Things You Need To Take Care Of After A Loved One Passes

There are no words that can accurately describe the pain and sadness that comes from dealing with the death of a loved one. As anyone who has had to deal with this experience can tell you, failing to plan ahead can take a sad situation and turn it into something that is even more painful.

Discussing end-of-life plans with your family members can be extremely difficult. No one wants to think about the death of the people they love or about their own death. However, having this difficult discussion now can make the immediate aftermath of the death of a person you love more tranquil and less turbulent. This is especially the case when we are talking about dealing with a loved one who is terminally ill. Once you have this challenging discussion and once end-of-life arrangements have been made, the rest of the time can be spent focusing on caring for the terminally ill individual.

Things to Take Care of Immediately after a Loved one’s Death

The first thing that you will need to take care of is getting the deceased individual legally pronounced dead. If there is a doctor that is present at the time of death, he or she can do this. If not, another professional must be contacted. In the case of individuals who are under hospice care, a hospice nurse can declare the individual legally dead and also arrange transportation of the body. If the individual dies at home and they are not under hospice care, then you will need to dial 911. Having a do not resuscitate document prepared will allow the paramedics to simply take the deceased individual to a doctor and have the individual declared dead.

Additionally, arrangements should be made for transportation of the body. The mortuary or crematorium that you choose to prepare the body for burial is required by law to provide you with an exact price over the phone. From there, the deceased individual’s doctor should be contacted. Arrangements should be made to contact friends and family. Many times, it is beneficial to delegate this responsibility to another responsible and caring individual.

Take steps to look after any dependents that the deceased individual has. This would include taking steps to look after pets that might be in the home. Also, contact the deceased individual’s employer. Ask about any death benefits that the individual might have had. Also, make arrangements to collect any pay that is due the individual.

Steps to Take within the First Few Days after the Death of a Loved One

Make plans to arrange for the burial or cremation of the deceased loved one. This would include preparing an obituary. Arrange for individuals to care for the deceased individual’s home, get their mail, and answer any phone calls that they might have.

After the funeral, the focus will have to change to legal matters associated with your loved one’s death. This would include collecting financial documents, death certificates, and any insurance documents. It is a good idea to hire a probate lawyer so that they can review any wills or estate plans that were made.

If it is clear that your loved one died because of the negligence of another individual or because of malpractice on the part of a doctor, this would also be a good time to contact a Wrongful Death Lawyer Louisville. These lawyers will kindly work with you and help you make sure that you receive the compensation you deserve. Their assistance can be invaluable when dealing with the wrongful death of a loved one.

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