What is a Funeral Home?

         

A funeral home also known as a funeral parlor, a mortuary or funeral chapel provides burial, cremation, and funeral services. The services that are offered may include a funeral and wake, also known as viewing or visitation. Funeral homes will also help with arranging flowers, catering, and headstones. If this is what is requested. It is totally up to you as to how much or how little the funeral home will help with. Every funeral home can arrange for cremation in lieu of burial.

Above all, the funeral home is also there to provide you with the emotional support you may need at a difficult time. Most if not all funeral homes can provide assistance with filing Social Security forms, insurance forms and aftercare consulting. This can be great relief for most who need this extra support at this time.

The executor (person named in the will who is to carry out the funeral arrangements) or the deceased next of kin should contact the chosen funeral home as soon as possible after the death. A convenient time can then be made for this person to visit the funeral home and discuss the funeral arrangements and any special requests.

The funeral home will take into account the wishes of the deceased and their family and arrange the service in line with those wishes. The funeral home will coordinate with the church, cemetery or crematorium depending on your requests, and obtaining permits are always a service provided by the funeral home. The funeral home will also contact and provide newspapers with obituary information on your behalf. The deceased is taken to the funeral home before the funeral and prepared for either burial or cremation; this may or may not include embalming. While embalming is not required, based upon the type of service requested embalming may be necessary. This means the funeral home will replace the deceased blood with chemicals that it will delay the decomposition if the body.

Funeral homes provide a visitation or viewing room that will accommodate many more people than the average home where family and friends of the deceased can gather. All funeral homes provide for funeral services and/or memorials services.

This means that you really do not need to do anything. A funeral home is there to take control and take the pressures off you. This is welcomed by most after the death of someone close to them. However understand that funeral homes will not do anything you do not want them to. How much they do in relation to the arrangements you make is totally up to you. The funeral home will only do what is asked of them.

Many funeral homes will offer people prearrangement services. This means the funeral home allows you to prepare your own funeral with specific requests before your death. The funeral home will provide you with a detailed estimate of the costs for their services. Often the funeral can be paid from the proceeds of the deceased estate. However if you need to stick to a budget let the funeral home know so they can respect this and offer advice as how best to stay within your budget.