Decisions To Make

What happens when someone dies? If you have no idea, don’t worry. You are not alone. The truth is, most Canadians have never been involved in the funeral arrangement process and have little idea where to turn, who to ask for help and what steps need to be taken. When a death occurs, whether it is expected or sudden, there are many decisions that need to be made in a short period of time. Paired with the grief of losing a loved one, this is a lot to handle, especially because everything is so time-sensitive. 

It may feel like a whirlwind when someone has died. That’s likely because it is. Everything is time-sensitive and there is so much to do. While there is lots to do immediately after a death has occurred, the coming days and weeks are a crucial time for gathering information, planning the service, and meeting with the funeral home. There is also plenty of communicating that needs to be done with friends, family and other people who were involved in the deceased’s life.

There are things that need to be done immediately after a death has occurred, but planning a funeral or celebration of life takes time, and you only get one chance to get it right. That is not supposed to add pressure, but rather just remind you how important the task of planning a funeral or celebration of life is. It is commonly thought that funerals are for the living and their purpose is to bring people who knew the deceased together to give and receive support from one another.

After you've finished the immediate things that need to be done, it's time to tackle the not-so, yet also important, tasks that relate to paperwork that's required and also planning an event that people will remember and the person would be proud of. We've put together a list to help make the coming weeks a bit more manageable, but just know that this here is exactly what funeral professionals are here to do - guide you as experts and be there with and for you.