Support When a Death Has Occurred

If the death happens at home, call 911 and explain that you need someone to complete a Pronouncement of Death form. You can then proceed to call a funeral director, who is licensed to care for the body of your loved one.

Funeral homes are licensed to transport the body to a mortuary or a crematory. Lakewood is not licensed to transport a body, but we do work with many funeral homes and can help with various aspects of the process, including helping families choose memorialization. If cremation is chosen, we can also perform the physical cremation and arrange for a cremation witness.

You will need to find out whether the individual who died had made their wishes known or had a prepaid arrangement for cremation or burial. If there are no arrangements in place, a funeral director can help you understand some of the first decisions you will need to make. Lakewood can also provide you with resources and memorialization options.

Here’s a list of choices many people make during this time (some pre-arrange these items, so you may want to check if there’s a will or plan that expresses a loved one’s wishes):

• Contacting a funeral director, cemetery, clergy, legal team or other guides or advisors
• Deciding on cremation or traditional burial
• Deciding on a permanent place of remembrance, including a monument or marker
• Choosing a site and date for a ceremony and details such as music, flowers, participants and transportation
• Casket (if full-body burial) or urn (if cremation)
• Clothing for the deceased
• Pallbearers (if casket burial)
• A place for gathering after the ceremony
• Contacting family and friends
• Writing an obituary
• Contacting an attorney, accountant and/or executor of the estate
• Completing a city or county (death certificate)

Typically, a funeral director, legal professional, clergy or cemetery, like Lakewood, can help you with items on this list. Many people often call on the help of close family and friends to assist them during this difficult period.

Unfortunately that’s quite impossible to predict without knowing what types of arrangements you plan to make. You can check out our Price List for a rough guide, or reach out to us and we can help you make decisions that meet your needs and fit your budget.

While we can’t do everything ourselves, we can certainly guide you through the various steps and decisions. Please allow us to be of service.

While we do not provide licensed grief therapy, we do offer a number of events and programs designed to support you in honoring and memorializing loves ones. Refer to our grief resources section.