What To Do When Someone Dies — The First 48 Hours
Step-by-step guidance for what to do when a loved one passes — at home, in a hospital, in hospice, in another state, or in another country. Free, in English and Spanish.
First: take a breath. You don't have to know what to do. We do. Almost nothing has to be decided tonight — and the few things that do, we will walk you through, in English or Spanish, at (845) 342-0221. This page tells you, honestly and completely, what happens next in New York — because a family that knows what's coming grieves with less fear.
If your loved one passed at home, under hospice care
Call the hospice nurse first — Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties gives every family a number for exactly this moment. The nurse comes to the home and takes care of the official steps. There is no rush and no emergency. When the nurse asks which funeral home to call, give them our name, and we come — any hour of the night.
If your loved one passed at home, unexpectedly
Call 911. Police or the medical examiner's office may be involved — please know this is normal procedure in New York for any unattended death, not suspicion of anyone. It can add a day or two before your loved one is released into our care. The moment that happens, we handle everything, and while you wait, we are already on the phone with you, explaining each step.
If your loved one passed in a hospital or nursing facility
The staff will ask you one question: which funeral home is coming? That is the only decision you need to make right now. Give them our name — Meléndez Funeral Home, (845) 342-0221 — and then call us. We coordinate directly with Garnet Health Medical Center, Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall, and every facility in the area, usually the same day. You do not need to sign anything at the hospital, and you make no other calls.
If your loved one passed in another state
Call us first, before you agree to anything over the phone with a funeral home there. We arrange the transfer home to Orange County with a partnering funeral home on that end — you should never have to pay twice for services that overlap, and we will tell you plainly what belongs to whom.
If your loved one's resting place is in another country
We handle the entire international transfer — consulate, airline, and every document. Read about our Traslado Internacional service, our specialty for families with roots in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Central or South America — including the government assistance programs some consulates offer, which we help you request.
Three steps. That's all.
Call us — any hour
A member of the Meléndez family will answer, in English or Spanish, and take it from there. (845) 342-0221.
We bring your loved one into our care
We coordinate directly with the hospital, hospice, or coroner and handle the transfer the same day. You don't make any other calls.
We sit down together — no decisions tonight
When your family is ready, we meet to plan the service. Every option, every detail, in writing, at your pace.
Who has the right to decide
New York law (Public Health Law §4201) sets the order clearly: first, anyone your loved one named in a written appointment; then the surviving spouse or domestic partner; then adult children; then parents; then siblings. Most families never need the list — but when relatives disagree, it protects everyone. If your family isn't sure who holds the right, call us before tension grows. We will explain it neutrally, in both languages if the family speaks both.
What can wait — and should
The service, the casket or urn, the flowers, the obituary — none of it has to be decided tonight. When your family is ready, we sit down together and plan the service. Every option, every detail, in writing, at your pace. If it's easier for your family, we come to you: free in-home arrangement visits throughout the Middletown area.
The paperwork — ours, not yours
We prepare the death certificate and file it with the registrar; New York requires it to be registered before any burial or cremation, and we meet every deadline. You bring only what you know: your loved one's full name, date of birth, and Social Security number. Don't worry if a document is missing — we will find the way together. Families typically need 5 to 10 certified copies of the death certificate for banks, insurance, Social Security, and property; we order them for you.
In the first weeks
When the service is behind you, a short list of calls remains, and we hand every family a simple checklist for it: Social Security (a one-time $255 payment may apply, and it must be claimed within two years), life insurance, banks, and — if your loved one served — the VA, whose burial benefits we help you claim. None of this is urgent in the first days. All of it is easier with the death certificates we've already ordered for you.
New York law (Public Health Law §4201) sets a clear order: a person named in a written appointment, then the surviving spouse, then a domestic partner, then adult children, parents, siblings, and so on. If your family is not sure who holds that right, call us — we will walk through it in plain words, in English or Spanish, before anything is decided.
We do. We prepare the death certificate and file it with the registrar — New York requires it to be registered before burial or cremation, and we handle every deadline. Families typically need 5 to 10 certified copies, for banks, life insurance, Social Security, the DMV, and property matters. We order them for you so you never stand in a line.
Just call us. We coordinate directly with Garnet Health Medical Center, Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall, Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties, and every nursing facility in the area — usually the same day. You don't need to sign anything at the hospital, and you don't make any other calls.
Social Security pays a one-time $255 lump-sum death payment to an eligible surviving spouse or child — the application must be made within two years. Some survivors also qualify for monthly benefits. We give every family a simple list of who to call and what to say, along with the certified death certificates you will need.
A member of the Meléndez family will answer, any hour, in English or Spanish — and take it from there.
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