Losing a loved one is a very sad and overwhelming time in anyone’s life so it is understandable that you would not instantly think about what you need to do after the death should you be the next of kin and in charge of dealing with their death.
There are a few things you should and can do after a death depending on the death and how it happened. If you want to know more about what you can do once a loved one passes then hopefully, these few tips will give you an idea of what you can do.
Notify other close family members and friends
The first thing and probably the hardest thing is going to be to notify family members that do not know and close friends they would have wanted to be told. This is probably the hardest especially if you haven’t really come to terms with it yourself. Telling others can be overwhelming, so seek support if needed, and make sure you do it when you are ready. You may need to notify the close family members first then once everything else has been dealt with you can notify extended family and friends. Using people tracing agents can be useful if you need to trace distant relatives, for example, if a will is involved.
Consult legal advice
Depending on the cause of death and what happened you may need to seek legal advice if for example it was a wrongful death caused by negligence. Obviously this is already a horrible time with the passing of a loved one but the quicker you seek legal advice the better just do a search for local wrongful death lawyers ready to serve you and you will be able to find the legal aid you need local to you. Legal advice can be expensive so at this time it is a good idea to check if they also had life insurance, if you are not sure then you can request bank statements to see if payments are being made to one or check with the employer to see if it was included in their job.
Notify the funeral home or cremation provider
If plans are already in place then you can call the home or provider to sort out the rest but if you are the next of kin and nothing has been decided in a will or prior to death then you need to be making the decision of what happens next. This can be a hard decision so make sure you seek help if you need to from family and ask around if you are unsure, in most cases it is already planned but if the death is unexpected it may not have been.
If a loved one has passed or may be coming to a point where they are very ill then it is best to know what you will need to do next as next of kin. It is an already tough time so being prepared will help you get through this a little easier, so hopefully, these few tips will help you do just that and allow you to prepare.