Pre-Planning

When Death Occurs

You and your family must make many decisions and gather numerous facts and documents when a death occurs. We realize this is a very difficult time and want you to know we are here to help.

Following is some information we hope you will find helpful as you take care of your loved one's final arrangements.

• Notification of the Proper Authorities
• The Death Certificate
• Preparing for the Arrangements
• Celebrating the Life of the Deceased
• Preplanning Information

If death is expected in the near-term but has not occurred yet, then we encourage you to make arrangements with us ahead of time. To do this, please call the Duesterberg-Fredrick Funeral Home of your choice to make an appointment to sit down with a funeral director ahead of time.

At the time of death, our first priority is to arrange to take custody and care for the deceased. Depending on where the death occurs and under what circumstances, the following explains what you should do:

Death in an Institution: When death occurs at a hospital or nursing home, the medical staff will generally take care of all necessary legal steps. All you would need to do is notify the staff which Duesterberg-Fredrick Funeral Home (e.g. Duesterberg-Fredrick Funeral Home or Wampler Shaw Chapel) will be handling arrangements so that they can have you sign any necessary release paperwork. When death occurs, they will contact us to make arrangements so that we may assume custody of the deceased.

Anticipated Death at Home: Today, many people choose to be at home with Hospice or Home Health Care assisting the family until death occurs. In this situation, you would simply notify Hospice which Duesterberg-Faredrick Funeral Home will be handling arrangements, and they will take care of all necessary legal requirements including contacting the attending physician, the Medical Examiner, and finally the funeral home. Many families facing this situation elect to make a prearrangement with us so that they are not overwhelmed with the many important decisions associated with final arrangements.

Unanticipated Death at Home or Elsewhere: In these situations, immediately call 911 emergency services. The police and emergency personnel will then determine the appropriate steps to be taken. Only when it is appropriate will our firm be contacted to take custody of the remains.

Death out of state: If death occurs outside of Indiana, please call Duesterberg-Fredrick Funeral Home (812) 882-8721 or Wampler Shaw Chapel (812) 735-3388. We will coordinate with a local funeral director at the place of death. By being a member of several national associations, we can often save money by having our firm make the arrangements. Perhaps even more important than saving money is selecting a reputable local funeral home to provide these important services.

There are several other questions that you may have in regards to the death of a loved one. By contacting the Duesterberg-Fredrick Funeral Home of your choice, we will assist you in answering any question you have.

The Death Certificate: A death certificate is a legal document signed by the attending physician indicating the cause of death and other vital statistics pertaining to the decedent. If your loved one died in an accident, the county medical examiner or coroner may prepare the form. The funeral arranger can help you prepare and file the death certificate with the state and assist you with purchasing certified copies. Certified copies are needed to apply for benefits due the family, to sell or transfer ownership of property, to gain access to safety deposit boxes and bank accounts and to receive Veteran's benefits. Additional copies may be ordered at any time directly from the county or state agency responsible for vital statistics.

Preparing for Arrangements

Funeral Arrangement Conference

To assure that one of our funeral directors is immediately available and can devote the time and attention needed to make quality arrangements, we request that you call to schedule a mutually convenient arrangement time. Although the majority of arrangement conferences take place at one of our funeral homes during normal business hours, we will upon request come to your residence or meet during evenings and weekends. Our staff is available to respond to your need 24 hours a day during every day of the year.

In preparation for making funeral arrangements, we request that you bring the following items, some of which may not be applicable for your situation:

• Vital Statistic Information
• Full Legal Name
• Mother's First and Maiden Name
• Date of Birth
• Years of Education
• Social Security Number
• Immediate Family
• Occupation and details
• Marriage Information
• Military Discharge Papers (Form DD214)
• Recent photograph
• Clothing including all normal items
• Jewelry and personal items if desired
• Insurance Papers (if used to pay for the funeral)
• Cemetery Deed

At the funeral arrangement conference, and providing you have not already made a prearrangement with us, our funeral director will request vital statistics information for use in completing the death certificate. With this information, we will administrate obtaining signature from the certifier (physician or medical examiner) after which it will be filed with the State of Indiana. During the arrangements process, we will ask whether you wish to purchase certified copies of the death certificate that are available from the State at a nominal fee. As a normal part of our service, we will also file necessary papers with the Social Security Administration and with the Department of Veterans Affairs (if applicable).

Celebrating the Life of the Deceased

We believe a funeral service should be special and personalized to honor the life of the deceased, and to create a positive long lasting memory for surviving family. Towards that end, we strive to provide many options regarding how a family can say good-bye to their loved one. Regardless of which option a family selects, two important considerations translate to meaningful funeral service. First and foremost, funeral services, which incorporate significant personalization celebrating the life of the deceased, provide significant meaning and comfort to families. Second, funeral ceremonies benefit the needs of the living, not the deceased. As such, the design of the funeral service should balance the needs of the living with any wishes expressed by the deceased. You can expect our funeral director and support staff to assist you with accomplishing this goal. By having a funeral that celebrates and reflects on a life well lived, you allow the opportunity for everyone your loved one ever knew to have a chance to say good bye!

Over the years, we have learned through experience the more a funeral service is personalized to celebrate the life of a loved one, the more meaningful it becomes to surviving family members and friends. Please know that it does not matter whether the service will be large or small, nor does it matter the amount of money spent. Rather, meaningful funerals incorporate what the deceased was in life, and in this manner, celebrates a life lived. With this is mind, the following are suggestions that lend personalization to the funeral service. These suggestions may cause you to think of several other unique ways to celebrate the life of the deceased, and we encourage you to challenge us with these requests understanding that we will make every effort to implement your wishes.

Memory Boxes

Simple items such as a memory box can be used to rekindle and preserve favorite memories. For example, family and friends may write a note to say goodbye in their own way or alternatively place items special to them in the memory box. The memory box is often placed in the burial or cremation casket with their loved one. We've often seen young people find meaning in decorating the box so that not only the items inside but also the decoration outside lend personalization.

Memory Boards and Tables

Memory boards and tables have become a common way to personalize a funeral service. Photographs and other memorabilia can be displayed at the visitation and service. These items are often cherished and stimulate positive memories regarding the deceased. In this way, they also lend comfort to those left behind. We provide families with poster boards at no extra charge. They can be taken home and decorated with photographs. Memory table space is also provided to display items of significance.

Personalized Memorial Folders

Memorial Folders have traditionally been used at memorial or funeral services. By personalizing the memorial folder with photos, verses or special sayings, the memorial folder becomes a keepsake for those who want to preserve cherished memories of someone special.

Personal Funeral Service

Other ways to personalize the funeral service, memorial gathering or visitation include music. We encourage you to incorporate the favorite song/artist of the deceased. All we need is a compact disc or cassette containing the music desired. If your loved one had a hobby or was involved in the arts, crafts or photography, bring some of their work to be displayed at the visitation or funeral service. If your loved one enjoyed favorite scripture or other writings, please advise us so that we can suggest ways to incorporate this into the service. Consider incorporating eulogies into the funeral service. Often times, close friends or family know the deceased better than the presiding clergy and as such can better reflect on the life of the deceased in a more personal way. After all, who better to speak about the deceased that someone who knew the deceased on a personal basis. In processing to the cemetery, consider a favorite place your loved one liked to go, or someplace of significance to the life lived. With this input, we can often arrange to have the procession pass by this place.

Preplanning Information

We have found that part of the stress families feel when making funeral arrangements is the time pressure and unfamiliarity with the task. By making funeral arrangements in advance, there is no time pressure, which allows you the customer the opportunity to make better decisions regarding your funeral arrangements. Also, we find that family members appreciate knowing the wishes of their relative, relieving them of the burden of making those decisions. Sometimes, prearranging is beneficial when one's family structure is complicated and as such, knowing who might act as the decision maker is not easily known. Prearranging is popular, with as many as half of our customers making arrangements ahead of time.

The reasons people prearrange include:

• Relieves surviving family members of the emotional burden associated with making funeral arrangement decisions.
• By prepaying funeral expenses, it relieves surviving members of the financial burden associated with funeral final expenses.
• Protects assets from confiscation due to long-term care expenses.
• Allows a less stressful environment in which one can make important decisions.
• Provides a record of your wishes that will be accessible by surviving family members.
• Allow surviving family members to concentrate on the memories of a lifetime rather than the details surrounding death.
• Allows the customer to determine exactly how much to spend for funeral services.
• Transfers the risk of inflation of funeral costs to the funeral home.
• Reduces the opportunity for intra-family conflict regarding funeral arrangement decisions.
• Offers the opportunity to pay for funeral expenses in installments.

Why do we recommend prearrangement? Because we've never had a family tell us that they regretted that they had prearranged. Conversely, we do serve families ill prepared when death occurs, causing potentially great burden, both emotional and financial, to surviving family members.

What about portability and other possibilities? While all who purchase plans from us intend to use our firm, certain contingent factors could arise that could cause them to change their mind. For example, they could unexpectedly move to another part of the country and perhaps change their view of returning to this area, even after death. To protect our customers and possible contingencies, all monies normally available to us at death can be redirected for use at any funeral home nationwide. No penalty is deducted from available funds nor is any reduction of growth of the policy held back should the customer desire to use another funeral home. Our business philosophy is summed up in a No Regrets Service Guarantee, and we want the same to apply to those purchasing a prearrangement plan from us, even if ultimately they do not use our firm.

How do I prearrange?

We will assist you with making your funeral arrangements in advance. There is no cost or pressure associated with making advance plans, and it is possible to put significant biographical and arrangements information on file with us without pre-paying for your funeral expenses. Towards this end, we desire to educate you on the options available so that you can make intelligent decisions regarding what is best for you and your family. To arrange for an appointment or to ask questions regarding this service, please call the Duesterberg-Fredrick Funeral Home (812) 882-8721 or the Wampler Shaw Chapel (812) 735-3388 or contact us via email.