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The First 24 Hours After Your Loved One Dies<br />
Although the first twenty-four<br />
hours after a person’s death<br />
can be the most emotionally<br />
difficult for those closest to<br />
that person, they are often expected to make<br />
important decisions.<br />
Obviously, estate planning can alleviate<br />
some pressure, but following a task list of<br />
“what to do when” can be helpful.<br />
1. Obtain a legal pronouncement of death. If<br />
the person dies at home in hospice, hospice<br />
can provide this. If the person passes<br />
at a hospital, the hospital will provide it.<br />
2. Consider ordering an autopsy from the<br />
medical examiner if the person died under<br />
suspicious circumstances. The spouse<br />
has the ability to deny an autopsy unless<br />
the medical examiner orders it.<br />
3. Call the person’s family, friends, and<br />
clergy and notify them of their loved<br />
one’s death. Avoid discussions regarding<br />
the disposition of the decedent’s<br />
personal property.<br />
4. Arrange for the transportation of the<br />
body. Knowing a few things prior to a person’s<br />
death about their wishes can relieve<br />
a family member, spouse, or personal representative<br />
of concerns that they are not<br />
doing what their loved one would want.<br />
If possible, prior to a person’s death,<br />
discuss end of life arrangements. The talk<br />
should include:<br />
Is the person an organ donor? If so,<br />
where do they want their organs donated?<br />
Do they want to be buried or cremated?<br />
Do they have a prepaid funeral plan?<br />
Protect What<br />
Matters<br />
…by Linda Carley<br />
Do they want a funeral service?<br />
Do they want their ashes scattered<br />
or placed in an urn?<br />
5. Call a funeral home or a crematory for<br />
the transportation of the body. They can<br />
also arrange for either a burial or cremation.<br />
A direct cremation through a crematory<br />
can be a third of the cost of a direct<br />
cremation through a funeral home.<br />
6. Notify the person’s employer, if any.<br />
7. Secure the home and car.<br />
8. Arrange for the immediate care of pets<br />
and dependents.<br />
9. Make a list of action items to take in the<br />
next five days including: ordering death<br />
certificates, arranging for the funeral and<br />
burial or cremation, preparing an obituary,<br />
locating estate planning documents such<br />
as the will or trust, contacting the personal<br />
representative named under the will, if<br />
any, and scheduling an appointment with<br />
a home watch company such as East<br />
Coast Home Watch if the residence will<br />
be vacant during the probate of the estate.<br />
Linda Carley is an Attorney at Carley<br />
Law, 435 S. Ridgewood Avenue, Suite 2015,<br />
Daytona Beach, FL. She has more than 30<br />
years experience as an attorney and former<br />
circuit judge. Call 386.281.3340 or<br />
info@CarleyLaw.net<br />
<strong>July</strong> <strong>26</strong>, <strong>2019</strong>—Seniors Today—Page 13<br />
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