Many of us don’t have an idea how to prepare for cremation services Skokie, IL. The shock and grief accompanied by the loved one’s death can overwhelm you to think of anything other than mourning the loss.

But it’s important to know a few things that need to be done immediately by the immediate kin of the deceased. Let’s take a deeper look at what needs to be done, and where you begin.

1. Get a Death Certificate

Probably the first thing you’re going to do is get the legal certification of death for your loved one. A lot many professionals can help you put out the paperwork to get this legal document, depending on the situation and location.

While the State laws can vary slightly, in general, a hospice care worker, emergency medical technician (EMT), registered nurse (RN or APRN), physician, coroner, or medical examiner can pronounce death. After getting the death confirmation, you can coordinate with the medical professional or the funeral director to obtain the actual death certificate.

Be sure to get at least 10-15 copies of the death certificate that you’re going to need during the funeral service and handling the deceased’s accounts.

For instance, the government agencies like the IRS and private companies, including social security, credit card, and insurance companies, require a copy to proceed with closing their financial matters.

2. Who to Notify

Once the loved one’s death is confirmed by the medical professional, you need to notify many people about the tragic event. Take a look:

Immediate family members. Also, ask them to contact and notify other relatives.

Deceased’s close friends. Ask them to contact others, if you would like them to do so.

Minister, pastor, or priest who will handle the funeral proceedings.

Employer and other business associates. Ask them to cancel appointments.

Contact the funeral home, which is one of the most crucial aspects of handling the final services of the lost loved one. You will need to decide on which funeral home to use which can take some time. Make this decision rather quickly as you would want to coordinate with them to give a perfect send-off to the departed soul.

3. Arrange the Funeral

This step requires making dozens of decisions about how you would want to arrange the service. Decisions like whether the body is to be buried or cremated, who to be invited, date and venue, vendors for flowers, funeral programs, caskets, or cremation urns, and many more.

Once the venue is decided, notify the local newspaper of the death and include information in the obituary on the location of service.

Your funeral director is going to help you throughout this process.

4. Begin Settling Important Paperwork

It may not seem a good idea to start settling the deceased’s estate soon after the death. But if you have trouble paying off the funeral home’s fees, then you want to make sure that everything is in order. Contact a lawyer and executor to get the process started.

Aside from that, you may have to contact the below organizations to notify them of the death and close down the loved one’s accounts.

• Social Security office
• Life insurance company
• Civil service or Veterans organizations regarding death benefits.
• Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to cancel driver’s license.
• Credit card companies and credit reporting agencies
• Subscriptions and automatic bill payments – if you know about them.

These steps are taken before cremation services Skokie, IL. Our staff is ready to help.