What should you do first when someone dies?

Three things are genuinely urgent: get a legal pronouncement of death (hospital or hospice staff handle this, or call 911 for an unexpected death at home), arrange transport of the body through a funeral home or crematory, and notify immediate family. Everything else — the obituary, service planning, wider announcements — can wait a day or more. Also check early for any written funeral wishes or a prepaid plan before signing anything.

How long do you have to plan a funeral?

A burial service typically happens within about a week of death, so most planning decisions land in the first several days. Cremation removes that time pressure: a memorial service can be held weeks or even months later, which helps families who are scattered or need time to travel. Either way, the truly urgent decisions — care of the body, burial versus cremation, choice of provider — occupy roughly the first 48 hours.

Do you have to use a funeral home's full package?

No. The FTC Funeral Rule protects your right to buy goods and services individually, so a provider cannot condition the sale of one item on your buying another. Two things families often miss: embalming is not required by law in most ordinary circumstances, and a provider may not charge for it without your permission; and providers must accept a casket purchased elsewhere without charging a handling fee, though that same protection does not formally extend to urns — many providers accept outside urns anyway, so ask about fees up front. A bundled package is still allowed and is sometimes genuinely cheaper, so ask to see the package price and the itemized price side by side before choosing.

How many copies of the death certificate do you need?

Order several certified copies — many families request 5 to 10, usually through the funeral home. Banks, life insurance companies, and government agencies each tend to require their own certified copy to close accounts or process claims, and ordering them together at the start is typically easier and cheaper than requesting more from the vital records office later.

Planning Basics

How to Plan a Funeral: A Step-by-Step Checklist by Day

The Farewell Ledger · Updated 2026-07-19 · 5 min read

In shortTo plan a funeral, handle three urgent tasks first: obtain a legal pronouncement of death, arrange transport of the body, and notify close family. On days two and three, decide between burial and cremation, compare prices from two or three funeral homes (the FTC Funeral Rule entitles you to itemized price lists), and set the date and venue. Days four through seven cover the service details — casket or urn, obituary, officiant, music — and confirming day-of logistics. When the person who died is a parent, settle early which adult child will sign as authorizing agent, since siblings are usually equal next of kin.

Contents

How to Plan a Funeral, Step by Step
The First 24 Hours: Only Three Things Are Urgent
Days 2–3: The Big Decisions
Days 4–5: Build the Service
Days 6–7: Confirm and Communicate
The Service Day: Your Only Job Is to Be There
What Can Wait Until After

How to Plan a Funeral, Step by Step

Planning a funeral comes down to a short list of decisions made in a rough order: secure care of the body, choose burial or cremation, pick a funeral home, set a date and venue, then handle the details of the service itself. Almost everything else — flowers, music, obituary wording — can wait until the essentials are settled. This guide walks through the process day by day, so you know what genuinely must happen now and what can safely wait.

One reassurance before the checklist: nothing on this list requires perfection. Funeral directors arrange services every week; you are allowed to ask basic questions, ask them twice, and take a night to decide.

The First 24 Hours: Only Three Things Are Urgent

The first day feels like it demands everything at once. It doesn't. Three tasks matter immediately; the rest can wait.

Get a legal pronouncement of death. If the death happens in a hospital, hospice, or nursing facility, staff handle this. If it happens at home unexpectedly, call 911. If it happens at home under hospice care, call the hospice nurse.
Arrange transport of the body. Once you choose a funeral home (or a crematory, for direct cremation), they pick up the body — including from a hospital or home, at any hour. If you have not chosen yet, hospitals can usually hold the body briefly while you decide. You do not have to commit to the first name someone suggests.
Notify the closest circle. Immediate family and anyone who would want to be present. Wider announcements, social media, and the obituary can all wait.

Also worth doing on day one if you can: look for any written funeral wishes — a prepaid plan, a letter of instruction, or preferences noted in a will. Prepaid arrangements change everything about the next steps, so check before signing anything elsewhere.

Days 2–3: The Big Decisions

Choose burial or cremation

This is the decision that shapes cost, timeline, and venue. Burial typically means a service within about a week; cremation allows a memorial weeks or even months later, which relieves enormous scheduling pressure on scattered families. If the person left no instructions, the decision usually falls to the next of kin. When the person who died is a parent and there are several adult children, most states treat those siblings as equal next of kin, which in practice means the funeral home will want them to agree — or will ask one sibling to sign as the authorizing agent with the others' consent. Settling that question early, out loud, prevents a stalled cremation authorization later. Cost differs substantially — cremation is generally the less expensive path — and our guide to what funerals actually cost breaks down honest ranges for both.

Choose a funeral home — and get prices first

Under the FTC Funeral Rule, funeral homes must give you an itemized General Price List on request, must quote prices over the phone, and cannot require you to buy packages — you may select only the items you want. Call two or three providers before committing; prices for the same services can vary widely in the same town. It is completely normal to comparison-shop, even in grief.

Set the date, time, and venue

Coordinate with the funeral home, your clergy or officiant if you want one, and the key family members who must travel. Lock the date before ordering anything else, because everything downstream depends on it.

Days 4–5: Build the Service

With the essentials fixed, the personal decisions follow. A useful way to divide the work:

Task	Who usually handles it
Casket or urn selection	Family, at the funeral home (or purchased elsewhere — providers must accept outside caskets)
Obituary drafting and placement	A family member who writes well; the funeral home can assist
Officiant, order of service, readings	Family with clergy or celebrant
Pallbearers and eulogists	Family — ask early so people can prepare

Delegate deliberately. People will offer help; give them real assignments, whole rather than in pieces. Music and photo displays, flowers and the "in lieu of donations" wording, airport pickups, and meal coordination are all jobs a friend or a cousin can own outright and report back on once.

This is also the window to request certified copies of the death certificate — usually through the funeral home. Order several (many families get 5–10), since banks, insurers, and government agencies each tend to want their own copy.

Days 6–7: Confirm and Communicate

Confirm all times in writing with the funeral home, venue, and officiant.
Publish the obituary with service details, or share arrangements directly with your contact list.
Arrange the practical day-of logistics: transportation for immediate family, seating for those who need it, a reception or gathering afterward if you want one.
Walk through the order of service once with whoever is officiating.

The Service Day: Your Only Job Is to Be There

If the previous steps are done, the funeral home and officiant run the day. A few things worth settling the night before:

Arrive early, but not by much. Immediate family are usually asked to come 30 to 60 minutes ahead — for a receiving line, a private viewing, or simply to be seated first. Ask the funeral director for the exact time rather than guessing.
Know what the funeral home is already handling. Setup, seating, music cues, transport of the body, coordinating with the cemetery or crematory, and keeping the schedule are theirs. You do not need to supervise any of it.
Give one person the paperwork. Put the order of service, any permits or cemetery documents, the officiant's contact number, and the eulogy copies in a single folder held by one non-immediate-family point person, who can also field questions so you don't have to.

What Can Wait Until After

Grief has a long tail, and so does paperwork — but none of it belongs in week one. Notifying insurers and banks, closing accounts, and settling the estate can all begin in the weeks that follow. For decisions with financial weight, start with our funeral cost guides before you sign anything. And for the grief itself, a licensed counselor or an established support group is the right resource — this checklist covers the logistics, and the logistics are only half of it.