What to Do When A Parent Passes

We all know it’s inevitable, especially in later years, but it still hurts and is overwhelming when a parent passes on. The experience seems surreal. Your parent is gone – the person who has been by your side since day one. A parent gave you unconditional love and knows more about you than most people, and now they are no longer there.

After a parent dies, there’s a lot to process. Shock. Pain. Grief. Anger. Sadness. Losing a parent is hard. You can never fully prepare yourself. Your mother or father was a significant part of your life and it will be an adjustment to having them not around.

Everyone grieves differently, but just know you can still move forward without moving on – your parent can always be with you – they helped shaped you into who you are. It’s important to take care of yourself and be kind to yourself during your grieving process. Look for activities or methods to help you get through the hard times. No one will fill the void of that parent in your life but you can heal and carry that hole with you. Grieving has no timeline, you’ll have good and bad days, but you will get through it and live in the present again.

Things to Do Right After a Parent Passes On

Not only are you filled with emotion, you now have the stress of things you need to do after a parent dies. It is a good idea to have a checklist to help you through your responsibilities during the first few days and weeks after the death. If possible, get help with these responsibilities. 

Here are some things you need to do right after a parent passes away:

1. Get a death certificate. You will need to contact the right person, depending on the circumstances, to declare the death. If they died at home, call 911 and they will take the person to the hospital where the doctor will make the pronouncement. If they died at home on hospice, the hospice agency will handle the death certificate. If they died in a hospital or nursing home, someone onsite will get the death certificate.
2. Find out if your parent was an organ donor and make arrangements immediately.
3. Arrange for funeral preparations. A funeral home will come and transport the body to the morgue. If no funeral arrangements have been made prior to death, you and your family will have to choose a funeral home, choose burial or cremation, find and arrange for a burial spot, and decide a budget. If the funeral was prepaid, the funeral home will take the body and handle everything.

Here are some things you need to do right within a few days of your parent’s death:

1. Notify family members.
2. Call the parent’s employer if still working.
3. Take care of your parent’s home.
4. Contact the life insurance company, if your parent has a policy, to start the process.

Here are some things you need to do within a few weeks of your parent’s death:

1. Notify Social Security. The funeral home can often notify SSA for you.
2. Obtain copies of the death certificate for some tasks. Certified copies cost $20.
3. Cancel health insurance, auto insurance, and life insurance.
4. Meet with the parent’s attorney to settle the will.
5. Handle the assets. Contact the parent’s financial adviser if he/she had one. Contact the parent’s attorney to file the estate return.
6. Close credit card accounts. Notify the credit reporting agencies of your parent’s death.
7. Cancel your parent’s driver’s license and voter registration.

Other things to do after your parent dies: write an obituary, paying bills (cable, phone), probating the will. Dealing with a parent’s death is not easy, but if you know everything you need to do post-death, you can get through it faster and easier. Remember, delegate a lot of the tasks above to alleviate stress and accept help with offered.

Looking for a Funeral Homes in Jacksonville, Florida?

Like stated above, looking for a funeral home is one of the steps you need to do immediately following the death of a parent, if the funeral wasn’t pre-planned.

As a Jacksonville, Florida, funeral home, we know every family has different needs, and we have the expertise and skills to meet your needs. Our team at Evergreen Cemetery, Funeral Home & Crematory. would be honored to work with you and your family for this process in your time of need.

We have served the Jacksonville community since 1880. We provide personalized and meaningful funeral services and cremation services to our clients in the Jacksonville community.

If you’re looking for funeral home Jacksonville, Fl, our team at Evergreen can help you with the process – we promise to do our best in helping you with your parent’s resting place. We look forward to talking with you about funeral, cremation, and cemetery options.  Call us at 904-353-3649 for more information, or visit our funeral home Jacksonville, FL contact page.