Check List

It is so difficult to think of everything in the hours and days after your loved one's death. That's why we're here. That is also why we provide this check list. Please print it out and keep it in a place convenient to you.

  1. Make an appointment with the funeral home. You can call us at (610) 485-6200. We will help coordinate arrangements with the cemetery. We will need some information to complete the State vital statistic requirements and write the obituary and death notice. This includes the information in the box on the right.
  2. Provide us with the contact information for your clergy person. If you do not have a clergy person, we can supply one for you. We will coordinate all the arrangements for you.
  3. We will secure the Death Certificates for you.View a list of individuals and organizations that will require a Death Certificate in the box on the right.
  4. Decide on the appropriate memorial to which donations may be made (i.e., church, hospice, charity, etc.).
  5. If Social Security checks are automatic deposit, notify the Social Security Administration at (800) 772-1213. We will notify the Social Security Administration by mail; however, there is a delay in processing time by the Social Security Administration.
  6. Inform us if you would like us to provide our Supervised Children's Room for child care during the viewing/visitation and service.
  7. Select pallbearers and notify us. (Avoid anyone with heart or back difficulties or make them honorary pallbearers).
  8. Prepare a list of people to receive acknowledgments of flowers, calls, etc. Send appropriate acknowledgments (possibly a written note, a printed acknowledgment, or some of each). Include "thank you's" to those who have given their time as well.
  9. Notify insurance companies and possibly change beneficiaries.
  10. Locate the will and notify your lawyer and the executor.
  11. Check promptly on all debts and installment payments, including credit cards. Some may carry insurance clauses that will cancel them. If there is to be a delay in meeting payments, consult with creditors and ask for more time before the payments are due.
  12. If your loved one was living alone, notify utility companies, if applicable the landlord, and tell the post office where to send all mail.
  13. We will prepare Social Security Form SSA-721. Check with the Social Security Administration to see that the Social Security Number is retired

Required Information for the Death Certificate, Obituary and Death Notice
* = Required for Obituary Only

  1. Full Name
  2. Address
  3. Date and Place of Birth
  4. Father's Name
  5. Mother's Name (with Surname)
  6. Date and Place of Death
  7. Social Security Number
  8. Level of Education
  9. Veteran's Information (Branch, Discharge or Claim Number, War Service, etc.)
  10. Marital Status ( If applicable, Spouse's Name with Surname, * If applicable, Years Married)
  11. Occupation ( Place of Employment, * Year of Retirement)
  12. Cemetery Information
  13. Physician's Name
  14. Informant/Next of Kin (Address and Contact Information)
  15. * Memberships, Past and Present (Church, Fraternal Organizations, etc.)
  16. * Hobbies, Past and Present
  17. * Accomplishments (Educational, Occupational, etc.)
  18. * Survivors (Number of Grandchildren, Great-Grandchildren, and Great-Great-Grandchildren)
  19. * Photo

Items Requiring a Death Certificate
Make sure to have a Death Certificate for each institution, agency or organization providing or holding each of these items.

  1. Social Security Benefits
  2. Insurance Policies
  3. Checking Account
  4. Savings Account
  5. Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
  6. Stocks
  7. Bonds
  8. Deeds (Homes, Land, Trailer Homes, etc.)
  9. Titles (Automobiles, Boats, Motorcycles, etc.)
  10. Pension Funds
  11. IRAs
  12. Loans
  13. Credit Cards
  14. Attorneys