Do you have to put a notification in the local paper when someone dies?

yea, i wish someone would have robbed us during moms funeral . the family was fake mourning , beardclip was trashed on 190 and would have loved some controversy .. stoned or not , parrot was hangin with beardclip . of all the people she knows , she sees me as genuine .. her life is compromised now and she lives with my female friend " flatline " . bird understands that nickname moreso than most humans . flatline is a gd idiot , but i come to see bird every few days .
shes strong , she takes it as it unfolds . no guarantees , we humans should take note ..

There have been reports locally of houses being robbed while family are attending a funeral. Obits have enough information that thieves can easily look up someone's address and hit it at the opportune time.

I think when I have to publish the next obit, I'll do it after the funeral. As long as family and friends are notified, that's the important thing.

IloveMom, if you do want to put an obit in the newspaper, there is nothing wrong with waiting until weeks after the funeral to have it published. Or you can opt out. It depends on what is the norm within your own family, maybe use that as your guide.

No need to publish, but DO keep the original death certificate. You will need it.

Also you could get someone to housesit while youre away! Its hard as when my dad died nobody here in this town knew as dad lived in a different part!

Its quite common here but as Jesse says always some scumbag looking for a funeral so he can break in! I think just let close family and friends know by phone or letter?

There is no such requirement. Obituaries are customary in some circles more than others. When dad died, mom personally called family and friends, with funeral arrangements.
Simplify your life, just advise people who would care. Delegate, if you gave a phone book or list and a buddy who offered to help....this is a task that can be done by a kind friend.

No, you don't. Sometimes the papers will have a list of people who died in a nondescript column. The data comes from the county. You can choose whether to write an obit or not. Many people opt not to have one, since some crooks read the obits to find possible marks.