A Step-by-Step Guide to What Happens After a Loved One Passes Away

The death of a loved one can be a traumatic experience that can leave many people confused and lost as to what to do next. Therefor it can be extremely helpful to have the knowledge about what happens after a death beforehand. 

In today’s blog we will be providing a step-by-step guide on what happens after a loved one passes away.

Step 1

The first step you should take after a loved one has passed away depends largely on whether the death was an expected event. If the death was expected, you should speak to the medical professionals who were involved in your loved one’s end of life care. If the death was unexpected, you should immediately contact either emergency services or the BC Coroners service.

Step 2

Next you may need to arrange to have the body moved to a sheltering facility. This will usually be done by your funeral home or crematorium but if the death was unexpected and/or you don’t have a funeral home you can contact Service BC.

Step 3

Now that the immediate matters have been settled it is time to start letting important people know about the death. This can include family members, friends or employers, basically anyone who needs to know that the death has occurred.

Step 4

You will then need to register the death and acquire a death certificate. If you are making use of a funeral home, crematorium or a lawyer they may handle the whole process or aid in completing this process. 

The process primarily involves registering the death with the BC Vital Statistics Agency and ordering the death certificate involves applying either online or via the mail and paying a small fee.

Step 5

Next you should find the will and estate information for the deceased and determine the identity of the executor or administrator of the estate. This step is important to complete as the will should detail the deceased’s final wishes or designate someone to make decisions regarding their death. 

If there is no will present, you can apply to be named the administrator of the estate for your deceased loved one, giving you the power to make decisions regarding the deceased and their estate.

Step 6

Once you have a picture of your loved one’s final wishes through their will it is time to decide on the disposition of the remains of your loved one. 

Hopefully this decision will be made ahead of time so this step will be mostly unnecessary but if that decision hasn’t been made you will need to decide for either a burial or cremation and whether or not a ceremony like a funeral or memorial service will accompany the disposition.

Step 7

The last step you should take following the death of a loved one is to start cancelling the services and accounts that they are signed up for. In addition, you may want to make use of services like the Canada Bereavement Registry to remove your loved one from any mailing or phone lists they may be on so you aren’t receiving admail or telemarketing calls directed at the deceased.

We hope we have been able to provide you with a useful guide to what happens after a loved one passes away. If you have any questions about cremation services, please feel free to contact us.

Care and Comfort Cremations is located in Vancouver and serves not only Vancouver, but Richmond, Burnaby, and the North Shore. We offer cremations at a fraction of the cost of a traditional funeral home while providing personal service with reverence and respect. If you have any questions about this blog article, please feel free to call us at (604) 260-2156.