Meeting With the Funeral Home



We would like to meet with you within 24 hours following the death to begin making arrangements. Generally we will call you to set an appointment. This can be a difficult time, and we are trained to help.

Before You Meet With the Funeral Home

Having a family conversation before the arrangement conference can be helpful. Try to include everyone in the discussion. Do you know how the deceased felt about funerals or what their final wishes were? Did they have prearrangements made? 

Who Will Make the Decisions?

California law lists those who have the right, duty, and responsibility to make decisions about disposition arrangements after a person's death. They are, in order:

• A person, prior to his or her death.
• An agent under a power of attorney for health care.
• The surviving competent spouse, or the domestic partner.
• The surviving competent adult child or the majority of the surviving competent adult children.
• The surviving competent parent or parents.
• The surviving competent adult sibling or the majority of the surviving competent adult siblings.
• The surviving competent adult person or the majority of the surviving competent adult persons, in the next degree of kinship.

Who Else is Involved in the Arrangements?

Does the deceased have children, friends, family, clergy, or co-workers that would like to be a part of arranging the funeral or participate in the ceremony? You and your loved ones know the deceased best and our funeral home will work with you to help in organizing your service.

Do you have the information gathered for the paperwork?

When a death occurs, it is a legal matter that requires paperwork. To better prepare yourself for the arrangement conference at the funeral home, it may be helpful to gather documents and some information needed in advance. You will need to know the full name of the deceased parents and their Country or State of birth and the Social Security Number of the deceased. You will also need to know how many death certificates to order, so knowing in advance how many bank accounts, brokerage accounts, loans, life insurance policies, vehicle/vessel titles, and real estate deeds they had will be helpful. Some institutions will accept a copy instead of the original, so you can always order additional copies later if needed. 

You will not need to bring all of these documents to the funeral home. Below are a list of documents needed when a death has occurred. The documents important for the funeral home are indicated.

• Account Statements of the deceased
• Life Insurance or Funeral Insurance Policies (bring to arrangement conference)
• Beneficiary Designations
• Deeds for Real Estate
• Cemetery Deed (bring to arrangement conference)
• Automobile and Boat Titles
• Stock & Bond Certificates
• Pre-nuptial Agreements
• Post-nuptial Agreements
• Loans
• Leases
• Copies of Bills (utility, cell phone etc.)
• Last Will and Testament and any Codicils
• Revocable Living Trust
• Power of Attorney/Advance Health Care Directive (bring to arrangement conference)
• Tax Returns
• Social Security Card (bring to arrangement conference)
• Military Discharge Papers (bring to arrangement conference)

If you need assistance, please contact us.