Funeral Planning Checklist: A Step-by-Step List of What to Do
Funeral Planning Checklist: A Step-by-Step List of What to Do
When someone dies, there is a lot to organise in a short time, often while you are barely holding it together. This page is a plain, ordered checklist you can work through one item at a time — the immediate steps, the decisions to make, the people to tell, the documents to gather and the service itself. You do not have to do it all today, and you do not have to do it alone. Tick things off as you go, and let others take items off the list for you.
What is on a funeral planning checklist?
A funeral planning checklist breaks the task into ordered steps so nothing important is missed. First come the immediate steps: get the legal pronouncement of death, notify close family, and contact a funeral home or cremation provider to bring the person into their care. Next are the big decisions — burial or cremation, the venue, and the date and time of the service. Then comes notifying people: family, friends, the workplace, and any organisations and accounts that need to be told. You will also gather documents, such as the death certificate, the will, insurance details and any funeral wishes the person wrote down. After that, you plan the service itself: who leads it, readings, eulogy, music, flowers, and how guests are received afterward. Finally there is budgeting and aftercare — choosing what you can afford without pressure, and handling the estate, thank-you notes and a lasting way to remember them. Work through it one item at a time; you do not have to do everything in a single day.
First: the immediate steps
In the first hours and days, only a few things truly need doing. Take them slowly, and let someone help you with the calls if you can.
- Get the death legally pronounced. In a hospital or hospice, staff handle this; at home, you may need to call a doctor or emergency services.
- Tell the closest people first. Immediate family and anyone who would want to be there before others hear it secondhand.
- Contact a funeral home or cremation provider. They will bring the person into their care and guide you through the next steps.
- Find any written wishes. Some people leave funeral instructions, a prepaid plan or notes in a will — check before you decide anything.
- Look after the basics at home. Pets, plants, security and anyone who depended on the person who died.
For a fuller walk-through of these earliest tasks, see our guide to what to do when someone dies.
The key decisions to make
A handful of choices shape everything else. Make them with whoever is closest to the person who died, and honour their wishes where you know them.
- Burial or cremation. This decision affects the venue, the timing and much of the cost.
- The type of service. A traditional funeral, a memorial held later, a graveside service or a small private gathering.
- The venue. A place of worship, a funeral home chapel, a graveside, a home or an outdoor spot that meant something.
- The date and time. Allow enough notice for distant family to travel, while respecting any faith customs about timing.
- Who will lead it. A clergy member, a celebrant or a family member.
If you would like the bigger picture behind these choices, our narrative guide to how to plan a funeral talks each decision through in plain language.
Who to notify and what to gather
Once the basics are settled, work through telling people and collecting the paperwork. Share these jobs out — they are easy to delegate.
- People to notify. Extended family, friends, the workplace, faith community, and anyone the person was close to.
- Organisations to inform. Banks, pensions, insurers, government offices and subscriptions, once you have the death certificate.
- Documents to find. The death certificate (get several copies), the will, insurance policies, ID and any prepaid funeral plan.
- An obituary or death notice, if you would like one — our guide on how to write an obituary makes it simpler.
Keep everything in one folder or notebook so anyone helping can find what they need without asking you again.
The service, the budget and after
With the date set, you can plan the day itself and think gently about cost and what comes after.
- Plan the service elements. The order of service, who speaks, music, flowers and any photos or display.
- Choose readings and a eulogy. Our funeral readings and eulogy examples give you words to start from when your own are hard to find.
- Set a budget you are comfortable with. You can have a meaningful funeral at any level of spending — see how much a funeral costs to plan without pressure.
- Arrange the gathering afterward, if you want one, and decide who will host it.
- Handle aftercare. Thank-you notes, the estate, and a lasting place to remember them when you are ready.
One calm item you can do anytime
Most of this list runs on a clock — but one item has no deadline at all. Creating a digital memorial page is something you can start today or weeks from now, whenever you feel ready. It is a quiet place to gather photographs, a video and the music they loved, and somewhere family and friends can share their own memories in their own time. Many families add the link to an obituary or order of service so people who could not be there can still take part. There is no rush and nothing to get right on the first day.
It is free to create and takes about five minutes. A QR plaque is optional and comes later — the page is the heart of it.
Create a free memorial page
A no-deadline place to gather their story
The digital memorial page is free to create — start free and gather photos, videos and memories in one place, on your own time. The physical QR memorial plaque is an optional keepsake that links that same page to a headstone, a bench or a garden stone with a single scan (you will see the current price on the product page). The page is the heart of it; the plaque is there whenever you want a physical place to point to.
Funeral planning checklist — FAQ
A funeral planning checklist breaks the task into ordered steps. First come the immediate steps: get the legal pronouncement of death, notify close family, and contact a funeral home or cremation provider. Next are the big decisions — burial or cremation, the venue, and the date and time. Then you notify people and organisations, gather documents like the death certificate, will and insurance, and plan the service itself: who leads it, readings, eulogy, music and flowers. Finally there is budgeting and aftercare. Work through it one item at a time; you do not have to do everything in a single day.
Start with the immediate steps. Make sure the death has been legally pronounced — in a hospital or hospice the staff handle this, while at home you may need to call a doctor or emergency services. Then tell the closest family, contact a funeral home or cremation provider to bring the person into their care, and look for any written wishes, a prepaid plan or instructions in a will before you decide anything. Only after these do you move on to the bigger decisions and notifications.
The key documents are the death certificate — get several certified copies, as banks, insurers and government offices each ask for one — along with the will, any life insurance policies, the person's ID, and any prepaid funeral plan or written funeral wishes. Keep everything in a single folder or notebook so anyone helping you can find what they need. The funeral home will tell you exactly which papers they require to proceed.
Tell the closest family and friends first, then work outward to extended family, the workplace, the faith community and anyone the person was close to. Once you have the death certificate, notify the organisations that need to know: banks, pensions, insurers, government offices and subscriptions. You may also want to publish an obituary or death notice. Sharing these calls and messages among several people makes the job far lighter.
A checklist is the actionable, tick-as-you-go format — a plain ordered list of tasks and decisions you can work through under stress without reading a lot. A how-to guide is the fuller narrative walk-through that explains the reasoning behind each choice. Use the checklist to make sure nothing is missed, and read our companion guide on how to plan a funeral when you want the bigger picture behind a particular decision.
Decide early what you can comfortably spend, and remember a meaningful funeral is possible at any level. Compare options from more than one provider, ask for an itemised price list, and choose only the elements that matter to your family — a simpler service, cremation, or a memorial held later can all reduce cost without reducing meaning. Our guide on how much a funeral costs walks through where the money goes so you can plan without pressure.
One quiet item off the list — start a free memorial page in 5 minutes.
When you are ready, create a memorial page to gather their photos and let family share memories, and link it to a resting place with a QR plaque whenever the time feels right.