What to Do When Someone Dies: Immediate Step-by-Step Guide

This comprehensive step-by-step planning guide is provided free of charge by SevenPonds to help you know what to do when death occurs. Please feel free to follow along online or download it and print it out to refer to as you plan. We also encourage you to download and print out our accompanying checklist, which will help you organize your thoughts, track your to-do list, take notes, and more. 

SevenPonds Comprehensive Step-by-Step Planning Guide:

What to Do When Someone Dies

When someone you love is dying or has just died, making decisions and plans can be very challenging. That’s why SevenPonds has created this comprehensive step-by-step planning guide that will walk you through everything you need to know — from how to know that death is imminent, to recognizing that death has occurred, to caring for your loved one’s body, to gathering all of the important documents you will need. 

We also want to reassure you that you can take time to process the loss of your loved one before diving into the complexities of managing the aftermath. While you may feel a sense of urgency, there really is no rush. You can spend as much time with your loved one as you wish, care for their body in your home, and even invite friends and family to come and pay their last respects before notifying the authorities or calling a funeral home.

Jump ahead to: 

A. Signs of Approaching Death
B. Signs that Death Has Occurred
C. Natural Death Care
D. Who to Call After the Death
E. When to Call the Funeral Service Provider
F. When Death Occurs Away from Home
G. Other Notifications
H. Information and Documents You Will Need
I. Caring for Dependents and Pets
J. Prepaid Disposition Plans
K. Organ, Tissue and Whole Body Donation
L. DNA Sampling
M. Creating and Placing an Obituary

A. Signs of Approaching Death

If your loved one is suffering from a terminal illness, they will probably (although not always)  show signs of gradual decline in physiologic function as they approach death. Typically, they will become increasingly fatigued and difficult to arouse and have less interest in eating or drinking. Other changes you may see include: 

• Difficulty swallowing, especially pills
• Decreased urine output
• Fewer bowel movements 
• Pale, cool skin
• Restlessness or irritability
• Hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren’t there)

These changes usually occur around one to two weeks before death occurs. As death draws closer, you may see a gradual increase in sleepiness, and the person may become unresponsive to spoken words. Keep in mind, however, that the senses of touch and hearing often remain intact even after a dying person can no longer respond.

As your loved one comes closer to death, the following changes may also occur:

• Eyes tearing or appearing “glazed over”
• Moaning, groaning, grimacing
• Faint, irregular heartbeat
• Very cool, pale skin with bluish discoloration of the hands, feet and knees
• Mottling or purplish “marbling” of the extremities
• Very slow, shallow breathing interrupted by gasping breaths
• Noisy breathing due to the accumulation of secretions at the back of the throat (the so-called “death rattle”)

If you see these changes occurring, death will likely occur soon. You may wish to call your loved one’s hospice provider, doctor and immediate family to let them know that death is near. 

Note: See our section Active Dying for additional information about the changes that may occur as your loved one moves closer to death.

B. Signs that Death Has Occurred

If you are at the bedside of your dying loved one, you will notice that they are breathing less and less often, and eventually breathing will cease. You may hear an audible sigh as air leaves the body, but the person will make no further efforts to take air in. You will also not be able to feel a pulse (Check for a pulse on either side of the neck. Pulses in the wrist may be absent even if the person is still alive.)

When your loved one’s heart stops beating and circulation stops, their skin will become very pale and cool to the touch. Their eyes may be open or closed. If they are open, you will notice the pupils become very large, and they will no longer change size in response to light. If you touch the eye, the person will not blink. 

Shortly after breathing and circulation cease, all of the muscles of the body relax. Your loved one’s jaw will slacken and their mouth may fall open, especially if they are lying on their back. The sphincters of the bowel and bladder will also relax, which may cause urine and/or stool to be released from the body. (This may not happen if your loved one hasn’t been eating or drinking for a while.) 

After death, blood will settle into the tissues in response to gravity, and the dependent areas of the body (usually the back and back of the legs) will turn reddish blue. This is known as livor mortis. It may fade if you reposition the body, but after about 4 to 6 hours it will become “fixed” and won’t go away. It takes about the same amount of time for rigor mortis — the stiffening of extremities after death — to set in. 

C. Natural Death Care

In keeping with the movement towards natural burial and simplified services, a growing number of people are choosing to personalize how they spend their last moments with their loved one. Some simply want to stay with the person for a few extra hours before saying goodbye, while others choose to have a days-long vigil and a home funeral. Both can be accomplished with a little pre-planning and knowledge of what’s involved. 

Natural death care is the traditional way in which bodies were cared for before funeral homes and elaborate after-death body-care rituals became the norm in the U.S. Family members, friends and/or other loved ones gather together after the person dies and clean the body, anoint it (in some cases) and dress the person in their own clothes. It can take place before a home viewing or as a precursor to a home funeral. Below we outline the basic steps to performing natural death care. You can also refer to our section on Natural Death Care and Home Funerals for a detailed explanation of what to do. 

• Because moving a dead body can be difficult, enlist the help of several friends before beginning the process of caring for the person who died. Ideally, you will want to complete the process within a few hours of death, before rigor mortis becomes “fixed” and the extremities are stiff and difficult to move. 

• If you have not done so already, roll the person on their side and put an absorbent pad or several towels under the buttocks to prevent soiling the bed. 

• If the person’s eyes are open and you wish to close them, do so, then put a small bag of rice or sand over the eyes to keep them shut. After a couple of hours, the eyes should stay closed on their own. 

• In most cases, the jaw will be slack and the mouth will be open immediately after death. Clean the mouth thoroughly (you can use toothettes and some mouthwash or some lemon glycerine swabs), then loop a tie or scarf around the chin and tie it at the top of the head to keep the mouth closed. Like the weights on the person’s eyes, this will only need to stay in place for a few hours, then it can be removed.

• To clean the body, start at the face and work your way down to the feet, leaving the perineal area for last. Clean this area carefully, then put on an adult diaper to catch any urine or stool, which may continue to leak for a while. Dress any open wounds, then anoint the body with oils or perfumes if you wish. 

• Dress the person in the clothes you have chosen for the viewing.

Caring for your loved one’s body can be an intimate and healing ritual, so do whatever makes sense to you during this time. There’s no rush, so feel free to recite prayers, sing songs, or share memories with friends and family as you care for your loved one one final time.

Remember, too, that the body will need to be kept cool in some way. Depending on the weather in your area, this may be accomplished by opening a window or turning the air conditioner on. If these measures don’t suffice, dry ice or gel packs may be used. (Learn more about the pros and cons of certain cooling techniques from the National Home Funeral Alliance’s page Alternative Cooling Techniques.

Keep in mind also that local authorities and hospital personnel may object to your wish to care for your loved one’s body in your home. Regardless of their objections, however, natural death care is 100% legal in every state in the U.S. With that being said, as of 2021, nine states (Alabama, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey and New York) mandate the involvement of a funeral director to some extent (such as filing the death certificate or transporting the body.) The Funeral Consumer Alliance can help you navigate the laws in your state.  

D. Who to Call After the Death

When Death Occurs at Home 
If your loved one’s death was expected and they were under hospice care, call the hospice provider to notify them of the death. If the person was not in hospice but their death was anticipated, call their attending physician (the doctor who most recently has been managing their care).

If you can’t reach the physician within 30-45 minutes, you will need to call 911, but there’s no need to do so immediately. Look for a POLST or Pre-hospital DNR that you can provide to first responders when they arrive. If there is no POLST or DNR available, first responders may have no choice but to perform CPR.

With that being said, according to California EMT Catriona Clohessy,  it is very unlikely that emergency personnel will attempt to resuscitate someone who is obviously dead. Most EMS providers have protocols in place that allow paramedics and, in some cases, EMTs to declare death at the scene. (They may need to call a physician, who can determine death over the phone.) Depending on where you live and the laws in your jurisdiction, your loved one may still need to be transported to a hospital so a physician can legally pronounce the death. In rare cases (such as when the cause of death is unknown or the person wasn’t under a doctor’s care) the Medical Examiner or coroner may need to become involved. 

When Death Occurs in a  Hospital
If your loved one died in a hospital, hospital personnel will transport the body to the morgue after you have said your goodbyes. They will also ensure that the death certificate is filled out and filed. Except in the case of some very small, rural hospitals, your loved one’s body can stay in the morgue for several days while you make arrangements to have them transported to a funeral home, a crematory, or your own home. 

When Death Occurs In a Nursing Home
Most nursing homes, assisted living and independent living facilities have no morgue, so you will need to arrange transport to the location of your choice within about a day. You can call your funeral service provider to arrange transport or transport the body on your own if you wish to have a home funeral. (Note: In most states, you will need a Burial Transit Permit to transport the body yourself.)

When Death Occurs Unexpectedly or by Uncertain Means
If your loved one dies unexpectedly or by uncertain means and they are at home, call 911. First responders will notify the proper authorities (for example, the police, medical examiner or coroner). If the cause of death is not immediately apparent or the person wasn’t under a doctor’s care, an autopsy may need to be performed. However, the medical examiner may forego an autopsy if an external examination and/or your loved one’s medical records strongly suggest or confirm a cause of death. 

If an autopsy is necessary, you may need to wait up to a week, or possibly longer, for the body to be released. At that time, you can arrange for a funeral service provider to pick up the body from the morgue and proceed with whatever funeral arrangements of final disposition you choose. 

E. When to Call the Funeral Service Provider

If you have already made funeral arrangements with a local service provider, you may call them any time after death occurs if the death occurred in your home. There is no need to rush. Feel free to spend as much time with your loved one as you like. If you prefer, you can notify the service provider immediately but ask them not to come to remove the body until sometime later after you have said goodbye. In most circumstances, you can keep your loved one in the home for a day or even longer if the body can be kept cool. See our section on Natural Death Care for tips on how to accomplish this. 

If your loved one died unexpectedly and you have no arrangements made, please take a few moments to read through our Comprehensive Step-by-Step Planning Guide: Choosing Funeral Arrangements and Disposition. It walks you through your options for final disposition and provides important advice about how to protect your consumer rights as guaranteed under the FTC’s Funeral Rule. 

F. When Death Occurs Away from Home

If your loved one died at a location other than where they will be buried or cremated, you will need to make arrangements to transport the body to its final destination. This typically won’t be an issue if the person will be transported in a motor vehicle within the boundaries of the same state. But it will be a bit more complicated if they will be transported by common carrier and/ or across state lines. 

Transporting a Body Between States
Laws regarding the transportation of a body across state lines vary. All states allow it, but Alaska and Alabama require that the body be embalmed before leaving the state. Five other states — California, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, and New Jersey — require embalming for bodies leaving the state via common carrier (e.g. plane or train.) Your funeral service provider will typically arrange this for you, but it’s also possible to do it yourself. Most states also require a burial transit permit. 

Additionally, if you want to fly your loved one’s body via a commercial airline, you must make the arrangements through a funeral home that is a  “known shipper” with TSA. (The airlines will not work with you directly.) You will need to contact a funeral service provider in the location where the body will be laid to rest, and they will coordinate with the airlines and funeral home in the location where your loved one died. Know, too, that this option can be expensive. Depending on the length of the trip and the weight of the container, shipping costs alone can be between $1,000 and $3,000, and both the sending and receiving funeral homes will likely charge a fee. 

Shipping the body by train is a more affordable option, but you will still need the services of a funeral director on both ends of the trip. You may also transport the body yourself in a van or an SUV or contract with a funeral service provider to drive it across state lines. To learn more about this process or to ask a question about your legal rights, contact the Funeral Consumer Alliance in your state. 

Transporting a Body Internationally
If the person who died was a U.S. citizen and died outside of the country, disposition choices will usually need to be made immediately, and your options will vary according to the country where the person died. The U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs should be able to assist you with making arrangements for transporting the body back to the United States. Visit US Embassy.gov to find the appropriate number to call. 

After you contact the U.S. consulate, the staff will assist in gathering the documents you will need. These include:

• Consular mortuary certificate, which ensures that the remains are shipped in an orderly fashion and facilitates U.S. Customs clearance. It also confirms important information about the cause of death. 

• Affidavit of a local funeral director, which attests to the fact that the casket being shipped contains only your loved one’s remains, and may also state how the body was prepared (e.g. embalmed or not embalmed.)
•  Transit permit, which is prepared by the health authorities and accompanies the body during transport. 

Additional documents may be required depending on the circumstances of the death. The consular officer will ensure that all required documents accompany the remains to the United States. However, you are responsible for making arrangements with a service provider to have the body picked up and transported to its final resting place.

If you have chosen not to have the body of your loved one embalmed or if embalming is not an option in the location where they died,  the consular officer will notify U.S. Customs and the U.S. Public Health Service in advance. In addition to the documents referenced above, they will also send a copy of the foreign death certificate (if available) and a statement from the foreign authorities stating that the person did not die from a communicable disease.

Note: The U.S. State Department and consular officials have no funds available to help with the payment of fees associated with transporting the body back to the United States. However, they can facilitate the transfer of private funds from a U.S. bank. 

Transporting Ashes  

Transporting Ashes Between States
If your loved one died while away from home, sometimes the most prudent decision is to have their body cremated where they died and later transport the ashes to your home. Fortunately, this is relatively easy to accomplish because there are several options available to you. Cremated ashes can be mailed Priority Mail through the U.S.Postal Service or shipped through an airline cargo service. (UPS and FedEx do not ship human remains.) When mailing or shipping cremated ashes, make sure to pack them securely, even double-boxing them to be safe. 

You can also take the ashes with you on an airplane. Many airlines will not allow ashes in checked baggage but will allow you to carry them on the plane. Just make sure that the container you use is not opaque so that the TSA agent who Xrays the container can visualize what’s inside. Avoid metal, stone, or ceramic containers. Use cardboard, plastic, or wood instead. You can also keep the ashes in a removable plastic bag, and take them out of the container at the checkpoint to be scanned separately. Under no circumstances will a TSA agent open or inspect cremated remains. If the agent cannot clear the contents of the container for any reason, the ashes will not be allowed on the flight.

Transporting Ashes Internationally
If your loved one died while traveling abroad, cremating their body in the country where they died may or may not be possible. Some countries have rigid cultural or religious taboos against the practice, while others have very few crematoriums, which means the nearest facility may be hundreds of miles from where your loved one died. In these cases, the cost and delays involved may prove prohibitive, and you will need to decide whether to transport your loved one’s body to the U.S. or have it buried where they died. 

With that being said, if you do have your loved one cremated abroad, you have several options to get their ashes back to the United States. You can mail them using USPS Priority Mail International, or you can take them with you on a plane. Keep in mind, however, that security measures in other countries may be different from those practiced in the United States. Contact the U.S. embassy or consulate to find out what documentation you will need and what procedures you need to follow. 

Designated Decision Makers
In most situations, either the Designated Funeral Agent or the individual named as the Designated Healthcare Agent in the individual’s Advance Directive is empowered to make the decisions about final disposition. If no agent was designated by the person who died, the right to make these decisions typically falls to the next of kin. In most states, the order of precedence is as follows:

• Spouse
• Eldest child over the age of 18
• Parents
• Siblings
• Grandparents

In a few states, there must be an agreement between next of kin with the same status (for example, adult children) before arrangements can be made. 

The designated decision-maker also has the right to authorize organ or tissue donation (with or without prior instructions from the person who died) and/or an autopsy. 

Note: If unmarried domestic partners have not set up Power of Attorney for Health Care for each other, or are not state-registered domestic partners, then biological relatives will have the legal right to make decisions. 

G. Other Notifications

Shortly after your loved one dies, you may want to reach out to friends and loved ones to let them know of the death. If you don’t have their contact information, check your loved one’s address book or the contacts on their cell phone. Make a list of names and numbers, and call the most significant people in your loved one’s life first. Bear in mind that you don’t need to make all of the calls at once, nor do you have to make them all yourself. It’s perfectly OK to ask friends and family to help with this very difficult task. 

In addition to friends and family, several other entities should be notified of the death within a relatively short period of time. These include: 

• Employer(s) or business partners
• Employee pension administrator  
• Social Security Administration
• Landlord, rental agent or assisted living administrator
• Veterans Affairs (if the person was a veteran)
• Life insurance or funeral insurance company 
• Other insurance companies (health, property, car etc.)
• Banks, financial institutions and credit card companies
• Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies (to minimize the risk of fraud)

See our Settling the Estate Planning Guide for more information about how to notify these entities and the documentation you will need. 

H. Information and Documents You Will Need

After someone dies, you will need to track down as much of their important personal information as possible. This will come in handy as you are filling out paperwork, settling the estate, and making final arrangements. 

Personal Information
The following information is necessary to complete the U.S. Standard Death Certificate. Your state-specific death certificate may differ slightly but the information should be the same. 

• Full name of the person who died
• Date and time of death (This should reflect the date and time when a doctor, hospice nurse or medical examiner pronounced the death)
• Place of death
• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Age 
• Social Security Number
• Service in the US Armed Forces, if applicable
• Marital Status 
• Spouse’s Name / Maiden Name
• Occupation and Type of Business
• Race
• Residence Address and how long he/she resided in this county 
• Names of Parents: Father’s Name and Mother’s Maiden Name
• Level of Education 
• Preferred Form of Disposition (burial, cremation or other means) if known
• Place of Burial or Disposition, if known
• Name, Address, and Phone Number of Certifying Physician
  (The physician will fill this out on the form)
• Name, Address, and Phone Number of Person with Right to Control Disposition (Note: This may be the Designated Funeral Agent or the person named as the agent in the person’s Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, or the next of kin

Personal Documents
You will need the following documents immediately or shortly after the person dies. 

• Last Will and Testament -This will indicate who is the Executor, who will be responsible for taking care of the tasks necessary to settle the estate. 
• Trust deed (if applicable)
• Final Instructions, Disposition Authorization, and/or Designated Agent forms, where applicable. (Note: Not everyone prepares these documents. When present, they will indicate the person’s wishes for final disposition and name a decision-maker. These instructions may also be  included in an Advance Directive such as a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care or Living Will
• Prepaid Disposition Plan (if applicable)Link below
• Organ/Body Donor Registration (if applicable) Link below
• Advance Directive and Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare Note: This document is most applicable before death occurs, but may include information that you need to know, such as the person’s wishes for organ or tissue donation or final disposition.

If you’re not sure where your loved one kept these documents, ask other family members or close friends. Check safety deposit boxes, file drawers in the workplace or home office, strongboxes, even the refrigerator and freezer. (Some experts recommend storing important documents in the freezer to keep them safe in case of a fire.) Consult with the person’s attorney, primary physician or legal next of kin to see if any instructions were left with them. 

In addition to the above, you will need to go through your loved one’s important papers to locate several documents that will be crucial to obtaining death benefits and settling the estate. This need not be done immediately but should happen as soon as possible after the death. See our Comprehensive Step-by-Step Planning Guide:Settling the Estate for a complete list of what you will need. 

Official Documents
If you are using a funeral service provider to facilitate final disposition, they will complete and file the following documents. However, if you plan to hold a home funeral and transport the body to its final resting place yourself, you will need to obtain them and file them on your own. Be forewarned, however, that the process of doing so can be quite cumbersome, especially in states where an Electronic Death Record System (EDRS) is in place. To ease the burden on you and your loved ones, you may wish to engage the services of a [home funeral consultant] to help. 

Death Certificate
This is the official document that certifies the date, time, place and manner of death. It must be signed by a physician and filed with the Bureau of Vital Statistics, which registers the death. In many states, this process is handled electronically through an Electronic Death Record System, which is accessible only to funeral service providers and government agencies. However, you may request a blank, state-specific hard copy of a death certificate even if the state has an EDRS. These are generally available from the County Health Department or Bureau of Vital Statistics. Just make sure to fill it out completely, accurately, and legibly before submitting it for review. 

Once the death is registered, either by you or a funeral service provider, certified copies of the death certificate may be obtained from the local Health Department for a fee. You will need these documents to complete several legal and personal matters related to the death, such as filing an insurance claim or closing bank accounts or credit cards, so it’s a good idea to request at least 10. Your funeral service provider can obtain these for you or,  if you prefer, you can request them yourself.  

Disposition Permit/Burial Permit
Many states, including California, require a Disposition Permit for every death. This document  indicates in what manner the body will be disposed of (e.g. buried, cremated, donated to science, buried at sea) and where its final resting place will be. (Note: If a person’s cremated ashes are to  be stored in different locations, a separate permit may be needed for each one.) The permit must be returned to the local health department within a specified period of time after the death. 

Burial Transit Permit
If a person other than a licensed funeral director, medical examiner or EMS provider takes custody of a deceased person’s body for the purpose of transporting it to its final resting place, a Burial Transit Permit is usually required. This document is also needed if a funeral service provider is transporting a body into or out of most states. 

Cremation Permit
If your loved one is being cremated you will also need a cremation permit, which is issued to the funeral service provider or crematorium by the medical examiner or county health authority and authorizes the cremation of your loved one’s body. Typically there is a waiting period of between 24 and 48 hours before the Cremation Permit can be obtained.

I. Caring for Dependents and Pets

If your loved one was responsible for the care of any dependents, whether they were minor children, an elderly relative or a beloved pet, it may be necessary to make temporary arrangements for their care. The person who died probably made arrangements for dependent children and elders and noted them in their Will, or in an advance healthcare directive or living will. In the absence of any direction, look into placing them with family members or friends until a permanent solution can be found.

J. Prepaid Disposition Plans

Many people pre-plan for their final expenses, and, in some cases, pay for them in advance. So before making any final arrangements, you will need to determine if your loved one entered into a pre-need agreement with a funeral service provider, and who the provider is. They may also have put aside money in a payable-upon death account with a named beneficiary or taken out an insurance policy to pay their final expenses, so look for evidence of those as well. If you fail to find anything of this nature, check with other family members and your loved one’s attorney before moving forward with other plans

K. Organ, Tissue and Whole Body Donation

To determine if your loved one was a registered organ or tissue donor, check their driver’s license or state-issued ID. All U.S. states allow individuals to sign up as a donor when they apply for or renew their license and indicate this preference with an icon of some kind. If there is no license available or if the donor icon isn’t there, your loved one may have signed up with your state registry online. Check their personal documents, including their Advance Directives, for evidence of this. 

Know too, that very few people can donate organs after death. As we explain in our section on Organ, Tissue and Whole Body Donation, only people who die in a hospital on life support can donate organs such a kidney, heart, lungs, pancreas or intestines  However, people who die under other circumstances can donate tissue if it is harvested within a short period of time (usually 24 hours). So try to learn about your loved one’s preference as soon as you can. 

In the event your loved one expressed no preference regarding donation, their authorized agent or next of kin is legally empowered to authorize donation after their death. If the person is a potential organ donor, the hospital staff will work with the local organ procurement organization to coordinate harvesting organs and locating suitable recipients. Tissue donation can be initiated by hospital staff or by the next of kin if the person died at home or in a nursing home. A hospice worker, social worker or your doctor should be able to assist you in finding an organ procurement organization in your area. These organizations are also listed on the Department of Health and Human Services website, OrganDonor.gov.  You may also wish to explore whole body donation through a private company, such as MedCure or Science Care, which provides bodies to scientists for medical research. 

There is also a possibility that your loved one willed their body to a Whole Body Donation program at a local medical school. In that case, they should have a registration card with their personal effects. Call the number on the card and notify the coordinator that your loved one has died. They will make arrangements for your loved one’s body to be transported to the school. (Note: Not all bodies will be accepted at the time of death, so it’s a good idea to have a backup plan for disposition just in case.)

L. DNA Sampling

If you wish to collect DNA from your loved one, it’s best to plan ahead and order a sample kit from a company such as Ancestry, CRI Genetics or 23 & Me. These kits come with detailed instructions and a return envelope, so the process should be fairly easy to complete. That said, even if you did not order a kit in advance of your loved one’s death, you can still collect a DNA sample yourself and store it until you have the time and energy to send it off. To make sure you have an adequate sample, follow this procedure outlined by EasyDNA :

1. Clean your loved one’s mouth using plain water.
   (No mouthwash, lemon/glycerine swabs or toothpaste.)
2. Rub the end of a sterile cotton swab along the inside of the person’s cheek, against the gums, and inside the lips for one minute.
   Repeat this process with four separate cotton swabs. If you are using swabs with cotton on both ends, cut the unused cotton off. 
3. Allow the swab to dry for at least one hour. The best way to do this is to put the swab in a clean glass with the cotton end sticking up in the air.
4. Place the swabs in a clean, dry envelope labeled with the person’s name and any other identifying information you would like to include. 
5. Put the envelope with the swabs in another, larger envelope for safekeeping. 
6. When you are ready, send the sample to the company of your choice.

M. Creating and Placing an Obituary

After your loved one dies, you may wish to create a public announcement about the death. The announcement can be a very simple statement or something more elaborate. While composing it, think about the person’s significant achievements and the things that meant the most to them when they were alive. For example, you may wish to highlight their business successes, their love of family, hobbies, prizes and awards, or clubs and organizations to which they belonged. 

If you are sending the announcement via email, you can also include digital images of the person taken at important moments in their life. 

If you decide to create a public obituary, you can put the announcement in your local newspaper. The paper will typically charge a fee for this service — usually a fixed rate per line per day. Another avenue to consider is to post the obituary online using a free service such as Ever Loved or to create a memorial website using a service such as Forever Missed, which offers both free and paid plans. If your loved one was on Facebook, you can also request that their page be converted to a memorialized page. To do this, you must contact Facebook and provide your loved one’s Facebook URL, and upload an obituary or a death certificate as proof that the person has died. 
For more information and ideas, see our section on Planning a Memorial and Memorial Ideas