Frequently asked questions

Whether your loved one dies at home, in a nursing home, or in hospital, Windsor Funeral Home is available right away to advise you on what to do next. Our experienced team are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to guide you through the process of bidding farewell.
When you contact us our primary consideration is for the immediate care of the deceased. We will then arrange an appointment at your house or our funeral home to commence the planning of the funeral service.

There’s a lot to think about when a loved one passes. ‘Click here to download our quick guide of 10 things to do when a loved one dies’. Melinda will provide this PDF document later.

When Darrell or our staff meet with you to arrange the funeral, they will take the time to guide you through the details of the service and will organise and co-ordinate your needs. We strive to make the service as personal as we can and for that we need your input. Our experience tells us that there are many aspects to consider. To get you started we have created handy online tools that we can provide you with to guide you through the process and to ensure you get the most out of the Arrangement Meeting

When you contact us we will arrange an appointment at your house or our funeral home at a time to suit you.

The decision of burial or cremation is based on your understanding of your loved one’s wishes. In our experience, around 80% of funerals are cremations and 20% burials. We are able to assist you with whatever option you choose.
Each cremation is individually supervised, making sure all the ashes, including the coffin, are returned to you. A Windsor Funeral Home Arranger is able to answer any further questions you may have regarding burials or cremation.

You may choose to hold the funeral service at your loved one’s place of worship, or another location that holds special significance to them. At Windsor Funeral Home we can help you organise a funeral service at a range of venues throughout the Windsor and Hawkesbury districts or anywhere in Sydney.

Funerals fill an important role for those mourning the loss of a loved one. By providing surviving family members and friends a caring, supportive environment in which to share thoughts and feelings about the death, funerals are the first step in the healing process.

Giving family, friends and associates an opportunity to say goodbye can help significantly following the death of someone close. Often, stories and anecdotes are shared and sometimes even discovered this way. A public funeral can give a meaning and moment to positive memories which will otherwise be lost.

However, you may wish for privacy as you grieve. We understand and respect the choice of holding a private celebration, if that is your wish.

If you do not wish to have a service, we can still assist you with all the practical arrangements.

Some families choose to hold a viewing, enabling family and friends an opportunity to say their last goodbye, while others prefer a closed coffin that is farewelled at the funeral. Religious or cultural beliefs may dictate whether a viewing of the body is to be held. It is a matter of choice, although you may wish to consult with family members before making a decision.

Ideally, the person conducting the funeral service should be someone comfortable with public speaking and who can handle the occasion sensitively. This can be a clergy member, a celebrant, a member of family, or a friend. It is not vital for the chosen person to have experience, although it can be helpful. We have a team of professional celebrants that we can recommend to work with you.

A funeral is more than a way to say goodbye, it’s an opportunity to celebrate the life of someone special. A funeral can be as unique as the individual being honoured and reflect any aspect of a person’s life and personality. Darrell Logue and the team have spent over 45 years helping families plan varied styles of service or celebration and can discuss with you ideas for creating a unique, personalised funeral.

With a specific choice of music (recordings or musicians), readings and even the venue, there are several areas where personal touches can be included. Hobbies or pastimes can be incorporated as well.

Windsor Funeral Home is able to produce a DVD that can be played during or after the service to pay tribute to your loved one by remembering important aspects of their life, highlighting their personal story, interests and hobbies.

Whether or not you would like children to attend the funeral service is a personal choice and ultimately will be up to parents or guardians.

It is often helpful for children to attend the funeral service, as they need to say goodbye in the same way as adults.

We have well researched literature regarding children and mourning. Please ask for a copy at the Funeral Arrangement.

We can offer a wide choice of coffins or caskets ranging from budget options to fully imported Italian and US styles. Many are on display at our funeral home at Windsor.
Another choice is the environmentally friendly LifeArt coffin, which is an Australian concept. These are available in a selection of styles that can be further personalised to reflect the spirit of the individual. We will work with you on any option you prefer.

The person reading the eulogy is usually someone who personally knew your loved one. They may never have prepared a eulogy before and may also not be familiar with public speaking. Alternatively, the eulogy can be prepared by the family and delivered by the person officiating. Guidelines on writing a eulogy can be found here.

As it’s impossible to predict what emotions close family and friends will feel on the day, having someone on hand who can step in and calmly take over a reading or Eulogy at the last moment, if a speaker feels overwhelmed, is a good idea. We can also arrange for the celebrant o read the eulogy for a set fee.

You may like to nominate four or six people to act as pall-bearers carrying the coffin. It is usually a great honour for many people to be asked to pay this last respect and act as a pall-bearer. While traditionally men were chosen for this role, there is no protocol that precludes women from being asked to be pall-bearers.

Windsor funeral Home offers a tailored after funeral function service, providing a place for reflection with friends and family after the service.
We can arrange for catering to be supplied at your home or at a location of your choice.

We can help you organise flowers you would like to include. The choice of display, simple or elaborate, is down to personal choice. You may like to consider your loved one’s favourite flower when making your choice.

We can assist and guide you in your choice of floral display with a wide variety available at our Arrangement Meeting.

We can also provide directions on our website tribute section for family and friends who wish to send flowers for the service. If you would prefer, we can collect and manage donations to your loved one’s preferred charity in their name instead of sending flowers.

Whilst not compulsory, newspaper advertisements continue to be an important way of advising friends and family of a person’s death and their funeral details. Newspaper advertisements are however getting more expensive, and we suggest that you consider placing a smaller advertisement in the newspaper that directs readers to an online funeral notice and the tribute on our website. Directions to the notice can also be made via social media such as email and facebook. We would be pleased to discuss this during our Arrangement Meeting.

If you would like donations to be made to your loved one’s preferred charity, we can arrange and collect these in their name. We can provide instructions on our website for family and friends to make a donation, as well as assist with a discreet donations box and relevant details on the charity at the service.

Your loved one may be clothed as the family desires, including jewellery however anything remaining with the body will be unrecoverable. Personal items, jewellery, or clothing the family want to save must be removed before cremation. It is recommended that jewellery be removed after death. Once a coffin has entered the crematorium grounds the coffin cannot be opened.

Families are understandably concerned about the cost of a funeral while they are already dealing with the grief and practical issues after the loss of a loved one.

The total cost of a funeral service depends on the individual aspects that are chosen as a part of the service, whether your loved one will be buried or cremated and if they had a prepaid funeral plan before they died. Please feel free to call and discuss the details that you would like to have included.

Our Code of Ethics requires that at the time of the Funeral Arrangement we give a written quotation of all funeral charges and disbursements.

Windsor Funeral Home accepts all usual forms of payment including credit cards and direct bank deposits.

Windsor Funeral Home can help you source finance from an approved finance provider for funeral services when we meet with you.

Windsor Funeral Home also offers a government regulated pre-paid funeral plan, where you can arrange and purchase your funeral in advance and at today’s prices. Please click here for more information.

In most states, the Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages takes up to 21 days to issue a death certificate.

The most commonly asked questions regarding deceased bank accounts are listed below.  Please note that this is general information only, you can contact your bank for information more specific to your

Westpac Bank Deceased Estates Team – 1300 130 240
ANZ Bank Deceased Estates Team – 1800 237 170
Commonwealth Bank Deceased Estate Hotline – 1800 686 153
St George Bank Estates Management – 02 9767 1164

You need to notify the bank either in person or in writing.  You will need to provide Proof of Death.

Once the Executor/s or Next of Kin (where no Will exists) have provided an original funeral tax invoice or tax receipt the bank is able to release funds from the Deceased customer’s account to assist with paying the cost of the funeral.  If there are not sufficient funds available in the account(s) of the Deceased to pay the funeral bill, the bank will make a partial payment with what money is available.

Banks will generally not release funds from the Deceased customer’s accounts(s) to pay for these additional expenses.

Each state and territory has a government register for births, deaths and marriages.  Your funeral director will lodge an application on your behalf for a copy of the Death Certificate.

If there is no Will, the Next of Kin will need to act on behalf of the Estate or an Administrator will need to be appointed by the Supreme Court in the State or Territory where the assets are being held.

The decision of what advice and support you require is one that only you can make.  Things that you should take into consideration are the size of the Estate, as well as the variety of the assets including real estate and investments, the number of beneficiaries, their location and whether you anticipate any disputes to arise through the process.

The Executor administers the Will.  They are charged with locating the Will and following the Will’s instructions for funeral requirements, collecting all assets, finalising outstanding liabilities and distributing the assets in accordance with the Deceased person’s instructions.

A Power of Attorney is no longer valid once the donor has passed away.  If you were appointed as an attorney by the Deceased, you can no longer rely on the Power of Attorney to access bank accounts or conduct any other transactions on behalf of the Deceased.

Probate is the legal process of proving a Will, appointing an Executor, and settling an Estate.  It’s more widely understood as the legal process whereby a Deceased person’s Estate is administered and distributed.

An Executor, Executrix, Trustee, Administrator, Legal Representative or Next of Kin can apply for Probate.  This person will need to contact the Supreme Court in the state in which the Deceased’s assets are held to initiate the process.  You should seek advice from Centrelink, the Public Trustee or your Solicitor.

Banks are unable to remove the name of a customer from a joint account.  Where the account can be operated jointly by either party independently, the surviving party has access to the funds.  These funds can be transferred into a new account and the joint account closed.  Where two or more signatures are required to operate the account, some different restrictions apply.  Your bank can explain these in more detail.

If the Deceased person had a credit card, you’ll need to cancel any existing direct debits attached to the card.  If the deceased was the primary cardholder, the card needs to be cancelled, which will cancel any secondary cardholders cards automatically.  Secondary cardholders may then apply for their own card, subject to the banks normal lending criteria.

You will need to continue paying your loan and interest will still accrue on the account until the loan is finalised.  If you are unable to meet your regular loan repayments, you will need to contact your bank and discuss the options available.

Superannuation benefits, including any insurance component, are generally released upon death regardless of the age of the member.  In most cases you will need a copy of the Death Certificate, a copy of the Will and Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.  For superannuation funds held elsewhere you will need to contact the Trustee and/or Administrator of the superannuation fund for details about their death benefit notification requirements

Various government departments and organisations offer bereavement payments for Australian residents. The main source is Centrelink and the following are some of the areas you can expect assistance with:

Married Pensioner: Surviving partners receive a further 14 weeks of their spouses pension, usually paid in a lump sum.

Single Pensioner: The estate receives one full pension payment after the persons death.

Carer’s Pension: Entitled to a further 14 weeks pension following the death and this is paid in fortnightly payments. If the Deceased was single/widowed/divorced there may be an additional lump sum payment.

Sole Parent Pension: Entitled to a further 14 weeks pension following the death and this is paid in a lump sum.

Widow’s Allowance: If the surviving wife is over 50 and she has no recent experience in the workforce, she may be entitled to regular payments.

Please note that entitlements can change without notice.
Where possible, Windsor Funeral Home will seek to obtain individual information for clients, but in financial matters the Privacy Act can prevent us from making these inquiries. Depending on the history of the Deceased and the State in Australia they were in when they died, additional allowances may be payable through other institutions, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, trade unions, some private health funds, insurance companies and the Transport Accident Commission (VIC).

If you are an immediate family member of a homicide victim there are other organisations you can call, such as Victim Support Service.

Centrelink
Centrelink has bereavement payments available to help ease the adjustment to changed financial circumstances after the death of your partner, child or person you were caring for.  The following link will give you information on eligibility for bereavement payment, payment rates and other benefits while receiving the bereavement payment.  To find out about the bereavement payment you may click on the link below.

Centrelink Bereavement Payment

Veterans Affairs has funeral benefits and bereavement payments under the VEA and MRCA.  To find out about these benefits and payments you may click on the link below.

Veterans Affairs funeral/bereavement benefits and payments