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This will vary according to your circumstance. Of course I would recommend that you choose a reputable funeral establishment whose Funeral Directors can assist you with these needs.While the average person deals with a death only once every seven years and may only be responsible for arranging funerals once or twice in a lifetime, these are issues and concerns we deal with every day. Seek out a reputable Funeral Home whose directors promise to help you with filing insurance claims and other administrative tasks that may be too difficult in such a trying time.Social Security BenefitsIn most states, these will be stopped by a Notice of Death by Funeral Director. There is a one-time death benefit available to surviving spouses only (currently $255), for which you will need to visit your local Soc. Sec. Admin. office with (possibly) a copy of your marriage license and a certified copy of your loved one's Death Certificate.Death CertificatesGenerally speaking, you will need a certified copy of your loved one's Death Certificate for each of the following purposes: changing the name(s) on or closing out banking accounts and financial instruments (banking and investment accounts, etc.); changing or removing a name on a vehicle title; changing or removing a name on property titles; making a claim on an insurance policy (one per policy); making a claim on pension or retirement benefits; and other official purposes. Let's say, for instance, your loved one dies with two cars, a house, a checking account, an investment account, two small life insurance policies, and a retirement account. In this case, I would advise getting 10 certified copies of the Death Certificate: one for each listed item and two "just-in-case" copies. It is generally faster to get these copies the first time around (from the county/parish health unit through your Funeral Director) rather than re-order (generally from your state health unit).Always always always ask if the company or agent will accept a photocopy of a Death Certificate, as this will prevent you from needlessly handing out one of your certified copies.Making ClaimsA good Funeral Director will take care of life insurance policies and military benefits and help you with other needs. In some cases, in fact, it is possible for you to use life insurance policies to directly cover the cost of funeral services by what is called an Insurance Benefit Assignment, whereby the Funeral Home would be paid its charges out of the policy benefit and the remainder of the money would be sent to the beneficiary. In other cases, you will need to call the company who holds the policy or policies and secure a claim form to be completed and sent in.Estates, Wills, and TrustsYou will almost always need to seek out the advice and assistance of an attorney to probate wills and other such documents. The cost of such assistance will vary according to your location."Other Stuff""Other Stuff" will inevitably come up. Call your Funeral Home or other funeral service provider for local concerns or with questions or difficulties. This is why it is SO IMPORTANT to choose a reputable funeral establishment who provides a great service and is available to help after your loved one has been buried or cremated.I am an Apprentice Funeral Director. This advice is meant for your benefit and will not be applicable in all cases.

I'll just cut and paste this answer from Reddit, apoligies to the original writer. It feels a bit like bad form to paste so much, but it is a very enlightning piece:What is a "dirty little (or big) secret" about an industry that you have worked in, that people outside the industry really ought to know? • /r/AskRedditThrowaway, obviously. I'm a funeral director. Our entire industry is basically a pyramid scheme. It blows my mind how blindly people accept that certain things "have to" be done to the body of their loved one. Think about that for a second: this is the last tangible remnant of someone you loved and you are now going to pay stranger thousands (oftentimes HUNDERDS of thousands) of dollars to (warning: graphic from here on out) systematically mutilate that body.There is nothing dignified about having one's mouth wired shut, eyelids forced closed by spiked plastic contact lenses, and ramming a trocar into the abdomen to puncture organs so that they can be suctioned out. After the embalming fluid is introduced, the anus and vagina are stuffed with cotton and other absorbent materials to prevent what we refer to as “purge.” This charming phenomenon can occur any time after death – yes, before or after embalming, at any stage of decomposition – when the fluid created by tissues breaking down is leaked through any nearby orifice, oftentimes the nether regions.The process creates an enormous environmental problem; using toxic chemicals which are flushed into our sewers along with those pureed livers, hearts, spleens, pancreas' which then also flow into our sewers. Oh, what’s that? I told you embalming is a legal requirement for public sanitation? That’s utter bullshit. If anything, it creates a sanitation problem if the cemetery you use is anywhere near a municipal water line, which most “commercial” cemeteries are.In fact, in most states, the law only requires embalming if you are transporting a body across state lines or are not planning to inter for more than 72 hours and/or having a public viewing. It has not a single thing to do with public health. It’s a cash cow, plain and simple. It is barbaric, costly, and does not keep the body from deteriorating. But we’ll tell you just about anything you need to hear to get you to agree to it.What I’m doing here is incredibly illegal and I know it, but on the slim-to-none-chance that you’re a sharp-minded consumer in the midst of your grief and call my state’s licensing board about it, all I have to do simply tell them you were mistaken. I’ve seen funeral directors force-feed families absolute horseshit – saying anything – to get them to sign a contract. Here’s a hint: don’t sign any pre-printed “form” contracts. Most of the contracts we use are super vague, so we can charge you for just about anything and justify it by pointing to your signature on the dotted line. It is in your best interest to only agree to specific itemized charges – i.e., have the hearse but no limousines. Or have hair/makeup done without any embalming. The law is very specific and on your side, but we count on your ignorance and vulnerability.Even better, find a trusted friend or family member who is more emotionally stable right now and appoint them as your lawyer/detective. You know that bitchy sister-in-law everyone has who makes major holidays a nightmare? I can spot her a mile away and will do everything I can to keep her out of financial discussions – because I know she will take that obnoxious nagging and throw it at me for every single penny I’m trying to get out of your family. See my co-workers standing around looking somber and respectful? They’re not there to just have a presence of authority, they are studying you. They are watching the family dynamic and will report back to me with any potential angles I can play to manipulate your emotions, which family members are taking it the hardest and will therefore be the easiest prey, and their estimation of your financial well-being. If, by the way, you appear to be less affluent, I’ll tell you to take your business elsewhere. This is not a hospital and I don’t provide a service – this is a business. If you aren’t paying me (in full and up front, generally), all you’re getting is my sympathy.Do yourself a favor and read the FTC Funeral Rule. It’s very clear and concise in stating what you as the consumer are required to do and what rights you have. Did you know the casket I’m selling you for $5000 is really just a nicely decorated plywood box? If you were smarter, you’d know you don’t have to buy that from me. In fact, the law requires me to allow you to “BYOB.” Costco and Wal-Mart sell very reasonably priced nice caskets on their websites. If you happen to be armed with that tidbit of information, I’ll try to make it a practical issue: it will be easier to use the caskets we already have here. Another line of crap. All of the caskets at the funeral home are demo models (and are actually nice napping spots on slow days). Anything you buy will be delivered to the funeral home via freight the next day, just like the Wal-Mart caskets.Another well-worn sales tactic is to try to shame you into going along with the exorbitant cost, implying you didn’t really love grandma enough if you spend less than five figures with me. You should know, by the way, that everything you buy from me – a guestbook, prayer cards, even the damn obituary notices – is marked up at least 200%. See the picture I’m painting here, kids? Smoke and mirrors. It hasn’t always been like this, but with the corporatization of the death care industry, the almighty dollar is the only consideration anymore.Whew, this is getting to be a novel. Sorry, hang with me just a bit longer – we are getting to the major issue here.Right now – literally right now, August 16, 2013 – the FTC is reviewing a merger between the two largest funeral service corporations in the United States: Stewart and SCI. Stewart has 500-ish locations while SCI has 2000+. This will create a mega-Decepticon-conglomerate that will control at least 40% of all funeral service business transactions in this country – and that, my friends, is what antitrust regulations refer to as a monopoly. We are racing full speed ahead to the genesis of the McFuneralHome and nobody is doing anything about it. The reason? Misdirection. There’s no Stewart Funeral Home or SCI Mortuary in your hometown. They’re operating under the same names they always have, letting you believe that the good people of Bubba & Sons Memorial Chapels would never steer you wrong. Bubba’s been around for 50 years! Bubba’s handled your family’s funerals for generations! Let me tell you something: Bubba cashed out years ago and is pretty much a figurehead at this point. Check his website carefully: at the bottom, you’ll probably see a copyright for either “Dignity Memorials” (SCI) or “STEI” (Stewart).Every single thing you’ve read in this thread about cutting corners, shoddy work, under-trained and under-paid employees, outsourcing certain processes, covering up mistakes… ALL OF IT HAPPENS IN THE FUNERAL INDUSTRY. Now, most of us are decent human beings and aren’t interested in getting freaky with dear old granny, but in terms of services performed and their actual value, you trust us WAY, WAY TOO MUCH.You know how shitty the cell phone service provider market is right now and how worked up everyone gets about that? The funeral industry is worse. And we should all be raising hell, because EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US is going to have to conduct business with the deathcare industry eventually -- be an informed consumer and know who you're really giving your money to.I know I’ve hyperlinked the shit out of this, but please read the last one from the Funeral Consumers Alliance on how horrifyingly out of control this situation has gotten:“It’s alarming to think that a company with a long track record of abusing consumers at the worst times of their lives might get even bigger,” said Josh Slocum, FCA’s executive director. “For at least 15 years grieving families around the country have complained to us about the practices at SCI funeral homes and cemeteries. From lying about options in order to boost the funeral bill, to digging up graves to re-sell them to another unsuspecting family, to denying the legal rights of LGBT people to make funeral arrangements for their partners. You name it, we’ve heard it.”Funeral Consumers Alliance reminds the Federal Trade Commission that funeral purchases are unlike any other in their potential to harm the customer. Families buying funeral and cemetery services are incredibly vulnerable and have been subject to deceitful and egregious conduct.“This is not a run of the mill merger; this isn’t about whether a $20 retail product will cost consumers $5 more,” Slocum said. “We’re talking real money here. Funeral consumers often make great economic sacrifices to bury their loved ones. The average full-service funeral runs in excess of $7,000 and often for much more at SCI’s Dignity locations. Especially when it has faced less competition, SCI has increased prices and we can expect more of the same if this merger occurs. Given the lack of knowledge about funeral options and the stress of grief, we can’t just say a ‘rational consumer’ will vote with their dollars and choose another funeral home. That’s not how the unique funeral transaction works, and that reality is why the FTC specifically regulates funeral homes.”

Nordic taxationA Finnish survival storyThe Nordic welfare states and the social programs they provide are based on an intergenerational social contract. The welfare states, or Nordic social democracies if you like, have evolved from the beginning, but I’d argue this still stands.Each new generation poses a challenge for the decision-makers and the society at large. The challenge is to integrate the young into the society. To be inclusive. To provide, at a minimum, the same opportunities and the same amount of support the previous generations have received.It’s more or less what all civilizations strive for, but of particular importance here. If the solidarity between generations is lost, there’s little hope in mustering the will to continue funding cradle-to-grave welfare.Majority of Finnish residents are happy to make their tax contribution for the time being. Most of us feel that we’re getting a good enough deal out of it ourselves. I know I am.I also see challenges looming. Wealth inequality is increasing rapidly due to e.g. rent inflation and the gig economy. It’s becoming a generational issue because both affect the young disproportionately. As someone who was supposed to enter the workforce amidst recession, I feel I was personally affected.Can’t complain about taxes though. I was collecting social security and paying the minimum tax rate at the time.Social, economic and political exclusion are the greatest risks for the cohesion of the Finnish society. If the integration fails, the financial viability of the well-being state [sic] may also reach a crisis, because it relies on a high labor force participation rate. Long-term unemployment is probably the biggest individual problem Finland continues to struggle with. Other Nordic countries seem less severely affected.The total fertility rate has been below replacement level for decades in Finland, adding to the financial strain on the young. The trouble is that the age cohorts keep getting smaller and the costs of welfare higher.Most Nordic countries have substantial national pension funds invested in bonds somewhere. Finland has too. They try to avoid tapping into them for the time being. Very simply put, the people working right now support those who aren’t working right now for one reason or another. The Baby Boomers supported the war generations and the Generation X that became after them — both significantly smaller cohorts than they themselves were.Millennials and Gen X provide the healthcare and the retirement for Baby Boomers. The largest age cohort in history.This is a test on the intergenerational contract as the Millennials already know that they won’t be benefiting from the tax-funded pension system the same way their predecessors did when they themselves become elders. Luckily for Millennials and Gen X though, they have benefited from the hay days of education, R&D and ICT sectors immensely. Probably more than their descendants will.Like other aging nations in Europe, Finland needs immigration in order to carry on as per usual. Finland needs tax payers.Unfortunately immigrants are also at an above average risk of experiencing social and economic exclusion. Xenophobia plays a part here. Its existence can’t be denied, but I don’t think that’s behind the cautious optimism of the moderate majority.The challenge is to bridge the generational gap and maintain trust in the social contract when there’s no generational continuum at all. Easier said than done.For starters, Finns consider paying taxes their patriotic duty whereas someone else might see taxes as some form of extortion imposed on them. Something you need to survive from. Not as something adding to your financial security and opportunities.We’re experiencing increasing immigration from, well, many places, including the United States. The reputation of the Finnish education system is a likely contributor here.Americans who settle in Finland tend to be of the young and educated type, of fairly ordinary means. If there’s one specific group for whom the Nordic taxation is a concern, I think it might be this one, simply due to the amount of student debt younger generations of Americans are saddled with. The low or no tuition policy in Nordic countries helps, but living here without financial aid still isn’t cheap. I for one might have had to forgo obtaining my Master’s, not having the support of my family.Reversing the situation, the costs of studying in a high-end university in the States is a challenge for ordinary Nordic citizens too. However, government-backed loans and grants give us an advantage in studying home and abroad. That’s what allowed me to attend a study program in one of the most expensive countries in the world, Norway, for a whole year with no more than $50 to my name. Zero wage income.I feel that’s a tangible benefit made possible by the Nordic taxation, but a level of integration is needed in order to access things like that.Transitioning from one system to another, an individual may experience a degree of disillusionment. Upon moving to Finland it could be that higher education does not guarantee an exceptionally high income very early on in one’s career. We grumble about that too but it’s manageable without the burden of large debt.Healthcare in Finland is OECD average in cost. I’m entitled to treatment in 27 countries at the same price as locals of those countries are — most with universal care, free or affordable at the point of use. This without a private medical insurance. That’s a huge relief from worry.Taxes in Finland are high, but likely not as high as you’d expect. There are several misconceptions about them I’d like to correct.A significant portion of tax revenue comes from taxes levied on consumption of goods and services. Most notably harmful consumption such as alcohol, tobacco or gasoline. Don’t consume them as much, don’t pay as much taxes.I don’t belong to a church. I don’t pay parish tax.The general VAT in Finland is 24 %. It is high, howeverthe VAT is14 % on groceries, restaurants and meal services10 % on basic necessities like medicine, accommodation, transportation, books, sports and recreation.Sales tax is essentially the same thing as value-added tax. We don’t have a separate sales tax. The sticker price is always final. There’s no tipping or haggling.There is no VAT on exports, healthcare, social services, education, financial services, insurance, funeral services or things of that nature.The majority of wages fall in the lower or moderate end of the progressive income tax curve. Sweden and Finland in particular have felt the pressure to lower taxes on income in the past decades. I think certain Central/Western European countries may have passed us now but I haven’t verified that.Top earners tend not to be wage earners to begin with. The tax on capital income is capped at 34 % to curb tax planning and the exodus of the rich. Corporate tax rates are reasonable largely due to same reasons.The ones who do get heavily taxed on income are the upper and upper middle earners. (I don’t want to say upper class.) They are often the same people who stood to benefit the most earlier on in their lives, namely college or university graduates.Tuition-free universities, financial aid, expanded healthcare and dental care coverage, student discounts on e.g. public transportation, lunch subsidies…According to the aforementioned social contract, a welfare state can invest serious €€€ in its youth for the first ~25 years of their lives without seeing much in return in terms of value input or taxes collected. There’s trust that the beneficiaries will contribute back eventually.This is the part which the domestic opponents of the welfare state would like to see dismantled first. The support on the young. Yes, there are opposing forces here as well. Finland’s current government is center-right wing.The center-left wing conservatives are currently in opposition.As the youth becomes the largest productive class, such as the Millennials have now become, they are expected to uphold the social contract and become the net payers of the system.It should be noted that the contract isn’t binding. This is not Soviet Union. You have the option to leave if the society fails to keep competitive in terms of the living standards it provides.This calls for transparent and efficient use of the tax funds. Voters will hold decision-makers accountable.Relocating elsewhere is as easy as it can be. Most countries seem affordable having gotten used to the Nordic standard. The extent of global visa-free travel and the passport strength are so good I’m almost ashamed to mention them, because so many are not similarly privileged.Nordic countries have done well on the living standards part and have therefore managed to curb brain drain.Finnish expats tend to gravitate toward home when it’s time to start a family...Pregnancy checkups, screenings and scans, the baby box, maternity and child health clinics, generous parental leave, subsidized daycare, preschool, basic education…Another example of the social contract in effect.