What to Bring to the Funeral Home When a Death Has Occurred

Visiting a funeral home to plan funeral arrangements for your loved one’s services is difficult. You will undoubtedly be experiencing grief and may feel overwhelmed with all that needs to be handled. One thing you can do to help ease some of the stress is to bring proper documents when you visit the funeral home. Not sure what to include? Here is a list of the important things you will need when making arrangements with funeral homes in Dickson, TN.

Documents for Biographical Information

To help facilitate things such as the death certificate, notifying social security, and more, it helps if you can gather some essential biographical information about the deceased. Things you will need include:

• Social security card (or number)
• Date of birth
• Name of their primary care physician
• Legal address
• Spouse’s full name including maiden name (if applicable)
• Wedding date (if applicable)
• Names of employer
• Name of any schools attended
• Parents’ full names and birthplace including mother’s maiden name
• Name of any surviving relatives such as children, siblings, grandchildren, etc.
• Details about military service (if applicable)

Miscellaneous Important Documents

Other than the biographical information, there are other papers you may need to bring. If your loved one had any of the following, make sure to bring any paperwork associated with:

• Life insurance policy
• Prearrangement paperwork for funeral
• Cemetery paperwork
• Military discharge papers (DD 214 Form)

Personal Items

While these are not documents, personal items are also something you need to be aware of and bring with you. This will help the funeral home be able to do things like help better write the obituary as well as prepare the body for services. Personal items you should bring include:

• The clothing they will be buried in including
  • Undergarments
  • Socks or hosiery
  • Shoes
• Dentures (if applicable)
• Jewelry
• Glasses (if applicable)
• A recent photo that shows their hairstyle as well as their makeup use (to be used for reference to prepare the body)
• One photograph for their online obituary
• Photos for use in their memorial video

Items for Funeral Services

While you won’t need all of these items right away, something to think about is what items you will want to have included in the services and begin gathering them. This is a great time to ask other family members to help as they may have access to some of these items. It can also help take some of the burdens off of your shoulders. Some items to think about gathering include:

• Items for the memorial tables such as
  • Awards received
  • Framed photographs
  • Any memorabilia
• Visitor’s registration book
• Prayer cards or other funeral favors for guests
• Memorial program

Final Thoughts

Planning a funeral for your loved one is not an easy thing to do. Not only will you be dealing with your grief, but you may be unsure of what needs to be completed and what documents and papers you need. When you are dealing with this situation, make sure you reach out to the directors of funeral homes in Dickson, TN as we are here to help you in this process and help ease some of your stress.