form, which can be found here. It should be printed, filled out and notarized, and shared with your healthcare proxy and funeral planning agent.
Tell Friends and Family
The next step is to let people know, whether that be through a group email or text chain, or going through your loved one’s contact list and contacting each person individually. If you have access to your loved one’s social media, writing something there can be a good way to ensure that you have not left anyone out.
Social media pages like Facebook allow you to memorialize a deceased person’s account so it will continue to exist as a page where friends and family can share memories.
Time for Funeral Arrangements
Within a few days of a loved one’s passing, it is now time to start making the funeral arrangements. It is highly advised that families plan out as much of their funeral arrangements as possible well before their time comes as this will help surviving loved ones in the long run. Click here for more information about planning ahead.
If your family has not planned their funeral or paid for it, this is when you will need someone to take charge of the arrangements and most likely pay out of pocket until the probate process has been finalized (read more about that here).
If the person was in the military at any point, work with your funeral director to contact the Veteran’s Administration to see if there are any benefits for which your loved one is eligible. The funeral home that you choose should be able to help you with this as well.
There will be many questions that will need answering for the funeral arrangements, so it is best to rely on other friends and family to help at this time. Who will write and read the eulogy? Cremation or burial? End-of-life celebration or traditional funeral? Who will write the obituary? Answering all of these by yourself will be overwhelming, so make sure at least one other person is helping you with all of this.
Copies of Death Certificate
Once a death certificate is recorded, you will need to get copies in order to shut down bank accounts, investments accounts and credit cards. The funeral home will notify the Social Security Administration, but you should also contact SSA to verify changes in benefits.
Even if your loved one has left behind a will and prepaid their funeral, it is advisable to get a CPA and estate attorney involved, especially if their assets value more than $50,000. Tax returns might need to be filed for that year and it is helpful to have an accountant working on this.
Keep track of all bills as the estate is being settled to ensure that they are paid and so when everything is finalized, the person who paid the bills is reimbursed.
For more information on what will need to be done in the days and weeks after a loved one’s death, here are some additional resources:
United Way: Immediate Steps to Take When a Loved on Dies
When a Death Occurs – Remembering A Life
Here at Memorial Funeral Home, we also provide aftercare resources for families. This support is provided by licensed counselors and our funeral directors who are educated in such programs.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
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