long story short, my sister and nephew are dead. both appear to have been murdered by his dad. been holding off on this topic for a few days now as i've been busy with too many phone calls and figuring out what to do next.
bodies were found day after Christmas.
i'm the one in charge of making the arrangements.
cops have been good. even got us back the pet birds.
death certificates are surprisingly difficult to get in New York if you aren't a funeral home/it isn't your job to get them. despite them being needed for a lot of other steps, the fastest way to get them is through the funeral home, meaning after the decision on the bodies has been taken place. don't know if this is different in other states or if this is always the slowest step one or two of paperwork.
some banks require only a little info to report a death so the account can be with a hold. others demand the same access as control over it.
notified her school (college) since they were around. unsure the boy's knows since it's Christmas break but guess that's someone to call Tuesday.
notifying employers has been steady, financial stuff (insurance, annuities, etc) would need the death certificate.
notified coast guard, it appears the main services military gives is a plot of land and some ceremonial stuff.
need to talk to office of victim services directly in person, with death certificate, as they can cover costs. this was actually a neat thing found out, in NYC crime victims are offered certain reimbursements. homicide is one of them and that's where it's weird. technically they can pay up front, though for that you need a death certificate. yet you get the death certificate through the funeral home, so... what? the money can be up front paid to the funeral home or paid to us if we already did it but it's still a weird process to me.
any changes to government services (e.g., forwarding mail) needs needs proof (death certificate) and power (power of attorney) but okay, that's expected. super can help with mail for now.
contacting credit bureau stuff (avoiding identity theft) will likely need more powers, or maybe the banks can relay that to them. something to figure out later.
still a crime scene, not touching utilities.
now i don't know if i'm missing anything. have read plenty of sites on 'here's what you do after someone dies' but a general checklist may not cover more specific details. like social media stuff, all that i'd only know after getting physical access to her computers. similarly i don't know which is/could be the most annoying thing that's overlooked, there's bound to be something missed. don't know if anyone on B8 has been through this part of the process/seen the worst of it but figured i'd post to see if anyone's got any other tips/advice/see something's overlooked.
"Maybe it's a tentacle, molesting the planet itself. - Aschen Brodel.