The Funeral.com Journal

Resources to help you create tributes as unique as the people (and pets) you love. Learn how engraving, photos, colors, and symbols add meaning; discover scattering rituals and at-home memorial ideas. We focus on the details that matter—because small choices can carry a lifetime of comfort.

Probate 101: Which Assets Avoid Probate and Which Ones Go to Court - Funeral.com, Inc.

Probate 101: Which Assets Avoid Probate and Which Ones Go to Court

After a death, grief and logistics arrive together. You may be planning a service, calling relatives, and trying to keep the household running—then a bank tells you an account is...

How to Notify Credit Bureaus After a Death: Equifax, Experian & TransUnion Step-by-Step - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Notify Credit Bureaus After a Death: Equifax, Experian & TransUnion Step-by-Step

Notifying the credit bureaus after a death is a straightforward way to prevent identity theft after death. TransUnion notes that fraud using a deceased person’s identity is sometimes called “ghosting,”...

Can You Bury a Cremation Urn? Cemetery Rules, Vaults, and Burial Options - Funeral.com, Inc.

Can You Bury a Cremation Urn? Cemetery Rules, Vaults, and Burial Options

Yes—most of the time you can you bury a cremation urn, and many families choose this option because it creates a permanent place to visit. What makes it feel complicated...

Unclaimed Property Search After a Death: Finding Lost Accounts in State Databases - Funeral.com, Inc.

Unclaimed Property Search After a Death: Finding Lost Accounts in State Databases

After a death, the world gets very small. The to-do list grows, but your capacity shrinks. There are the visible tasks—calls to family, a service to plan, paperwork you can’t...

Hotel Loyalty Points After Death: Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors Transfer Rules - Funeral.com, Inc.

Hotel Loyalty Points After Death: Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors Transfer Rules

Sometimes grief shows up in places you don’t expect. A confirmation email from a hotel you once stayed at together. A “We miss you” marketing message addressed to someone who...

Transferring Airline Miles After Death: Delta, United & American Policies and Workarounds - Funeral.com, Inc.

Transferring Airline Miles After Death: Delta, United & American Policies and Workarounds

In the middle of grief, it can feel strange to think about airline miles. And yet families do—often because the miles represent something real: a way to bring siblings home...

Returning Social Security Payments After Death: Month-of-Death Rules for Checks and Direct Deposit - Funeral.com, Inc.

Returning Social Security Payments After Death: Month-of-Death Rules for Checks and Direct Deposit

In the first days after a death, the world can feel split in two. There is grief—quiet, heavy, and often disorienting. And then there is the practical reality that keeps...

DMV License Cancellation After Death: How to Notify the State and Prevent ID Theft - Funeral.com, Inc.

DMV License Cancellation After Death: How to Notify the State and Prevent ID Theft

The first time you see your loved one’s driver’s license after they’re gone, it can land like a small shock. It’s just a card—plastic and laminated, a familiar photo, a...

Credit Card Rewards After Death: Do Points Expire, Transfer, or Get Forfeited? - Funeral.com, Inc.

Credit Card Rewards After Death: Do Points Expire, Transfer, or Get Forfeited?

In the days after a death, families often discover two truths at the same time. The first is emotional: grief doesn’t move in a straight line, and even “simple” tasks...

Exhumation (Disinterment): Legal Reasons, Typical Costs, and the Step-by-Step Process - Funeral.com, Inc.

Exhumation (Disinterment): Legal Reasons, Typical Costs, and the Step-by-Step Process

Most families don’t wake up expecting to research the exhumation process. It tends to arrive quietly, years after a funeral, when life has shifted in ways no one could predict....

Cancel or Transfer a Cell Phone Plan After a Death: Verizon & AT&T Policies Made Simple - Funeral.com, Inc.

Cancel or Transfer a Cell Phone Plan After a Death: Verizon & AT&T Policies Made Simple

The phone keeps ringing long after a person is gone. A pharmacy reminder. A “happy birthday” text. A two-factor authentication code that appears right when you’re trying to sign into...

How to Close Utility Accounts After a Death: Phone Scripts for Electric & Gas Companies - Funeral.com, Inc.

How to Close Utility Accounts After a Death: Phone Scripts for Electric & Gas Companies

In the days after someone dies, grief can make time feel warped. You can be in the middle of choosing clothes for a service, answering texts you don’t have the...

Transporting Human Remains Across State Lines: Permits, Paperwork, and Common Options - Funeral.com, Inc.

Transporting Human Remains Across State Lines: Permits, Paperwork, and Common Options

When someone dies far from home, grief often arrives with a second, practical shock: there are decisions to make quickly, and many of them involve logistics you have never had...

Pronouncement of Death at Home: Who Can Do It and What Happens Next - Funeral.com, Inc.

Pronouncement of Death at Home: Who Can Do It and What Happens Next

When someone dies at home, time can feel both fast and strangely still. You may be sitting in a familiar room—one you’ve shared meals in, folded laundry in, laughed in—and...

Mechanism vs. Cause of Death: How to Read a Death Certificate in Plain English - Funeral.com, Inc.

Mechanism vs. Cause of Death: How to Read a Death Certificate in Plain English

A death certificate can feel like the last piece of paperwork a family must carry, even when your mind is still trying to catch up to the reality of loss....

When an Autopsy Is Required: Deaths That Trigger the Coroner or Medical Examiner (and What Families Can Expect) - Funeral.com, Inc.

When an Autopsy Is Required: Deaths That Trigger the Coroner or Medical Examiner (and What Families Can Expect)

Most families don’t think about autopsies until a death makes the world tilt. Sometimes it’s sudden. Sometimes it’s complicated. Sometimes it’s simply unclear. And in those moments, it can feel...