The Importance of Final Preparations

As Bingham County grows, the Bingham County Coroner’s Office is preparing for there to be more cases of unclaimed decedents. Despite making the utmost efforts to locate legal next-of-kin and documentation, the only recourse for these decedents is to go through the government process for unclaimed/abandoned individuals. (Please refer to the “Unclaimed/Abandoned Process” page for more information on that system.) While this process is an integral service provided to those in need in the community, this service does come at a cost to the taxpayers of Bingham County and should only be utilized for those individuals truly in need of indigent services. However, there are individuals who become unknowing participants in the Unclaimed/Abandoned Process due to a lack of final preparations for their estate. While they may have wished for a different final disposition, the necessary legal documents and representation of their opinions are not available in order for those wishes to be known and honored. Not only does this lack of final preparations potentially cause the decedent’s final wishes to not be met, but also creates an undue burden on the taxpayers of Bingham County.

For general information on end-of-life planning please go to following website for suggestions:
Preparing for the Future | Getting Your Affairs in Order Checklist

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/getting-your-affairs-order

Are You Getting the Funeral Information You Need? | An Evaluation of Consumer Information Provided by State Funeral Regulators

Making sure that funeral homes are providing good and accurate information to individuals is crucial to understanding the services that are being received.

The Funeral Consumers Alliance and Consumer Federation of America published a report that outlines what information should be provided to those interested in their services.

It is important to understand what information should be available to you or a loved one to help ease with the process of grief.