Hospice families
Prepared with love, before the moment comes
When you're already sitting bedside, there's no bandwidth left for the logistics that will hit the day after. Quietly getting the obituary and service program ready now isn't cold — it's one less thing that will interrupt your grief.
Hospice planning checklist
Conversations to have
How does your loved one want to be remembered? Music, readings, faith or non-religious? Cremation or burial? Who should speak? Even short answers help.
Documents to locate
Will, advance directive, POLST/MOLST, life insurance, prepaid funeral arrangements, and account passwords. Put them in one folder or drawer.
The obituary draft
Start with the outline while they can help. It becomes a keepsake conversation rather than a task done alone at 2am.
The service program
Order of service, readings, hymns or songs, photo selection, printed handout. You don't need to finalize — just gather.
The people list
Who needs to be called personally. Who gets a text. Who reads it in the paper. Draft this so it's not a scramble later.
The after-list
Thank-you cards. Return of casseroles. Death certificates ordered (get 10). Utilities and subscriptions to close. Do these in weeks two through four, not day one.
Step by step: prepare during hospice care
Let comfort set the pace
Ask what your loved one wants to discuss. Pause when needed, and ask the hospice team about care decisions rather than relying on an online checklist.
Record the people to call
Use My People for family, the hospice team and the funeral home. Check contact details and identify the first person to notify.
Locate existing care documents
Note where directives and care orders are kept in My Document Locations. Confirm them with the care team; do not enter passwords or medical records here.
Capture wishes and memories
Use My Wishes and My Story for music, readings, service preferences and stories, only as your loved one is comfortable sharing.
Prepare the first steps
Use Family Handoff for first calls and document locations. Ask the funeral home how many death certificates are needed and when administrative tasks should happen.
Gentle, in the background
Write when you have a quiet 20 minutes. Save and come back. No pressure.
With your loved one's help
Some families sit with their person and write it together. It becomes a shared moment, not a chore.
Ready when you need it
The day you need it, everything is drafted — obituary, program, thank-you notes.
"We wrote Dad's obituary with him, over three afternoons. He got to laugh at his own stories. That's a gift I didn't know we could give each other."
— James, hospice family
Common questions
- Is it wrong to prepare this now?
- No. Hospice social workers often suggest it. Preparing quietly is a way to be present later, not distracted by tasks.
- Can my loved one help write it?
- Absolutely. Some of the most meaningful drafts come from the person themselves.
- What if plans change?
- You can edit anything, anytime. Nothing is final until you choose to publish or print.