Bereavement Checklist

Bereavement Checklist

The following checklist was initially derived from the DVA Folder titled “Planning Ahead”. It has been further enhanced by a number of Welfare Officers from their own experiences. The checklist offers a few pointers which may be helpful to the bereaved family. It is emphasised that this checklist does not promise to be conclusive, nor does it include all the needs of all families and friends, etc. Each case must be assessed upon its own merit, but the author suggests that the following should be a reasonable guide.

Notification of Funeral Details:

When sending out details of the deceased and their funeral details, the following information can be helpful:

·  Rank and full name of deceased person;

·  Time, date and place of death, and if appropriate, cause of death;

·  Contact person, ie, spouse, son and/or daughter, with contact details, phone No, address, (if appropriate), etc;

·  Date, time and venue for the funeral, with navigation instructions if necessary;

·  Wearing of medals and/or brevets for current and/or ex-service personnel;

·  Family preferences for attendance at funeral regarding flowers and/or donations;

·  Brief overview of person’s service career, as far as is known by family or fellow service colleagues.

Estate Planning Questionnaire

It is recommended that the use of the “Estate Planning Questionnaire” be used to record relevant and appropriate family details.

Save this file to your own hard drive and give it a name appropriate to your own needs;

Once this file is in your own drive, then you can complete several of the boxes which require some sort of identification, e.g., DVA File No, or Driver’s Licence No, etc. This will make it easier for your family members to locate important information about you, when you are not able to be there to locate such simple yet vital information. Please note that it may take several weeks to complete the entire list of items on the checklist.

Disclaimer:

This checklist is given as a guide to help the bereaved family to navigate their way through the necessary paths of administration following the death of a loved one. The content of this checklist is in no way exclusive, and families may find that some topics may not apply to them and that some topics not mentioned on this checklist may well indeed apply to them. In other words, please adapt this checklist to your own needs.

Check List

Notification of Bereavement – by Family Member to other Organisations:

In the event of the death of a loved one, there are a number of people and organisations who need to be advised. This checklist may be of assistance. At the end of this list a number of blank lines are provided for any additional people not listed here.

Organisation / File No, Account No, Licence No, or Registration No / Letter or Phone Call Required / Additional Comment / Date Notification Completed /
Department of Veterans’ Affairs: / QSM -
Centre Link – Carer’s Allowance – etc: / File No:
Funeral Director:
Church Minister or Pastor:
Employer: / Staff No:
Union Membership:
Workers’ Compensation – (Where applicable):
Ex-Service Organisation(s) – Including RSL:
Service Unit(s) – Roll Adjustment: / Service No:
Family Doctor – GP:
Hospital – and/or Nursing Home:
Community Health – Meals on Wheels, etc:
Home Care – Nursing Service:
Optometrist:
Chemist – (Including Safety Net Card):
Dentist:
Ambulance:
Medicare Office:
Private Health Insurance (Where applicable):
Family Solicitor – Wills, etc:
Executor of Will:
Electoral Office (Will need certified copy of death Certificate):
Accountant:
Bank, Credit Union, etc: / Acct No:
Brokers / Investments:
Insurance (Life Policies) Company: / Acct No;
Mortgage or Loan Accounts: / Acct No:
House Insurance: / Policy No:
Superannuation Company: / File No:
Australian Tax Office (ATO): / TFN:
Post Office:
Passport:
Local Council – Rate Notice:
Department of Land – (Name change on Title Deeds):
Landlord – (or Property Manager):
Local Library:
Electricity Supplier: / Acct No:
Gas Supplier – (where applicable): / Acct No:
Telephone Company – House Phone: / Ph No:
Mobile Phone Company: / Ph No:
Network (ADSL) Supplier: / ID:
Volunteer Organisations – (Memberships, etc):
Queensland Transport – (Vehicle Registration): / Reg No:
Queensland Transport – (Driver’s Licence): / Lic No:
Motor Vehicle Insurance: / Policy No:
RACQ – (Membership): / M’ship No:
State Gov’t – Senior’s Card: / Card No:
Newsagents – (Newspaper subscriptions, etc):
Magazine Publishers – Subscriptions, etc:

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