Planning the Funeral
Who do I contact?
Make contact with your funeral home either by phone or in person at the earliest opportunity - it is not necessary to wait for a death certificate first. Your Funeral Director will be helping you at every stage. We are there to accept complete responsibility for arranging and carrying out the funeral.
When death occurs at home
Inform your doctor as soon as possible. If death is due to natural causes, the doctor will issue a Medical Certificate. At any time, day or night, a telephone call will bring our trained and sympathetic staff to your assistance. Your loved one will then be taken to the funeral home and help and advice will be given with regards to the arrangements.
Death in hospital
Advice and guidance will be given by our trained Funeral Directors or hospital staff.
Funeral arrangements
Having the largest, most comprehensive funeral service in the area we are able to give a complete service. Our funeral homes have viewing lounges where family and friends can pay their last respects in total privacy.
Many other services such as, press announcements, floral tributes, catering, repatriation, interment or cremation in another area and memorials can be provided. Written estimates are given when arrangements are made.
Who can I turn to at this time of need?
We are there when you need us most to offer emotional support, expert advice and practical help. Our service starts from the moment you contact us, whether by telephone or in person.
Where do I have to go to arrange the funeral?
It can be done at our local funeral home or at your own home, or anywhere else convenient for the family, which ever is more comfortable for you.
Can other elements of the funeral be arranged?
We are here to provide a full range of funeral services that include floral tributes, headstones, cremation tablets and many other items in memoriam.
Important decisions and arrangements
A funeral is an event of very personal significance and one of the first decisions you will be making is the choice of a burial or cremation based on the wishes of the deceased, family tradition, religion or culture.
The deceased may have created provisions in their Will, drawn up a funeral plan or made suggestions during their life about how they would like the funeral to be arranged. If this is not the case, then you and your family will need to decide what is appropriate.
Choices you will need to make at this stage are:
- Deciding whether to have a burial or cremation
- Where the funeral will take place - church, cremation chapel, cemetery chapel, graveside or elsewhere
- The type of ceremony and who will officiate - a minister, religious leader, humanist, family relative or friend
- Whether to have flowers or charity donations in lieu of flowers
- If an obituary (notice of death in the newspaper) with the funeral details is needed
- How much you would like to spend on the funeral
With experience in arranging religious and non-religious ceremonies we can support you in making the best decision.
How we support you in planning the funeral
• We arrange the date and time for the funeral ceremony, liaising
with the church, cemetery or crematorium
• All the arrangements will
be confirmed and you will receive a detailed estimate of the costs
• Advice on how to pay - payment for the funeral can often be made
from the proceeds of the deceased’s estate
