<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">What Do I Do When A Loved One Dies?</span></strong></span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Where does one begin when a loved one passes? </span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">What is the process?</span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Who do you call? </span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">What needs do be done? </span>

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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">T</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">hese pertinent questions </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">come up for family members when a loved one passes away.  A sense of</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">being overwhelmed can take over as a family or friends are never fully</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">prepared for a loss. My role is to journey with you to help design a funeral,</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">memorial service, Celebration of Life or graveside service that will honor</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">your loved ones.
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">I will schedule a time to meet with your family to share memories,</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">anecdotes and special moments in your loved one’s life. The essence of</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">the service will be based upon the remembrances of the family.  I will</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">consult with you to prepare a service that reflects and memorializes the life</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">of the person who has passed. That might be through special music,</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">songs, ceremonies, poems or visual tributes. I will also compose a eulogy</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">that will reflect who your loved one was, their gifts, strengths, and what they</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">meant to others. It will be a sharing of the heart.  We will work in</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">partnership to make the service a memorable one.</span>
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When a loved one dies, you might face the overwhelming responsibility of </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">closing out the persons life. There are many things to attend to, from</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">providing a proper tribute to closing bank accounts to cancelling a golf</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">membership. Many of the tasks require attention to detail — adding stress</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">to what is already a pretty emotional time.
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<strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Documents Needed to Complete Checklist</span></strong>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Death certificates (maybe a dozen)</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Social Security card</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Marriage certificate</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Birth certificate</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Birth certificates for any children</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Insurance policies</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Deeds and titles to property
</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Automobile title and registration papers</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Stock certificates</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Bank books</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Recent income tax forms</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Loan and installment payment books and contracts
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">1. Arrange for organ donation. It may be the last detail you want to</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">think about, but arrangements need to be made almost</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">immediately at death so the organs can be harvested as promptly</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">as possible. Not certain about the persons wishes? Two sources to</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">check: the drivers license and an advance health care directive,</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">such as a living will or health care proxy. If the answer is yes, the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">hospital where the person died will have a coordinator to guide you</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">through the process. If your loved one died outside of a hospital —</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">that includes in hospice or a nursing home — contact the nearest</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">hospital. Staff will be on hand to answer questions about what's</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">next. There is no cost.</span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">2. Contact immediate family. Of course you want to update key</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">family members. Bringing them together in person, by phone or</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">electronically (via mass email, Skype or Facebook Family page), is</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">an opportunity not only to comfort one another but also to share</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">information about important decisions that must be made — some</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">of them immediately. Do any of you, for example, know of an</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">arrangement for the funeral or other source for burial wishes?</span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">3. Make funeral arrangements. It's up to the executor named in the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">will to make funeral arrangements even if that executor isn't the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">next of kin. Most of the time this isn't a problem, as we know who</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">our loved one has appointed to look after the estate.</span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">4. Look at immediate money issues. This might include paying for</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">the funeral, or paying urgent bills such as a heating bill for the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">deceased's house in the middle of winter. If the funeral bill (and</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">some other bills) are taken to the deceased's bank, the bank will</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">likely pay the bill from the deceased's account, providing of course </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">there is enough money in the account. Make sure that if the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">deceased had joint bank accounts with his or her spouse, you talk</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">to the bank to ensure that joint accounts aren't frozen.</span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">5. If the deceased's home is vacant, secure it and notify the insurer.</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Make sure that insurance is kept in place on the home. Later on</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">during the administration of the estate, you can worry about</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">discontinuing insurance, but for right now, make sure it stays in</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">place.</span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">6. Check the safety deposit box. This is a good place to look for the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">original will, but you might also find letters written to loved ones to</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">be opened on death, valuables, or important papers. Make sure</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">nobody takes any of this except for the executor named in the will! If</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">you aren't the executor, don't touch it. If you are applying to the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">court to be an administrator because there is no will, don't touch</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">anything until you have that court order in your hands.</span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">7. Find the original will. Assuming that the deceased had a will, you</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">will need the original to apply for probate. Even if you don't plan to</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">apply for probate because all assets were joint with the deceased’s</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">spouse, it's a good idea to find the will. Anyone who finds the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">original will MUST give it to the executor named in the will.</span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">8. Get copies of the Death Certificate. There are two types of</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">certificates. One is issued by the provincial government and is</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">called a Death Certificate. This is available through registries, but</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">you have to wait a few days until the registry receives proof of the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">death and registers it. The other type of certificate is called a</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Funeral Directors Statement of Death. Because you get this from</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">the funeral home, you can get it very quickly.</span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">9. Have the deceased's mail redirected to the executor. This is</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">more important when the deceased lived alone than when the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">deceased was living with a spouse.</span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">10. Place an obituary in the local newspaper. Most families like</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">to place a notice to let friends, clients, neighbours etc. know of the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">death in time to attend the funeral.</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Notify various parties of the death and cancel coverages. Some of </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">these must be done fairly quickly, such as notifying the federal and</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">provincial governments when the deceased was receiving benefits.</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Notifying them has the effect of stopping monthly payments such as</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">CPP and OAS. You should also notify the deceased's bank quickly.</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Other notifications you should consider are (depending on the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">circumstances) the deceased's employer, life insurance company,</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">provincial health care plan, private health care plan, landlord, motor </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">vehicle registry, credit card companies, Veteran's Affairs, doctor’s</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">office, and all utilities in the deceased's name such as telephone,</span>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">cell phone, electricity, internet etc.</span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Apply for the CPP death benefit. Forms for this are usually supplied by the</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">funeral home. This benefit is available to anyone who was eligible for CPP</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">retirement or disability benefits. It isn't a huge amount of money but it was</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">designed to help pay for funeral costs. The application should be made by</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">the executor, if you know who that is going to be. Otherwise next of kin can</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">apply.</span>

<span style="font-size: 14pt;">This list was condensed and adapted from Chapter 1 of Lynne Butlers,</span><span> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Alberta Probate Kit.</span><span>  </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">10 things to do following the death of a loved one and I added a few more.</span>