Hi CoconutBlossom,
I don't know what happens when there is no next of kin or if there are insufficient funds. But since you do have family, this is what I've found so far that you can setup beforehand. I'm in USA, so this probably differs for other counties, state, countries. Anyway,
Death Certificate only.
Google/duckduckgo death certificates for your county, including images of them, or look for forms that local funeral homes have posted. There are some fields, like what my job title is, which I didn't expect. Then, have all that data printed & attached to your body, or accessible by your next of kin. Someone living (death certificates includes time of death) will fill out the actual death certificate form to submit to the government, but you'll have all the information prepared for them. I think submission is free, but each official death certificate that your next of kin receives costs money. Sometimes when an organization requires a death certificate, they do not accept copies, so you may need more than one. A person with assets may need 6-10 death certificates. You'll need a death certificate for the IRS, your bank, your car's title, etc.
For some funeral homes, you might be able to file all the paperwork with them beforehand without pre-paying for anything, but I haven't tried. Speaking of which...
Funeral Arrangements with a Funeral Home, including death certificate.
If you have prepared funeral arrangements, I think the death process is usually this: when someone finds the body, someone calls 911. If everything goes correctly with your suicide, you'll be declared dead. The coroner may be called. Then, your body is transported to the funeral home, where they put it in refrigeration, file the death certificate with the information you've given to them, and begin performing whatever you've setup. Then, the remains are transported to where you have designated (e.g., cemetery). Just like the death certificate information, you'll want to have the funeral home & cemetery information on you and/or somewhere where your next of kin knows about it.
There are so many options for funeral arrangements. Some here have setup direct cremation, where their body is cremated and then put into a basic urn. I didn't see where the remains go from there. Anyway, for funeral arrangements with a funeral home, you need to decide
- which company or funeral home performs the services
- whether you want burial or cremation
- where the remains go (e.g. in a crypt or niche, at a home or cemetery (for me, it's the trashcan!))
- what services you want to go along with the above (e.g., embalming, memorial service)
When you're looking for a funeral home in the USA, the FTC regulates them because people were getting ripped off. For example, some say you need embalming, but in many cases, you don't. Look for reviews. Also, find a price point that works for you. All funeral homes in the USA are required to have a General Price List for services (and if they say they don't have a price list, they're either in violation or lying). You can usually find their General Price List on the funeral home's web site. What's not included in their General Price List are items like coffins and urns. BTW, if you require a coffin for personal, cultural, or religious requirements, you don't need to buy a coffin from the funeral home; you can go online and buy your own. Funeral homes sometimes present cheaper funeral packages/bundles if you do buy one of their coffins, but you need crunch the numbers. Also, funeral homes don't always include or offer a place for your remains. That is then covered by cemeteries, or in my case, the trashcan, but it can be cheaper to find your own cemetery anyway.
Hope this helps.
