It doesn’t matter how many times you experience a death in this lifetime because it always comes as a shock even if you already knew that your family member was sick for some considerable time. It can be a very traumatic and taxing experience and especially if you are the one who is left responsible for all of the funeral arrangements. People find it quite morbid to plan for a funeral that hasn’t occurred yet and even though they take out many insurance policies to cover all eventualities, for some reason taking out insurance for death doesn’t seem to be at the top of their list of things to do. Some people are more responsible and so they make their own funeral arrangements so that their nearest and dearest can grieve properly when the inevitable happens.
There are many things that you need to consider first and if you didn’t have the luxury of reading them here then you would have to ask your professional funeral director in Sydney about everything that you need to know. He or she would tell you that you need to find out if any arrangements have been made by the deceased already with regards to pre-paying for the funeral or maybe they have an insurance policy. It is also a good idea to check if the deceased has money in the bank account to pay for the funeral and if you can gain access to it. Once you have a clear idea of these then you can start to take advantage of the many services that your local funeral director can offer.
- The legal documents – There is a great deal of paperwork that needs to be filled in on the death of an individual if they have not appointed a trustee and you would have no way of knowing how exactly to do that. Thankfully your funeral director has many years of experience in this regard and so he or she will know exactly where to go to collect such documents and where to lodge them with the relevant government authority.
- Collection of the body – Once again, this is not a very straightforward thing to do and most people have to be taken to the hospital if they did not die at home. They may have experienced some kind of illness that meant an ambulance had to come and get them. Once they have passed away, the body has to be collected and taken to the funeral home. Again, this is something that your local funeral director can do for you and they can also supply a coffin or casket that has been picked out already or one that you have decided upon.
- Flowers & other tributes –Flowers and wreaths need to be ordered as well as newspaper and Internet notices registered to let people know that someone has passed away and if they want to come to pay their last respects, where it is that they can go and during what times. This is another job for your funeral director and they are more than happy to take all of the responsibility off your shoulders and onto theirs.
- Transportation – In order to get the body from the hospital and back to the form, a hearse will be required and this is something that will also be needed for the day of the funeral as well for close family members and guests. It’s likely that your local funeral director will have a few choices when it comes to transport and some even specialise in carriages as well.
- The last resting place – People don’t make plans to purchase the place where they want to be buried because it is not something that they want to think about right now. This means that when someone dies, a location has to be found to bury the body and so this is something that your local funeral director will take care of for you as well. You can also be offered the option of cremation facilities as many funeral directors offer this service as well.
- Embalming & preparation – In some instances, people have lost their lives in serious accidents and vehicle pileup and so their body may have received a considerable amount of damage and this is something that close family members do not want to see when they hold a ceremony for the deceased. It will be your funeral director’s job to make sure that the embalming process is carried out and that necessary make up in preparation is done so that the deceased looks exactly like they did when they were alive.
This is a very difficult time for everyone and your funeral director understands that completely. Not only will they provide all of the above services but they will also provide you with a shoulder to cry on if you need it.
