There has always been an ongoing joke here in Australia that the only thing that you have to do in this life is to pay taxes and die. The latter is the one that comes to us all and none of us can avoid it in the end. We will all experience the death of a loved one throughout our lives and losing someone even though it is expected is one of the most difficult things that you will handle in this life. It really does challenge your emotions and when someone dies, they often leave a will indicating who it is that they want to organise their funeral. If that is you and you have never done this type of thing before then there could be some stressful times ahead.
When it comes to funerals Canterbury, there are a number of different things that you need to do to honour the person who was just died and to celebrate their life. You want to be able to make the right decisions and try to think about what would make them happy and the following are just some of the things that you need to consider when organising a funeral for your loved one.
- Who has to know – When someone passes away, there are certain people that need to be contacted almost immediately and so if the death is expected, you would want to contact the family doctor and if the person has an organ donor card then you need to contact the closest hospital. If the person dies unexpectedly then you may have to call the police who will then notify the coroner. Obviously, you have to contact family and close friends and maybe you might need the services of a good lawyer.
- Take care of any dependents – This could be people or even pets and so something has to be done to make sure that the family dog or cat is properly taken off until a new home is found for them. It may be your responsibility to secure the deceased’s property or any assets that they may have left behind.
- Organise a burial ceremony – It’s likely that the person who has died has left instructions as to where it is that they would like to be varied or cremated. This is a good time to talk to a professional funeral director who knows exactly what they’re doing and has done this many times before. You can rely on them to provide you with all of the funeral services needed.
- Picking a suitable casket – The hope is that instructions have been left for you but if not, you can choose from a coffin that is generally made from timber and maybe even a casket. You will also need to contact the local florist with regard to floral arrangements.
This is a lot of responsibility to have on anyone’s shoulders and so do not be afraid to reach out and ask for help whenever it is offered. This is a very sad time for everyone, so always turn to your funeral director as they will always be there for you.
