1. Contact Flynn Funeral and Cremation Memorial Centers, Inc. by calling (800) 750-8021 as soon as a death has occurred. Our competent and understanding staff is available to answer your calls 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We will set an appointment with you to meet with our licensed funeral director, so that we can help coordinate arrangements with the cemetery, church and clergy. You will need to be able to provide the following information to complete the State of New York vital statistic requirements:
- Birth date
- Birthplace: city, county
- Father’s name
- Mother’s name (including maiden)
- Social Security number
- Veteran’s discharge or claim number for Civil Service
- Education level
- Marital status
2. The funeral home will assist you in determining the number of copies of the death certificates you will need and we will get these for you.
3. Make a list of immediate family, close friends and employer, or business colleagues. Notify each by phone.
4. Decide on an appropriate memorial to which gifts may be made (church, hospice, library, charity, or school), if desired.
5. Gather obituary information, including age, place of birth, occupation, college degrees, memberships held, military service, outstanding works, and list of survivors in immediate family. Provide the time and place of services. The funeral home will normally write an article and submit to the local newspapers on your behalf. You will be asked to proofread before submission to prevent any mistakes. Please be aware that our local newspaper (Times Herald Record) now charges for this service.
6. Prepare a list of insurance companies, to include name of company and policy number. Flynn Funeral and Cremation Memorial Centers will notify all of the death. In addition, we will gather and
prepare all necessary forms for your signature. The proceeds will be sent directly to you, unless you wish to do an insurance assignment for the funeral charges.
7. Flynn Funeral and Cremation Memorial Centers will notify Social Security for you. We recommend that you check with Social Security to confirm that the deceased’s number has been retired. The $255 death benefit is payable ONLY if there is a surviving spouse, or a child under 18 or a disabled child.
8. If Social Security checks are automatically deposited, notify the bank of the death.
9. Arrange for members of family or close friends to take turns answering the door or phone, keeping careful record of calls. Try not to leave the home unattended during this time, including during the services.
10. Consider any special needs of the household, such as cleaning or shopping for items like trash bags or paper goods.
11. Arrange for childcare, if necessary.
12. Arrange hospitality for visiting relatives and friends.
13. Select pallbearers and notify the funeral home. We will be glad to contact them for you.
14. Plan for the disposition of flowers after the services. We will deliver all cards and potted plants to your home, and normally all cut flower arrangements are left at the graveside.
15. Prepare list of distant persons to be notified by letter and/or printed notice, and decide which to send to each.
16. Send appropriate acknowledgments to those who sent flowers, brought food, or gave their time to be of service (can be written note, printed acknowledgments, or some of each). It is not necessary to send an acknowledgement card to every person who signed the register.
17. Locate the will and notify lawyer and executor.
18. Check carefully all life and casualty insurance and death benefits, including Social Security, credit unions, trade unions, fraternal, and military. Check also on income for survivors from these sources.
19. Check promptly on all debts and installment payments, including credit cards. Some may carry insurance clauses that will cancel them. If there is to be a delay in meeting payments, consult with creditors and ask for more time before the payments are due.
20. If the deceased was living alone, notify utilities and landlord and tell the post office where to send mail.
