Planning funeral services

Organizing a funeral

When a death occurs, all you need to do is make one telephone call and the team at the Coopérative funéraire de l’Outaouais will take charge and guide you through the steps necessary to organize the funeral service and to make the main decisions.

Transport of the body to the CFO
Funeral arrangements
Legal and administrative formalities
Choosing the casket or funerary urn
The clothing of the deceased
The place and time of visitations, the religious or secular service, and burial
Announcement of the death in the media
The choice of funeral rites
Reception in the funeral home, photos or souvenir montages, flowers
Vehicles, funeral directors, pallbearers
The cemetery plot, columbarium, funeral monument
Renting of the reception hall, arranging the caterer
Donations to charitable organizations
Arrangements when the death occurs abroad

To better understand and prepare yourself for the steps involved in organizing a funeral, we suggest that you see our Support Guide, which you can download here.

The attestation and declaration of death

At the time of death, the attending physician or the hospital has to complete an attestation of death (Form SP-3). If the death occurs outside the hospital, contact the attending physician so that he or she can attest to the death. If the attending physician is not available, contact the ambulance attendants or peace officers for transportation to the hospital. A funeral company cannot legally transport human remains without having this form in its possession.

When the funeral arrangements are made, a close relative must sign a declaration of death (Form DEC-100), prepared by the cooperative’s staff, in the presence of a witness. It is the cooperative’s responsibility to forward form DEC-100 to the Directeur de l’état civil.

Verify the wishes of the deceased

Before going to the funeral home to make the funeral arrangements, it is a good idea to assemble documentation and any verbal indications regarding the funeral wishes of the deceased. Often the deceased person will have left indications, documents or the names of trusted persons to whom certain tasks have assigned. Check whether any cards (organ donation, etc.), documents (notaries, insurers, etc.) or membership forms (funeral cooperative, etc.) exist, to ensure that your actions are dignified and respectful. Once you are properly informed, you will be in a position to make the necessary decisions quickly, which as a result will be less difficult.

Consult the guide What to do in the event of death