Hi FlamesAddiction, I'm so sorry to hear you are going through this. My sincerest condolences for you and your sister. I know this is the hardest time so I hope this will help you.
I work in a Funeral Home and can send you an Estate Checklist that many of our families find helpful. Much of the contact information will of course be specific to the Calgary area but the general information (places to notify, things to cancel, etc) will be relevant to you in Toronto as well. For you to handle anything in his Estate, most places will require a proof of death (a statement of passing, death certificate, etc). The Funeral Home will provide these documents to you and can also acquire a government-issued Official Death Certificate for you (there is usually a fee for the government-issued one). If the Funeral Home charges you for additional copies of their statements -- make copies of the original as not all places (banks, credit cards, utilities, etc) require an original copy and not all places require the official government one (usually an insurance company will). With either document, always keep an original copy for yourself. Even years down the road you may find that you need one.
Spend the time now with your father but if you have some time, I would recommend calling a Funeral Home for a bit of information. There are absolutely no obligations and they can walk you through the process. Even a 10 minute telephone conversation may give you a little peace of mind. Once you have chosen a Funeral Home, you can advise the hospital/nursing home and they will contact the Funeral Home at the time of his passing to have him taken into their care (or vice versa -- the Funeral Home will arrange for his transfer if you call them first). All dispositions are handled through a Funeral Home rather than the hospital. Almost all situations will require you to go to the Funeral Home to make arrangements (even if you are not wanting a service). The type of services can also be tailored to you and your sister's needs. The Funeral Home will also require information from you for vital statistics as they look after the registration of death. Type of information will usually include, place & date of birth, his parents names, last address, his SIN, Health Care, Driver's License numbers. If you'd like to run an obituary, they can help with the preparation and placement into newspapers. We do ask all families to bring in a complete set of clothing as we do dress, even for cremation. (If this is not something you're wanting, of course will accommodate to your family's wishes.)
Power of Attorney does cease at the time of passing. If you are the appointed executor, you will have no problems administering his estate. Without a will, there is a line of succession that is followed. If it's you and your sister, there should be no issues with that.
I am assuming that you and your father are in Ontario, so you may find this page helpful:
http://www.ontario.ca/government/wha...n-someone-dies
A link to the CPP Survivor's Death Benefit:
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/i...survivor.shtml (I'm not sure if all Funeral Homes will apply for this on your behalf)
I hope you found some help in this post and if you have any other questions, please feel free to let me know, if you wish. Take care.
