Meeting With the Funeral Home

When you are dealing with making final arrangements with funeral homes in Bells, TN. for your loved one’s services, you will undoubtedly feel overwhelmed. The shock and sadness of losing your oved one, plus trying to figure out everything that needs to be handled can leave you feeling confused and mentally exhausted.

To help make this process easier, we are going to talk about some of the important documents and information you should try and bring with you when meeting with the funeral home. These papers can help expedite the arrangements and allow you more time to begin to heal.

Biographical Information to Have

First, the funeral home will need all the biographical information for your loved one. This will include: 

 - Birth certificate

 - Social security card

 - Date of birth

 - Legal address

 - Spouses full name and maiden name (if applicable)

 - Name of schools attended

 - Name of employer

 - Primary care physician name

 - Names of surviving relatives such as siblings, grandchildren, children, etc.

 - Marriage certificate (if applicable)

Personal Paperwork and Documents

This list will vary depending on what your loved one had or didn’t have. A general list can include items such as:

 - Life insurance policies

 - Deeds to cemetery paperwork

 - Any preplanned funeral paperwork

 - Military papers (DD 214 Form)

Personal Items

Other than paperwork, you will need to gather some personal items for you loved one and bring these with you. These items include:

 - Clothing to be buried in- including undergarments, shirt (preferably long sleeves), shoes, socks or hosiery

 - Dentures (if applicable)

 - Any jewelry

 - A recent photograph that can be used as a reference for hair and make up

 - A photo to be used for the obituary

 - Photos to be used in the memorial tribute video

Additional Items You Will Need

These next items are things you will want to begin to gather. You will not need them right away when you first meet with the funeral home, but they are items that you will want to include in the funeral or memorial service. At these services , most families will have a memorial space or table and these items with be included there. Commonly used items include things from the loved one such as their:

 - Awards

 - Framed photographs

 - Crafts

 - Ribbons

 - Other memorabilia  

Keep it Organized

Keeping track of so many documents and papers can be tough. Make sure to stay organized by having one binder or folder you can collect everything in. With the personal items such as clothing, having one box or basket for everything can help keep it all together and organized. 

Final Thoughts

Meeting with funeral homes in Bells, TN to discuss arrangements or your loved one can be overwhelming. Having these papers and information handy with you when you go can make the process a little easier. If you don’t have any of these documents or information, don’t worry. You can reach out to other family members and see if they perhaps have any of the papers, or contact the city or county clerks office for copies of other papers.