Funeral directors and mortuary staff are often the first people a family turns to when they don't know what comes next. Whether it's a veteran's honors, a faith with its own timing, or a death that came with no warning, you want to get it right the first time. These free guides are here to help.
For Your Staff
Free to download and print, with no sign-up.
Military Honors · 2 pages
Arranging Military Funeral Honors: A Quick Guide for Funeral Homes and Mortuaries
What every eligible veteran receives, who to call, what to do when the DD-214 is missing, and a request worksheet.
Free PDF ↓Sudden or traumatic death · 4 pages
Serving Families After a Sudden or Traumatic Death
The medical examiner, pending certificates, cremation sign-off, viewing choices, crime victim compensation paperwork, suicide and overdose language, and caring for your team.
Free PDF ↓Faith & customs · 7 pages
Honoring Faith and Customs: A Guide for Funeral Home Staff
Questions for the first call, embalming and washing rules, holy days, blended families, and notes on 15 faiths and traditions, with sources.
Free PDF ↓Faith & customs · 1 page
Faith Customs Quick Sheet
A one-page chart for the arrangement desk: timing, washing, embalming, cremation, viewing and who to call for ten faiths.
Free PDF ↓Funeral Home Library
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To Share With Families
Free guides to print or send to the families you serve.
Military · 4 one-page handouts
Military Honors Family Handouts
The Honor Guard, The Flag, Taps, and At the Graveside. Print just the page a family needs. Each has a line for your funeral home's name.
Free PDF ↓Military · 2 pages
Military Honors at the Service
A page for guests explaining the flag folding, Taps and the rifle volley, plus program wording.
Free PDF ↓Military · 2 pages
Planning the Order of Service: Military Honors
Where the honors go, what they include in order, VA cemetery committal services, and four sample orders of service families can change any way they like.
Free PDF ↓Military · 1 page
Give This to Your Funeral Director
A sheet families fill in and bring to the arrangement conference: service details, DD-214, honors and benefits, all in one place.
Free PDF ↓Military · 2 pages
After a Veteran Dies: The First 30 Days
The calls to make, survivor benefits to ask about, and the deadlines that matter, for the family to keep by the phone.
Free PDF ↓Military
The Role of the Honor Guard at a Military Funeral
Who they are, what they do, and how families can thank them.
Military
Military Funeral Honors: Who Qualifies and How to Arrange Them
Military
Step-by-Step: What Happens at a Military Funeral
Families who'd rather type it: Give This to Your Funeral Director, fillable version.
En español: Honores militares: hojas para la familia · Honores militares en el servicio · Entréguelo a su director funerario
Want these with your funeral home's name and logo? It's free. Reach out →
More for families: all our free printables and articles, poems and guides.
For Any Family You Serve
Free guides for the arrangement conference and the days around the service.
Sudden or traumatic death · 2 pages
When a Death Was Sudden or Traumatic
For families after an accident, homicide, suicide, overdose or unexplained death: why there may be a wait, “pending” certificates, viewing, help with costs, and support. Has a line for your funeral home’s name. Also in Spanish, below.
Free PDF ↓Criminal case · 1 page
Going to Court: A Checklist for Families
For families whose loss has become a criminal case: case contacts, questions for the victim advocate, and what to know on court days. Has a line for your funeral home's name. Fillable and Spanish versions below.
Free PDF ↓Planning · 2 pages
Funeral Planning Checklist
What to do, who to call and what to gather in the first days and weeks. Also in Spanish, below.
Free PDF ↓Planning · 8 pages
Fill-in-the-Blank Obituary Templates
For families writing an obituary with only a day or two to do it, including faith, military and celebration-of-life versions.
Free PDF ↓Children · 20 pages
The Colors of Grief: Coloring Pages
Gentle coloring pages to keep little hands busy during visitation or the service, or to send home.
En español: Cuando una muerte fue repentina o traumática · Lista para planear el funeral · Ir a la corte: lista para la familia (rellenable)
For Aftercare
For the weeks and months after the service, when the casseroles stop and the quiet sets in. Add them to an aftercare mailing or a follow-up email.
Aftercare · 31 pages
One Day at a Time: A Grief Companion for Adults
For any grown-up who is grieving, whoever they lost. A good first follow-up after the service.
Free PDF ↓Aftercare · 24 pages
Getting Through the First Holidays After a Loss
For families facing a first holiday, birthday or anniversary without someone they love. A natural fit for a fall holiday mailing.
Free PDF ↓Free
With Your Funeral Home's Name and Logo
We'll add your funeral home to our guides and family handouts at no cost, so families and staff know they came from you. Your version can include your funeral home's name, logo, phone number and website. The content itself stays the same: ours, with the Noted & Charmed name on it, and your funeral home added as the one sharing it.
Need a version without the Noted & Charmed name, for example to match your own aftercare materials? Unbranded versions are available as a paid license. Ask for a quote.
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Thank you for the care you give. — C. Lindorfer, Noted & Charmed