Arranging a funeral
What to do when someone dies - When someone dies, it can be difficult to know what steps need to be taken, particularly if it is unexpected. On this page we guide you through important steps, please do not hesitate to contact us for immediate help.
If the person dies in hospital or at a hospice or care home, then staff there will know exactly what needs to be done and can guide you on anything you need to do. If the death occurs at home, then the first step that needs to happen is for either the doctor, district nurse or ambulance service to be called to confirm and certify the death.
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Following the death, a Medical Certificate of cause of Death will be issued by the GP or Hospital.
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There is sometimes a delay in issuing the certificate i.e.; weekend, evening or the doctor's shift pattern. It is advisable to contact the hospital or surgery by phone before leaving home to make sure that the certificate is ready for collection.
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Please also contact Layzell Funeral Service as soon as possible. We will help to guide you through this process.
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Please give yourself time to come to terms with the loss and to allow close family to attend the bedside before the funeral director arrives. This private time can be very beneficial.
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We will guide you through all the stages concerned and inform you of the duties that you the bereaved have to cope with such as registering the death.
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It is never easy to make important decisions shortly after losing someone.
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Sudden or Unexpected Death
If the deceased was not seen by their own doctor or consultant recently, or hasn't had a condition relating to their death, you must phone either the deceased's doctor, ambulance service or the police. After speaking with the family, the Police will issue a report to the Coroner.
The deceased will then be taken to the mortuary by the coroners contracted operatives.On the Coroners reading of the contents contained, he/she will decide on whether the deceased's local doctor can issue the death certificate or otherwise order a postmortem examination to find out the conclusive cause of death. If a postmortem is being held, only after the postmortem has be concluded by the Pathologist will the death certificate be issued by the same Pathologist.
The Funeral Service
Your wishes for the funeral service will be discussed with you in full by ourselves, either in your own home or at our premises. We will give you all the time you need to make sure that you are comfortable with all the arrangements. We will then contact all necessary Ministers/Celebrants, Churches/Crematoriums, etc. and inform you of the final arrangements as soon as possible.
Below is a list of some of the information that we will need to carry out the arrangements for you.
Burial or Cremation
In the Honiton area, burials are usually in the churchyard of the local church and therefore all taking place at the same location. You may wish to have a woodland burial, again these can take place at the burial ground. Crematoriums local to Honiton would be East Devon Crematorium Whimple, Exeter & Devon Crematorium Exeter and Taunton Deane Crematorium Taunton.
Minister or Celebrant
Churches will have their own Minister who will conduct the service. For cremations and woodland burials you can choose either to have a Minister or Celebrant to officiate.
Hymns and Music
These are some of the difficult but very important decisions that you will have to make. At both churches and crematoriums you can have hymns and recorded or commercial music. Recorded or commercial music will be played on our music system in a Church, however in a crematorium it will be played on their own system where the music is streamed into the crematorium by an external company. These details can be put into a printed order of service, with perhaps photographs. We can take care of this for you or you can do this yourselves.
Newspaper Announcements
We can help you with this, both with wording and also submitting this to the newspaper either local or national.
Floral Tributes and Donations
We can arrange floral tributes for you or you can arrange this yourselves. You may wish to have donations in lieu of flowers? We can take care of administering this for you. We will provide a donation box at either the church or the crematorium and we will look after this on the day of the service. We normally hold the donations for about three weeks after the service in case any donations come in late either to you or forwarded to ourselves. At this point we will give you a call to check that you are comfortable with us sending them to the designated charities. In our letter to the charity, we will add your contact details so that they can send both you and ourselves a letter of acknowledgment.
Cortege details
On the day of the service you may wish to meet the hearse at the church or crematorium, alternatively you may wish to meet at the family home or another personal location and then be escorted to the service location. You may of course use your own transport for this, otherwise you may wish to use one of our seven seat limousines shown below.
Chapels of Rest
At our premises, we have two Chapels of Rest. This can be a private period for anyone wishing to spend quiet time with their loved one. Please ensure that you make an appointment for this.
Layzell Funeral Services
The Old Court,
Dowell St
Honiton EX14 1LZ
Tel: 01404 44646
