FAQs Why have a Funeral? Funerals fill an imprtant rle fr thse murning the lss f a lved ne. By prviding surviving family and friends with an atmsphere f care and supprt in which t share thughts and feelings abut death, funerals are the first step in the healing prcess. It is the traditinal way t recgnize the finality f death. Funerals are recgnized rituals fr the living t shw their respect fr the dead and t help survivrs begin the grieving prcess. Yu can have a full funeral service even fr thse chsing crematin. Planning a persnalized ceremny r service will help begin the healing prcess. Overcming the pain is never easy, but a meaningful funeral r tribute will help. What des a Funeral Directr D? Pick up the deceased and transprt the bdy t the funeral hme (anytime day r night) Ntify prper authrities, family and/r relatives Arrange and prepare death certificates Prvide certified cpies f death certificates fr insurance and benefit prcessing Wrk with the insurance agent, Scial Security r Veterans Administratin t ensure that necessary paperwrk is filed fr receipt f benefits Prepare and submit bituary t the newspapers f yur chice Bathe and embalm the deceased bdy, if necessary Prepare the bdy fr viewing including dressing and csmetizing Assist the family with funeral arrangements and purchase f casket, urn, burial vault and cemetery plt Schedule the pening and clsing f the grave with cemetery persnnel, if a burial is t be perfrmed Crdinate with clergy if a funeral r memrial service is t be held Arrange a plice escrt and transprtatin t the funeral and/r cemetery fr the family Order funeral sprays and ther flwer arrangements as the family wishes
Prvide Aftercare, r grief assistance, t the bereaved What d I d when a death ccurs? The funeral hme will help crdinate arrangements with the cemetery. Bring the fllwing infrmatin t cmplete the State vital statistic requirements: Birth Date Birthplace Father's Name Mther's Name Scial Security Number Veteran's Discharge r Claim Number Educatin Marital Status Cntact yur clergy. Decide n time and place f funeral r memrial service. This can be dne at the funeral hme. The funeral hme will assist yu in determining the number f cpies f the death certificates yu will be needing and can rder them fr yu. Make a list f immediate family, clse friends and emplyer r business clleagues. Ntify each by phne. Decide n apprpriate memrial t which gifts may be made (church, hspice, library, charity r schl). Gather bituary infrmatin yu want t include such as age, place f birth, cause f death, ccupatin, cllege degrees, memberships held, military service, utstanding wrk, list f survivrs in immediate family. Include time and place f services. The funeral hme will nrmally write article and submit t newspapers (newspaper will accept picture and they will be returned intact). Arrange fr members f family r clse friends t take turns answering dr r phne, keeping careful recrd f calls. If Scial Security checks are autmatic depsit, ntify the bank f the death. When I call, will smene cme right away? If yu request immediate assistance, yes. If the family wishes t spend a shrt time with the deceased t say gd-bye, that s perfectly acceptable. Yur funeral directr will cme when yur time is right.
Burial r Crematin? Burial in a casket is the mst cmmn methd f dispsing f remains in the United States, althugh entmbment als ccurs. Crematin is increasingly selected because it can be less expensive and allws fr the memrial service t be held at a mre cnvenient time in the future when relatives and friends can cme tgether. A funeral service fllwed by crematin need nt be any different frm a funeral service fllwed by a burial. Usually, cremated remains are placed in urn befre being cmmitted t a final resting place. The urn may be buried, placed in an indr r utdr mausleum r clumbarium, r interred in a special urn garden that many cemeteries prvide fr cremated remains. The remains may als be scattered, accrding t state law. Why have a public viewing? Viewing is a part f many cultural and ethnic traditins. Many grief specialists believe that viewing aids the grief prcess by helping the bereaved recgnize the reality f death. Viewing is encuraged fr children, as lng as the prcess is explained and the activity is vluntary. What is the purpse f embalming? Embalming sanitizes and preserves the bdy. Embalming makes it pssible t lengthen the time between death and the final dispsitin, allwing family members time t arrange and participate in the type f service mst cmfrting t them. Des a dead bdy have t be embalmed, accrding t law? The Federal Trade Cmmissin says, "Except in certain special cases, embalming is nt required by law. Embalming may be necessary, hwever, if yu select certain funeral arrangements, such as a funeral with viewing. If yu d nt want embalming, yu usually have the right t chse an arrangement that des nt require yu t pay fr it, such as direct crematin r immediate burial." Why are funerals s expensive? When cmpared t ther majr life events like births and weddings, funerals are nt expensive. A wedding csts at least three times as much; but because it is a happy event, wedding csts are rarely criticized. A funeral hme is a 24-hur, labr-intensive business, with extensive facilities (viewing rms, chapels, limusines, hearses, etc.), these expenses must be factred int the cst f a funeral. Additinally, the cst f a funeral includes nt nly merchandise, like caskets, but the services f a funeral directr in making arrangements; filing apprpriate frms; dealing with dctrs, ministers, flrists, newspapers and thers; and seeing t all the necessary details. Funeral directrs lk upn their prfessin as a service, but it is als a business. Like any business, funeral hmes must make a prfit t exist. D I have t make different funeral arrangements if I chse crematin?
It really depends entirely n hw yu wish t cmmemrate a life. One f the advantages f crematin is that it prvides yu with increased flexibility when yu make yur funeral and cemetery arrangements. Yu might, fr example, chse t have a funeral service befre the crematin; a memrial service at the time f crematin r after the crematin with the urn present; r a cmmittal service at the final dispsitin f cremated remains. Funeral r memrial services can be held in a place f wrship, a funeral hme r in a crematry chapel. What can be dne with the cremated remains? With crematin, yur ptins are numerus. The cremains can be interred in a cemetery plt, i.e., earth burial, retained by a family member, usually in an urn, scattered n private prperty, r at a place that was significant t the deceased. (It wuld always be advisable t check fr lcal regulatins regarding scattering in a public place-yur funeral directr can help yu with this.) Tday, there are many different types f memrial ptins frm which t chse. Memrializatin is a time-hnred traditin that has been practiced fr centuries. A memrial serves as a tribute t a life lived and prvides a fcal pint fr remembrance, as well as a recrd fr future generatins. The type f memrial yu chse is a persnal decisin. The limit is set nly by yur imaginatin. What is memrializatin fr a crematin? Yu might chse grund burial f the urn. If s, yu may usually chse either a brnze memrial r mnument. Als available at many cemeteries are crematin niches in clumbarium s. They ffer the beauty f a mausleum setting with the benefits f abve grund placement f remains. Many cemeteries als ffer scattering gardens. This area f a cemetery ffers the peacefulness f a serene garden where family and friends can cme and reflect. Can we scatter the cremated remains? If yu wish t have yur ashes scattered smewhere, it is imprtant t discuss yur wishes t be scattered ahead f time with the persn r persns wh will actually have t d the crematin ashes scattering ceremny, as they might want t let yur funeral prfessinal assist in the scattering ceremny. Funeral directrs can als be very helpful in creating a meaningful and persnal ash scattering ceremny that they will custmize t fit yur families specific desires. The services can be as frmal r infrmal as yu like. Scattering services can als be public r private. Again, it is advisable t check fr lcal regulatins regarding scattering in a public place-yur funeral directr can help yu with this. If I am cremated, can I be buried with my spuse even if he r she was in a casket? Yes depending upn the cemetery's plicy, yu may be able t save a grave space by having the cremains buried n tp f the casketed remains f yur spuse, r utilize the space prvided next t him/her. Many cemeteries allw fr multiple cremated remains t be interred in a single grave space. What d I need t knw abut incme tax when I lse a spuse?
Uncertainty abut incme tax issues can add t the stress experienced frm the death f a spuse. Yu shuld meet with yur family attrney and/r tax advisr as sn as pssible t review yur particular tax and estate circumstances. Bring a detailed list f yur questins t the meeting. If yu d nt have an attrney r tax advisr, call the IRS tll-free at 800-829-1040 fr answers t specific tax questins. Is there financial help if I need it? There are a few ptins available: Determine if the deceased persn qualifies fr any entitlements. Check with the Scial Security Administratin, the Department f Veterans Affairs, and with yur State Fund. Many peple are entitled t get financial assistance with their funeral csts frm these agencies if they qualify. Review all insurance plicies the deceased persn has; including life insurance. Sme life insurance plicies have cverage clauses fr funeral related csts Find lcal charities prviding financial help fr funeral expenses. Search fr nn prfit rganizatins and fr churches in yur area. Talk t yur funeral directr abut crematin ptins- these can be much less expensive depending n yur chices.