Planning a funeral: 10-point checklist

1. Choose a funeral director.

2. Inform the deceased’s solicitor.

3. Establish whether the body is to be buried or cremated.

4. Inform friends and relatives.

5. Register the death with a Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

6. Put an announcement in a paper (and decide whether funeral tributes should be in the form of flowers or donations to charity).

7. Make appropriate arrangements for the funeral service (who will officiate, choice of music and hymns, flowers, readings, address/eulogy).

8. Decide on what kind of reception you want after the funeral; organise the catering.

9. Inform authorities and key financial institutions of the death.

10. Organise transport for the funeral.