When A Loved One Has Passed

If a loved one has just passed you may feel overwhelmed, wondering what to do next.  Please call us anytime of the day or night and one of our Directors will give you guidance regarding your next steps and answer any questions you may have.  We have also listed some important information below. 

Contact The Proper Authorities

When a loved one has passed, a legal pronouncement of death must be made. This legal declaration must be made before the funeral home staff can assist in transporting the patient into our care.   If your family member passed at home under hospice care, you should immediately contact your hospice provider and a hospice nurse will be dispatched to your home to assist you. The hospice nurse will then call the funeral home. 

If your loved one passed at home, and is not under hospice care, you need to immediately contact the local emergency officials by dialing 911 and emergency personnel will be dispatched to your home to assist you. The emergency personnel will then call the funeral home.

If your loved one has passed at a medical or nursing facility, like a hospital or nursing home, the medical staff there will handle having this declaration made.  Once your loved one has been officially pronounced deceased at a medical facility, the medical facility is required by federal law to notify LifeNet Health's Organ Donor Center to give them the opportunity to contact the next of kin regarding organ and tissue donation.  Once the medical facility is ready to release the patient into the funeral home's care, they will contact the funeral home.   

The next step is that one of our directors will contact you to set a time for you and your family to come to one of our funeral home chapels to begin the arrangements.  If your loved one's passing is during late night or early morning hours, you can call us at any hour and a director will assist you.  If not, a director will contact the person listed as the next of kin the following morning after 9 AM.  

Making Arrangements With The Funeral Home

Once our staff has received your loved one into our care, you and your family can proceed with making arrangements.  Of course, you can call us at any hour of the day or night to get answers to your questions and to schedule coming in for the family arrangement conference. However, one of our directors will normally contact the person listed as the next of kin within a few hours of our being notified of your loved one's passing.  If your loved one's passing is during late night or early morning hours, a director will contact the next of kin the following morning after 9 AM.   

If prearrangements were made with Faulkner Funeral Homes & Cremation Services, we will have a copy of the arrangements on file at the Chapel that was selected.  Of course, this will make things much easier for the family since a lot of the decisions may have already been made.  It is still necessary however, to meet with one of our Directors as we are required to transfer the prearrangement details to At-Need paperwork to complete the arrangement process. Please let us know if you believe your loved one has made prearrangements, and we will verify that with you right away.

If no arrangements were made in advance, please don't worry.  one of our directors will guide you through the options and assist you in selecting only the services you desire.   

Information Your Director Will Need At The

Family Arrangement Conference

• Full name and address
• Social Security Number
• Marital status
• Race/Ethnicity
• Date, City, and State of birth
• Highest level of education
• Father's and Mother's full name, including her maiden name (no initials please)
• If married, full name of spouse including maiden name, if applicable
• Primary occupation and employer
• If your loved one was a Veteran, please bring discharge/separation document (DD214)

Additional Items/Information/Documents Your Director May Need

• Information for us to use in writing the obituary
• A list of surviving family members
• Life insurance policies and beneficiary information (if you would like to do an insurance assignment to pay for services)
• Clothing and personal items to be used for your loved one
• 25 to 50 favorite photos of your loved one (including photos with other family members and friends) that we will use to create something special that we believe you and your family will appreciate.  These photos can be actual paper photos that we can scan, or digital photos from your smartphone or computer.  Note: If you aren't able to provide these photos the day you come in for the family arrangement conference, please don't feel rushed.  In most cases, the following day is fine. 

Other Things To Consider

When someone passes, family members have so many emotions and so many decisions to make that it can be easy to overlook doing some important things regarding your loved one's personal affairs.  With that in mind, we have listed a few things below to consider. 

• If your loved one still lived in their own home, be sure their home and vehicle are properly secured.
• If your loved one has a pet, make the necessary arrangements for the pet to be taken care of by family or friends.
• Mail that is normally delivered to the home should be forwarded to a family member that is planning to handle the deceased’s estate. Any mail that piles up at a vacant home only notifies potential intruders that a home is empty.
• If your loved one is still employed, be sure to contact his or her employer and inform them of their passing.
• If your loved one had any upcoming appointments that you are aware of, make contact to cancel the appointment.