Hi I am new as well and nervous.

Breaking it up into 2 days isn't a method I've heard of.

I was calling a cremation place and the person I needed to talk to was not available. I gave the receptionist the assisted living community my family member was at. Since the phone call had to be recorder, I did not answer their return call, so they called the place my "family member" was at and obviously there was not a person there with that name. When I called the cremation place back, they said there was nobody there with that name. I hung up on them and have not done a cremation call since.

Those types of calls can be a real hassle. It can quickly unravel as you have seen. I’m not surprised they called the assisted living place. People who work in the funeral industry are very quick to act as they know that time is of the essence. Obviously, you can’t leave a body sitting there for hours and hours. They were correct to call the assisted living community when they couldn’t get a hold of you.

Of course, they are not going to actually do anything unless they have authorization from a next of kin but in many instances, getting ahold of the assisted living facility is a good way to get put in contact with next of kin.