Graumlich Funeral Home located in Columbus Ohio, expresses our deepest sympathy for the loss of your loved one and understand how difficult this is. Please know we are here for you and your family during this great time of need.

Graumlich Funeral Home Understands

This is a Difficult Time You Are Experiencing

The overwhelming feelings of despair, disbelief, shock, and numbness caused by the passing of a loved one cannot be conveyed by mere words.

Even when the death is expected, the pain that loss brings can still be devastating. In truth, no one is completely prepared for the death of someone close to their heart.

During this difficult time, there are decisions to be made immediately, arrangements to be coordinated, and a lot of things to be considered for your loved one’s final farewell.

Having experienced the loss of our father, mother and brother, Andrea Graumlich & Leigh Graumlich understand how this may feel overwhelming, especially with the grief you’re feeling over the loss. Please know that we are here to help and support you.

Contact The Proper Authorities

If your loved one passes away while under the care of a facility — such as a nursing home or a hospital — staff from the facility will contact you and notify appropriate authorities themselves.

If the death occurred in the workplace or at home, you will need to get in touch with his/her physician or emergency medical personnel, as the cause of death must be identified and indicated in legal documents.

In the event that no one was present at the time of death, you will need to contact the police before moving the deceased to another location.

We Will Assist You with Planning Your One's Services

One of the funeral directors at Graumlich Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Columbus, Ohio,  will collect information from you in order to facilitate the transfer of your loved one’s remains to our facility.

We will ask if your loved one has made pre-arrangements and whether or not you’d like for him/her to be embalmed.

While of course you can ask any questions you have in your mind during this call, note that once you visit the funeral home, we can discuss the arrangements in greater detail.

During this call, you’ll also be informed about the things that you need to bring with you like the clothes your deceased loved one will use for the burial.

Andrea & Leigh are here to listen to you, help you, and guide you during this difficult and trying time.

Consultation

At Graumlich Funeral Home, first and foremost we always collaborate with you keeping your best interest in mind. During your first meeting with us, we will discuss the arrangements for your loved one’s service so you can decide what your family’s preferences and budget are.

You will be asked what type of service option below you prefer:

Full Funeral Service  (visitation and service) with a burial or cremation as the final disposition)

Graveside Service     (no visitation or service at funeral home or a church)

Memorial Service      (after cremation with the urn present or not present for a visitation & service )

Direct cremation       (no visitation or services)

Based upon your choice of services, you will have many options available to you for selecting a casket or an urn.   

We will schedule a time and date for the services, decide on the location of the burial or final resting place for your loved one.



Information to List Out and Bring to the Consultation Appointment

We recommend that you bring a draft obituary with you, offering the following information about your loved one. This helps to make it less taxing on you during the consultation while making decisions and giving information needed for planning your loved one's service. Andrea & Leigh will help pull all the information together to write up the obituary.

Preceded in death by

Survived by

Graduated from

Where they were retired from or where they were currently working

Memberships to church, club, etc.

Things that were meaningful to your loved one

Hobbies and recreations

Characteristics/traits they were know for

If the deceased was a  veteran - please bring their DD214 form to plan for military honors service.

All branches of the military require this form to schedule military honors service.

Death Certificate

A Death Certificate is a legal document indicating the cause of death, including other vital statistics pertaining to the deceased, signed by the attending physician.

If your loved one died in one of the following situations: Due to

an accident, Died at home (not under hospice or doctors care), a death that was not of natural cause, it will be a coroner or the county medical examiner will be signing the death certificate.



Legal name of the deceased

Current address where they were residing

Date of Birth

City & State of Birth (if not US citizen, the country of birth)

Father's name & Mother's name including maiden name

Social Security Number

Highest Level of Education

Certified copies of the death certificate can also be purchased at the time of arrangements/placed on funeral contract.

The amount for each Certified Death Certificate is dependent upon that county's prices. For example Franklin County charges $25.00 per each "Certified" Death Certificate. 

Graumlich Funeral Home Directors, Andrea Graumlich and Leigh Graumlich will help you determine the amount of "Certified" Death Certificates you will need. Often times people think they need more than actually what is required for a "certified" death certificate for their specific needs. It's our goal that you don't spend more money than needed. If later on you need additional "certified" death certificates, we can prepare an order for you.

The following require "certified" (not photo copy) of Death Certificate:

• Life Insurance Policies
• Banking Accounts / safety deposit boxes (the bank needs to see an actual "certified" death certificate from which they will make a copy and hand you back the "certified" death certificate.
  
• Stocks/mutual funds/other investments
• For the transferring of any "titles" that only the deceased's name was on (house, car, boat, motorcycle...)
• Application of Veteran Administration for death benefit reimbursement (this is dependent upon a veteran qualifying for benefits). See our Veteran's webpage for more details.

There are life insurance companies that will accept a "pdf" of a "certified" death certificate or accept a fax transmittal of the "certified" death certificate. In those cases, you will be able to retain that "certified" death certificate.

When Graumlich Funeral Home has received the SIGNED death certificate from the doctor or coroner, we will send the death certificate to the board of health to be recorded.

Once the Board of Health has recorded the death certificate, we will then order the number of certified death certificates on your behalf.

Andrea Graumlich and Leigh Graumlich always work on your behalf in making sure the doctor/coroner signs the death certificate as soon as possible.

** When a death certificate is being signed by a the county of death coroner or medical examiner, the preliminary "certified" death certificate  will say "Pending" in section of cause of death. Life Insurance Companies will NOT accept this preliminary death certificate to pay out of death claims.

They will accept what's called a "Supplementary" Certified Death Certificate that will state the cause of death. It can take several months, sometimes less and sometimes more depending on the specifics of the case) for the final cause of death to be determined.

These certified copies are important when gaining access to bank accounts and safety deposit boxes, claiming for benefits due to the family (like the Veteran’s benefits or insurance claims), and transferring or selling ownership of properties (if the deceased was the only name on the title, this applies to cars and other ownership of something that will need a title transfer).