It can be a very emotional moment when someone dear to you leaves the world. Since the families might not be in a state to do any of the work, here are few things you could do if one of your closest friends loses his/her family member.
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Get the Legal Documents Sorted
It is important to get legal pronouncement of death, usually when the person dies at the hospital doctors give the death certificate immediately. However, when a person dies at home you need to call the emergency landline and inform them about this death. Usually, a doctor will visit the house in order to examine the patient and then give a death certificate that is if the person was sick. However, in the case of a sudden death, the body will have to go for post-mortem and once they get to know the cause behind the death, they will provide the legal document.
Transportation and Respective Rituals
Once you obtain the death certificate, it is time to arrange the transportation of the body. If the person dies at home you could simply inform close relatives about the funeral. If the person dies at hospital, then you could ask them for an ambulance where you could take the body to perform the final rites. Different religion follows different rituals for examples Muslims and Christians bury the body whereas in other religion such as in Buddhism they embalm the body before burning it. Since the house members will not be able to arrange all this, you should help them to perform the last rituals. Also as many people might come home during this period, you should ensure there is enough space for everyone to sit. For instance you could rent chairs for a period of three days. Also in Islam, on the third day of the service, they organize a lunch where all the family members and close relatives are asked to attend it. So you could help the family by ordering food and ensuring that it is delivered on time. However, this practice differs among different Islamic communities.
Be There For Moral Support
This can be really difficult, but you need to be around your friend for some time till he/she finally settles down. Sometimes your friend might have to go through a lot of legal documents during this phase which can be a little difficult. For example, sometimes lawyers or other legal consultants might keep coming home in order to inform about the will of the deceased or your friend might have added responsibility. For example, he/she will have to start handling the business or start earning money to look after the family. All this will require a lot of support and you need to make sure that you are around during the tough times. Lastly, if the deceased has done things like life insurance then your friend might have to go through legal procedures in order to obtain cash. So you need to be around, for example, it might not be safe for your friend to drive if she is mentally affected. You could help him/her by offering to drive around and help them to recover emotionally.
