The number of things that must be taken care of at the time of a death can be overwhelming,
especially for grieving family members. We’ve compiled a checklist of the most common needs.
Riverview and/or your funeral director can help you with most of these items.
Choices to make
- Cremation or traditional burial
- Cemetery property (even if you choose cremation), including a monument or marker
- A site for a ceremony
- Casket (if traditional burial) or urn (if cremation)
- Clothing
- Flowers
- Pallbearers
- Music, and singers or musicians (for the ceremony)
- Transportation to/from the service
- Food/facility for gathering after the ceremony
People to contact
- Doctor or coroner
- Funeral director
- Cemetery
- Clergy or place of worship
- Relatives and friends
- Employers of family members who’ll be absent from work
- Insurance agents
- Unions or fraternal organizations
- Newspaper (obituary) – for help writing an obituary, visit www.obituarieshelp.org
- Attorney, accountant and/or executor of the estate
- City or county (death certificate)
Other items to consider
- Write thank you cards
- Prepare and sign necessary papers
- Provide lodging for out-of-town guests
You may need to pay for:
- Doctor and hospital bills
- Funeral service, including florist, music and food
- Cemetery property, including monument or marker
- Cost of cremation (if applicable)
- Clergy
- Transportation
- Newspaper obituary
- Paperwork filing fees