The essential funeral planning checklist

A guide for families

Take it one step at a time

In the hours after a loved one passes, the mind goes quiet and the questions come quickly. It is a lot to carry while you are grieving. A checklist will not lift the grief, but it can give the day a shape, so you always know the one thing to do next rather than everything at once.

This is the order most families follow. You do not have to handle it alone. The moment you call us, we begin walking through it with you, and most of the work below becomes ours to carry.

Immediately after a passing

Only a few things are urgent in the first hours. Everything else can wait until you have caught your breath.

• Get the death certified. At a hospital or hospice the doctor on duty issues the certificate of death. If your loved one passed at home, a doctor will need to come and certify it.
• Call a funeral director. One call to our 24 hours hotline and we collect your loved one and guide every step from there, day or night.
• Gather the NRIC or passport and a recent photo of the deceased, which we use for the documents and the portrait at the wake.

Decisions to make early

Once the first steps are handled, there are a few choices that shape the rest of the arrangement. We talk you through each one, in plain language, with no pressure.

• Faith and type of service, whether the rites follow a particular tradition or a simple, non religious farewell.
• Wake venue and number of days, a void deck, a funeral parlour or your own home, held over one, three or five days.
• Burial, cremation, sea burial or ash scattering, with cremation the most common choice in Singapore.
• Budget and package, so the arrangement fits what your family is comfortable with from the start.

If you would like to see what each option includes, our services page lays out the faiths and farewells we arrange, and our packages page shows fully itemised pricing with nothing hidden.

What your funeral director handles for you

This is the part that lifts the heaviest weight. Once the plan is set, the running of the funeral is ours. Here is what we take care of, so you can simply be with your family.

• Collection and embalming, including the respectful transfer and professional preparation of the deceased.
• Casket, chosen to suit the faith and the family's wishes.
• Permits and documentation, the paperwork and approvals that have to be in order.
• Wake setup, the tentage, altar, backdrop, tables and chairs, fully draped and ready.
• Clergy and rites, the monks, priests or celebrants who lead the prayers and ceremony.
• Flowers, arranged for the altar, the casket and the wake.
• Hearse, with funeral day transport for the family.
• The schedule, the day by day timing of prayers, the wake and the final service, all kept on track.

For families holding a traditional service, our guide to Buddhist funerals walks through the rites step by step.

After the funeral

The days after the service have their own quiet steps. We stay with you for these too, so nothing is left for you to figure out alone.

• Collection of ashes, where cremation has taken place, handled with care on your behalf.
• Columbarium or scattering, placing the ashes at a niche or arranging a sea or garden scattering, as the family wishes.
• Thank you to those who came, a small but meaningful gesture to friends and family who stood with you.
• Grief support, taking your time, leaning on those close to you, and reaching out if you need someone to talk to.