P. O. Box 7501
Cotati, CA 94931
707.568.7684
info@funeral.org

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Redwood Funeral Society
To protect and defend individual choice for dignified, ethical, and fairly priced death care, through education, referral, and advocacy.

Serving the California Counties of Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma

Information for you and your survivors

Redwood Funeral Society

Making Plans and Likely Survivors
It is important to deal with the practical matters of dying and death. Death is certain, we just don’t know when, where, and how. People have a hard time dealing with death, although it is an essential part of life. We would be in real trouble if we were immortal.

Most people want to spare family and friends as much as possible whatever ordeal attaches to death. The pivotal thing to do is to make a list of things you want done and don’t want done. Then let family and friends know with an emphasis on knowing ahead of time (years ahead of time whenever possible) what the practical steps are, who is taking them, that money is put aside in a ‘last bills’ account. There are always last bills - we don’t die in timely, well-rounded-off fashion. We should leave as few practical - loose ends as possible without trussing ourselves and others up prematurely.

For these practical concerns, when you have problems talking them over with family and friends, check in with RFS. People plan ahead and comparison-shop for joyful things like appliances, cars, houses - the practical concerns attending death services and goods should be thoughtfully planned for.

Keep a Last Aid Kit In The House And On The Roam
We live in a highly monetized society. Many situations require money and plans for its use. A good way to proceed is to make a list of a few of the most important things for which money is essential. Three items people still spend the most on as one-time expenses are house, car, and death. There are other things which add up over a lifetime: food, transportation, entertainment, education.

Putting money into long-term interest bearing accounts for the express purpose of paying for large expenditures is the best way to assure fulfillment of that purpose.

If you discuss once a year, say at an annual gathering of family and friends, plans for how these savings are to be spent, everyone will have the same information. This can help reduce argument, at least during times of crisis, which in any event are not a good time to negotiate.

Unexpected Death
If the decedent has a physician, call the doctor and proceed as he or she directs. If there is no doctor, and the police and/or paramedics emergency services are called, the death will likely become a coroner’s case. Be prepared for the Coroner's office to charge for removal from the place of death to the Coroner's office.

Expected Death
The attending physician attests to the death by filling out his or her part of the death certificate. The mortician will complete the death certificate, including getting the signature of the doctor. The mortician then submits the paperwork to the health department of the county (or in certain cases, of the city) in which the death occurred.

Important Notes:

• If a doctor has seen a patient within 20 days of death (60 days if the coroner approves), it is legal for the doctor to sign the death certificate.

• California law allows your survivors to take care of most death services, but You have to plan ahead. Check with RFS.

Death Certificates
These forms should be readily available to anyone so that the information needed can be completed in a timely fashion. State health departments issue these forms to city and county health departments. These departments should make them available upon request to physicians and to those individuals who are handling the deceased's paperwork.. When you work with a mortician, the mortuary will furnish the form.

You need to consider how many certified copies of the death certificate you will need. Fiduciary accounts, including bank accounts, investments, insurance, social security--anything to do with money--needs a properly certified (original embossed with the state seal) copy of the death certificate (DC). A copy of a certified death certificate may be acceptable for other needs.

Because copies of certified death certificates can be expensive, whether you are getting them through the mortuary or from the county, you can ask any of the fiduciary entities to return the original certified copy to you. Some will comply with your request, others will not.

Whether survivors undertake to do the death certificate paperwork and submission, or have a mortician do it, you should know that all involved, including the doctor, must be meticulous. Health departments are exacting, and rightly so.

You can help your survivors make sure that the information on the form is correct by including in your Last Aid Kit all of the information needed. RFS members receive a Death Certificate Information form to be used to document this information.