When Death Occurs

If your loved one passes away while under the care of a facility — such as a nursing home or a hospital — staff from the facility will contact you and notify appropriate authorities themselves.

If the death occurred at home, you will need to contact emergency medical personnel, or any hospice or visiting nurse that may have been caring for your loved one.

In the event that no one was present at the time of death, you will need to contact the police.

Our caring funeral director can assist you with your funeral arrangements. We will collect information from you in order to facilitate the transfer of your loved one’s remains to our facility. You would also be asked if the deceased has made pre-arrangements and whether you plan to arrange services which would require for him/her to be embalmed, such as a funeral with viewing. While of course you can ask any questions you have in your mind during this call, note that once you visit the funeral home, we can discuss the arrangements in greater detail.

During this call, you’ll also be informed about the things that you need to bring with you like the clothes your deceased loved one will use for the burial. Feel free to call us whenever you feel the need to. Remember that we are here to listen to you, help you, and guide you during this difficult and trying time.

We will discuss the arrangements for your loved one, either at the Funeral Home or in a virtual or phone meeting, whichever is best for you. You will be shown a list of our packages/services so you can decide what suits your family’s preferences and budget. You will be asked whether you’d prefer burial or cremation arrangements and optionally you would select a casket, schedule a time and date for the services, decide on the location of the burial, draft an obituary notice, arrange for vehicle services, and select pallbearers.

We would also use this opportunity to inquire about your loved one for us to have a better understanding of the person whom the services will honor.

A death certificate is a legal document indicating the cause of death, including other vital statistics pertaining to the deceased, signed by the attending physician. In case your loved one died due to an accident, the state medical examiner may prepare the form. We will file a death certificate using the Massachusetts Electronic Death Registry System. Certified copies of the death certificate can also be purchased at the same time. Most cities/towns charge $10-$20 per certified copy. These certified copies are important when gaining access to bank accounts and safety deposit boxes, claiming for benefits due to the family (like the Veteran’s benefits or insurance claims), and transferring or selling ownership of properties.