Having someone pass away who was close to you, is a very difficult time in your life, and if you are the eldest member of the family, then it will probably be down to you, to handle all of the funeral arrangements for your loved one. You will probably be stricken with grief, and having to organise the whole event by yourself can be quite overwhelming, and for many, it’s too much to handle at this most difficult of times. It is better to be prepared for such an event, and you really should create some kind of checklist of the many things that need to be taken care of, in the event of a death in your immediate family. One of the items on that checklist should be the death cleanup. This should be one of the first things to be done especially if your loved one died at home. Thorough sanitation of the house should be done immediately to avoid the spread of any disease.

There is assistance at hand.

Thankfully, you do not have to go through all of this by yourself, and you can contact such establishments as Academy Funeral Services to help you in your time of need. These excellent professionals have dealt with many sad events over the years, and they know exactly what to do at this most difficult time. However, a lot of the things that need to be done are down to you, and so the following are some of the things that you need to do as soon as possible, in the event that a family member passes.

Organise the legalities – If your family member happens to die in a hospital, then the doctor there can take care of the legal pronouncement of death. However, in the event that your loved one dies at home, or somewhere else, then there are certain people that you need to call including unattended death cleaning companies. You should also call an ambulance, but be sure to tell them that the person has passed already. In some cases, you might be able to call the family doctor who can attend, and provide you with the necessary legal paperwork.

Notify friends and family – There is no one right way to do this, as no one wants to give the sad news to anyone. You will have to decide if you’re going to tell the family members in person, or over the phone. In some cases, depending on how close the family is, an email or text message might be appropriate. You shouldn’t try to do all of this by yourself, and this kind of responsibility should be shared, with other family members.

Your loved one’s final wishes – It is important to check if your family member had requested any particular arrangements in the event of their death. They may already, have planned for this situation, so talk to your local funeral home and cemetery, about their wishes. For instance, they may have preferred cremations to traditional burials. In that case, be prepared with thorough questions before meeting with cremation service providers. This will help you understand the options and remember important details. If they didn’t request anything, then you can contact your local funeral director, and rely on them to do everything that is needed at this very difficult time.

These are only a few of the many things that need to be done in the event of the death in the family. However, the above should at least help you to get started, and with the help of other family members, this time can be made a little bit more manageable.