Funeral Planning Checklist: Every Decision, in Order

The hospice nurse has left. It is 6 a.m., and your brother asks the question nobody has an answer to: which funeral home? By noon you will have made a dozen decisions you did not know existed.

Planning a funeral is mostly a sequence of choices made under time pressure, by people who have not slept. A checklist does not make the choices for you. It makes sure none get missed and nobody makes the same one twice.

The checklist below follows the order you will actually face things. Print one for the family meeting.

⏱️ What Has to Happen in the First 48 Hours

Only a few things are truly urgent. Everything else can wait a day, even when it does not feel that way.

1. Get a legal pronouncement of death. A hospital or hospice handles this. For an unexpected death at home, call 911.
2. Look for written wishes. A will, a pre-paid funeral contract, or instructions left with family. Check before you choose anything.
3. Decide who is making the arrangements. Usually the spouse or next of kin. One decision-maker prevents a lot of conflict.
4. Call two or three funeral homes for prices. They are required to give you prices over the phone.
5. Tell close family before anything goes online. Nobody should learn about it on social media.

For everything beyond the funeral itself, our what to do when someone dies checklist covers the legal and financial steps in order.

⚖️ Your Rights at the Funeral Home, in Plain English

The Federal Trade Commission’s Funeral Rule gives every family the same protections. Most people never hear about them, which is exactly when overspending happens.

🧭 The Big Decisions, Grouped So They Are Easier to Divide

Split these among family members. One person meeting the funeral director and another handling the readings is faster, and it spreads the weight.

💵 What a Funeral Costs, So the Quotes Make Sense

These are national medians from the funeral directors’ own price survey. Local prices vary a lot, which is why calling two or three homes pays off.

These figures usually leave out the cemetery plot, the headstone and flowers. The cost worksheet in the checklist has a line for each so the total is not a surprise. Keep every receipt, because the estate may repay whoever covered the bill.

📄 The Paperwork That Starts Before the Service

Some of this runs through the funeral home. Confirm which parts, so nothing falls between you.

Once the service is over, the 30-day checklist for after the funeral picks up where this one ends.

🗓️ Planning Your Own Funeral Ahead of Time

The most useful thing you can leave your family is a page of decisions they do not have to make. Burial or cremation, the kind of service, the music, the charity.

Writing it down is not the same as pre-paying. You can record your wishes for free and decide later whether a pre-need contract makes sense. If you do buy one, keep the contract where your family can find it and tell them it exists.

🔐 Keep the Decisions Where the Whole Family Can See Them

A printed checklist on the kitchen table works for the week of the funeral. It does not work for the brother in another state, or for the documents you will need for months afterward.

CareTabs keeps the funeral contract, the death certificate, the insurance policies and the written wishes in one encrypted place, shared with the family members who are helping.

And if handling the estate afterward is more than your family can take on, CareTabs Aftercare assigns a specialist who works through it with you for a flat fee.