What Does a Funeral Home Need to Know Right Away?

March 19, 2024

When a loved one passes away, some important phone calls must be made, including one to the funeral home. This article will help you be prepared for that call.

When a loved one passes away, some important phone calls must be made-not just to alert the immediate family, but also to alert the funeral home, and make preliminary arrangements for the transport of the body and for the funeral service itself.


Making this phone call can be daunting. You are likely to be disoriented by grief, and to feel ill-prepared to make big decisions or answer too many questions. The good news is, you don't necessarily need to provide too much information right at first. You'll have time to work with the funeral director on funeral arrangements in the days that follow; when you make that initial call to alert the funeral home of your loved one's death, you just need to provide some basic information.


Be prepared to provide the full name of the deceased and your own name and relationship to the deceased. You will also need to tell the funeral home where your loved one died.


Additionally, the funeral home will require your basic contact information - an address and phone number should be sufficient. Finally, you will have to provide permission for the funeral home to take custody of the body and embalm it; a verbal affirmation should do fine.


You may also be asked to schedule a time for the next day, or perhaps the day after, to start finalizing arrangements for the funeral service. Don't be overwhelmed by this: the funeral director will walk you through the process and provide guidance through the planning process.


From there, funeral home representatives will be en route to prepare the body for transport- leaving you to reflect and collect your thoughts for the process of funeral planning.

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