As a planner, I try to minimize the element of surprise in life changes. Though life is fragile and can fade in a matter of moments, I want to invest my time and energy into preparing for our future. Realizing that I may not have any notice when my life ends, I want my family to know (and not guess) my final instructions.

In addition to the What To Do When Someone Dies checklist, I also keep a Funeral Arrangements checklist in File Box 3 with our estate planning documents. Since we don’t talk much about our last wishes, we have our wishes noted for our family on our funeral arrangements checklist.

The nice thing about the funeral arrangements checklist is that you customize it and can change it as often or as little as you need. Even starting the checklist by including basic information will help your family during their time of grief.

Funeral Arrangements Checklist

The following resources are recommended as a guide. You can customize, create, or re-invent your own checklist or last instructions. I present these checklists from basic to thorough as examples of options.  If your family uses the same funeral home, then you may find forms and checklists through that director to have on file.

My family has used the same funeral home for the home-going of my aunt, grandfather, great uncle, great aunt, grandmother, and extended family. With an established relationship of trust, my family recommends this funeral home to others in their time of need.

Using their forms keeps the information uniform and saves time from transferring the information from one page to another. However, if you don’t know what you plan to do, then a basic or thorough checklist will give your family direction.

Basic Funeral Arrangements Checklist

• If you don’t know where to start, then this list of items to consider by Net Places can offer some suggestions to ease the emotional strain on your loved ones.

• Organized in chronological order, the checklist provided by Funeral Services presents the options for each possible phase of a funeral. Giving you choices, you can make an informed decision.

Thorough Funeral Arrangements Checklist

• Should I find myself not able to think, I can turn to iMortuary’s checklist. This resource lists who needs a call and simple explanations to remind me why I need to follow this sequence. The information is simple, but thorough. I can do one task and mark it off. If I need to take a break, I can return and know where I left off.

• My favorite funeral arrangements website is Funeral Wise. They offer an immediate Funeral Arrangement Questionnaire should you need to plan a funeral now. If a loved one passed away and you don’t know where to start, Funeral Wise offers a questionnaire for you to use before visiting with the funeral director.

• Besides the Questionnaire, Funeral Wise also provides a 15-page Funeral Planning Guide to pre-plan your own funeral. I appreciate this resource because I can take that burden from my family by already having most of the items chosen for them.

The best gift I can give my family is detailed instructions. Without having to guess and make decisions, my family can concentrate on healing and adjusting without the pressure and burden of figuring out what I may have wanted.

By using a funeral arrangement checklist, I can indicate my wishes and place them within my important document file. Knowing the options, researching the differences, and making the choices helps me understand the process. Should I need to plan a funeral, I will have a better understanding of the procedure and know where to find the needed information.

Weekly Project: Print 1 or 2 funeral arrangements checklists.

In using time wisely, I need to update my funeral arrangements as I have basic information noted. Adding more details little by little, I can help my family even when I’m not with them. Though not an immediate concern, I consider this task important for the sake of my family. Making progress with you!

Question: Do you plan to leave final instructions?

Last week, we started with an overview of the estate planning category. This category takes up 5 file slots in my File Box 3. The first file slot contains checklists. The first type I keep is the What To Do When Someone Dies checklist.

Thinking about someone close to you passing away is tough. I do not want to think about what would happen should Paul pass away. However, should that happen, I will be a mess.

My emotions will get the better of me, and I will not be able to think. So, I need to prepare BEFORE something happens, so I can just follow the instructions.

I know I won’t be alone, but I will know where all the documents are and whom we have partnered with for our financial, insurance, and medical well-being. Having a checklist to follow will focus my brain on completing the next step without trying to figure out where to start.

WARNING: Before I share some resources that I find helpful, I want to preface this information with a warning that these checklists are for informational purposes.

Should Paul pass away, one of my first calls will be to our attorney. I will confirm with him the order in which I need to proceed per our state’s laws. Having a legal partner is the key to completing this process thoroughly, completely, and legally.

What To Do When Someone Dies Checklist

The following checklists offer anywhere from basic to extremely detailed instructions. Personally, I like to know all the information.

However, I keep simple and detailed checklists in my estate planning file slot because I may need something really simple in the first days just to get through the initial shock. Keeping a couple checklists will give you options should a loved one pass away.

Simple Checklists

• The Consumer Reports checklist is organized by time frame – immediately, within a few days, and up to 10 days.

• Created by Barbara Repa, a California estate planning attorney, this checklist, with boxes to mark off the items, gives practical advice based on the following time frames – within the first hours, within the first day, and within the first days to weeks.

• Designed by an attorney and his wife, who are caregivers, this printable checklist allows you to mark off the items as you complete them. If you are a caregiver or have aging parents or grandparents, then you might want to keep this checklist handy.

Detailed Checklists

• Prepared by Virginia attorney, Dan Newland, this checklist provides 34 items in a sequential numbered format. 

• Specifically designed for California residents, this checklist includes boxes to check off as you complete each item.

• My favorite is this thorough 16-page printable checklist with explanations and an area to mark off completed tasks from Colorado attorney Gary Johnson.

In keeping a printout of two or more checklists, you will have a starting point should you find yourself asking, “What to do when someone dies?” Though I don’t like to dwell on what could happen, I prepare should the worst take place. I do not take out these checklists to read them, but I keep them filed – just in case.

Weekly Project: Print one or more What To Do When Someone Dies checklist and file within your estate planning category.

One benefit to having these checklists is learning some tangible ways to help those who lose a loved one. I have stayed at homes twice during a funeral to distract any thieves, who prey on families during their time of grief.

Next week, we will continue with another checklist that I keep filed within our estate planning documents. Getting your important documents organized will make retrieving those documents quick and efficient when you need them.

The process takes lots of time and energy, but in using time wisely, you will save time in the long run. Happy organizing!

Question: Do you prefer a simple checklist or a detailed fully-explained checklist?