Death Occurs

[white stone angel] What to do when a death occurs? Follow these steps at the time of decedent's death. This explains what you should do depending on where the death occurs, and under what circumstances.

  • Death in a Medical Facility: When the death occurs at a hospital or nursing home, the medical staff should take care of all necessary legal steps. Notify the medical staff that Hadley-Marcom Funeral Chapel is the funeral chapel handling arrangements.
  • Anticipated Death at Home: In this situation, notify the hospice that Hadley-Marcom Funeral Chapel is the funeral chapel of your choice, and they will then take care of all necessary legal requirements. Many times when someone has a terminal illness, the family will elect to make prearrangements with us so that they are not overwhelmed with the many important decisions at the time of death.
  • Unanticipated Death at Home or Elsewhere: In these situations, immediately call 911. The emergency medical personnel will then determine the appropriate steps to be taken.
  • Death out of state: If the death occurs outside of California, you should call Hadley-Marcom Funeral Chapel. We can coordinate with a local funeral director at the place of death.

Funeral Arrangement meeting with our staff

To assure that our family is immediately available and can devote the personal attention and time needed to make the arrangements, we will coordinate a time for you to meet with the funeral director. When you come to the meeting, you may want to bring with you the following information about the decedent:

  • Social Security Number
  • Date of Birth
  • Place of Birth
  • Father's Name
  • Mother's Name and her Maiden Name
  • Veteran's Discharge Papers
  • Cemetery Deed
  • Clothing - all normal items including undergarments, other than shoes. For women, an outfit closed at the neckline and long sleeves are preferred.
  • Glasses
  • Dentures
  • Insurance Policies
  • Jewelry & personal items - these items can either be brought to the arrangement meeting, or on the day of the visitation.
  • Obituary information (Place of employment, retirement date, church membership, list of clubs or memberships, and list of survivors).
If you have not already made prearrangements with Hadley-Marcom Funeral Chapel, our funeral directors will need to obtain some vital information for completing the death certificate. Certified copies of the death certificate are legal documents and are issued by the State of California. Photocopies are not considered legal documents. After the original certificate has been signed by the physician or medical examiner and all vital information completed by our funeral chapel, it is then filed with the county health department depending on where the death occurred. Death certificates in California are $12.00 per certified copy. During the funeral arrangement meeting, we will ask you how many certified copies of the death certificate are needed. As part of our services, we will obtain certified copies on your behalf. Death Certificates can take up to two weeks from the date of burial or cremation. In order to assist you in determining the number of certified copies needed, below is a list of situations that may require a death certificate:

  • Each Life Insurance Company
  • Motor Vehicles
  • Pension, IRA or other retirement benefits
  • Probate of Will
  • Each bank where account maintained
  • Final Tax Return
  • Stocks and Bonds
  • Your own files
  • Real Property

Please note that we will send a courtesy notification to Social Security. Once you receive the death certificate, you may contact them to see if you are entitled to any benefit.