When Death Occurs                                                                                        

Depending upon where the death occurs and under what circumstances, this explains what you should do:

• Death in an Institution:  When the death occurs at a hospital or nursing home, the medical staff should take care of all necessary legal steps.  You just need to notify the medical staff that Seale Funeral Service is the funeral home handling arrangements so they can have you sign any necessary release paper work.

• Anticipated Death at Home:  Today, more people with terminal illnesses are electing to die at home under the care of hospice.  In this situation, you must notify Hospice that Seale Funeral Service is the funeral home of your choice, they will then take care of all necessary legal requirements.  If hospice nurse is present she will call the Coroner's office who will call the funeral home of your choice.  If hospice nurse is not present you should call the hospice office to notify them of the death and they will call the nurse on duty to respond to your home.

• Unanticipated Death at Home or Elsewhere:  In these situations, immediately call 911 or your local law enforcement agency.  The police and emergency medical personnel will then determine the appropriate steps to be taken and notify the Coroner.  In this situation, you should advise the official that Seale Funeral Service is the funeral home of your choice.  However, in certain cases, the deceased may be taken to the Medical Examiner's Office so that they can determine the cause of death.

• Death Out-of-State:  If the death occurs outside of Louisiana, you should call Seale Funeral Service at 225-664-4143.  We will coordinate with a local funeral director at the place of death.

Funeral Arrangement Conference                                                                    

To assure that one of our funeral directors is immediately available to devote the personal attention and time needed to make the arrangements, we request that you call to schedule a mutually convenient arrangement time.  Although the vast majority of funeral conferences are handled at one of our funeral homes during normal business hours, we are available to come to your residence or meet in the evenings or weekends.  One of our funeral directors is always on duty 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

Things to Bring to the Arrangement Conference