As much as you would prefer to be around when a loved one passes on, this is not always possible. If a loved one has passed away and the responsibility of planning the funeral falls to you -- but you're out of town -- you are faced with a bit of a challenge. Follow these tips to plan a funeral when you're not in the same town as the deceased:

Find out if your loved one has a funeral home chosen.

Some people choose a funeral home where they'd like their services to be held before they pass on. If you think this might have been the case with your loved one, contact some family members who are in the area and ask if they can try to figure out which funeral home the deceased chose. If there is no clear indication of a chosen funeral home, then start calling around to local funeral homes and asking them how comfortable they are planning a service with someone from out of town. Some may be more modernized with technology like Skype that makes planning remotely a breeze. Others may be less able to accommodate you. Choose a funeral home that's happy to work with you remotely.

Assign tasks to friends and family members who are in town.

Keep in mind that these people probably want to help you, but they are also mourning and may not know how to help without some direction. The best way to get them to handle tasks is to specifically ask them to do certain things for you. For example, you can ask one person to visit the florist and choose flowers and another to drop off the deceased's favorite outfit at the funeral home.

Make yourself available for communication.

Especially if you are in a different time zone from your friends and family members, you may get calls at strange hours during this funeral planning process. It's important that you be open to communicating at strange hours, rather than putting off answering these calls and texts until it's convenient for you. If you are working while planning the funeral, talk to your supervisor and let them know what happened. Ask that they give you some leniency when it comes to taking calls at work.

Hopefully, you are able to get a flight home in time for the actual funeral. In the meantime, the tips above will help ensure everything is in place when you get there. 

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