What to do 1st? What happens next?

First, any death that occurs outside of  a Hospital, Hospice, or Home Hospice care MUST be called into 911 immediately after discovering the death. If there is a Do Not Recessitate (DNR) on hand, have that ready for Fire/Rescue crew that will show up along with the Police. This is standard procedure. Because the death happened outside of Hospice care, the Police will contact the County Coroner/Medical Examiner to come and investigate the death. 

It is up to the Coroner/Medical Examiner to either hold body in their care for further investigation (perform autopsy)  or release the body to family and ultimately the Funeral Home that the family chooses.

For deaths that occur under Hospice Care....call the  Hospice nurse immediately so he or she can get to the location of your loved one to declare their death and will then look to family and/or friends for the Funeral Home selection.  
             

          WHAT TO DO NEXT.....figure out which Funeral Home and plan for all the "IF'S"

• Locate your loved ones Will, Funeral Home paperwork, End of Life paperwork, or any pertinant paperwork and follow it exactly. 
• If funeral has been pre-planned and pre-funded, contact that Funeral Home as everything is already set up, or mostly everything should be set up and covered under that agreement/contract. But all depends on the exact contract and what was paid for etc. PAY ATTENTION to the paperwork.
• If Not pre-planned or pre-funded then family has to decide which Funeral Home to use, how to pay and what type of service to have. In general, if not pre-funded, most funeral homes will collect up front, typically accepting cash, check, or credit card. NOTE: there is a difference between pre-planned and pre-funded.....pre planned means the details of the funeral have been set up in writing but NOT PAID for...pre funded means the funeral has been paid for in full and only extra expenses is what family adds on after the fact.
• If your loved one was in the Military, may qualify for Military benefits. 
• If your loved one was receiving any type of Assistance, may qualify for Wisconsin Funeral and Cemetery Aids Program (WFCAP) which pays a portion of the funeral costs. 
• If there is an active Life Insurance policy in place, some funeral homes may accept an "Insurance Assignment" which allows the funeral home to be placed as first payee on active life insurance policy and charge a fee for provding this service.

              Based upon your info put together from the above mentioned, now is the time to pick out the Funeral Home that you would like to use. Make sure to have the deceased's info along with the person calling's info for the funeral home to record and have on record.

The funeral home will send their Funeral director to come and pick up your loved ones' body and take them to the funeral home. This is were the prepartations will be made in accordance to the funeral plan.

You will then set up at time to come into funeral home to make the final funeral arrangement, if one has not been made yet, and if one has then you will finalize that plan at this meeting/arrangement.  At the funeral arrangement, the funeral is set up from start to finish . If there is not to be a funeral service, then this is when all the paperwork will be completed to carry out your loved ones' wishes. 

NOW WHAT?

We encourage family to start at the Funeral Home arrangement FIRST, then go from there with planning....ie Church, Cemetery, Obituary notice, luncheon, etc...as one may not be able to accommodate the other leading to added stress to all involved. Coordinating all the different aspects of a Funeral is made easier when starting at the Funeral Home arrangement. Doing this makes the process much more relaxed. The Funeral Home, it's Directors and staff will guide you through the entire process including helping you create the Obituary notice if there is to be one.

Here's how it would typically go from this point.

1) Go to the Funeral Home and complete the arrangement meeting to finalize the Funeral and all the details. "NOTE that if not "pre-paid", be prepared to pay for the Funeral in full at the time of arrangement. Some funeral homes' rules may differ, but to be safe, be prepared to pay in full at the time of arrangement. After all, this is how the funeral home stays in business.

2) If your loved one will be placed at a Cemetery, now would be the time to go to the Cemetery and make the arrangement there. This may include purchasing property (grave, crypt, or a niche), purchasing a marker (headstone), and clarifying any and all costs incurred at the Cemetery. These charges will differ from Funeral Home charges.

4)  Go to Church and arrange with staff there.

3) Prepare an Obituary notice (if applicable)

4)  Contact staff for the Luncheon (if applicable)

5) Order Flowers

6) Announce the Funeral Service date, time and location. Make sure to include Cemetery and luncheon info if applicable.

7) Prepare any picture boards, memory boards, and anything that will make the service brighter.

8) Attend the Funeral Service.