Do I Need to Use a Funeral Home?

This is a question that we have been hearing a lot—when a loved one dies do you need to use a funeral home? Some families feel that they would like to conduct the funeral themselves, while others wonder about direct cremation providers. Do you need to use a funeral home? It’s actually a somewhat complicated question. It depends on what type of funeral the deceased wished for and/or the family desires (and can afford). It also depends on the state in which the death took place.

In eight states a funeral director must be involved in the funeral process no matter what. These states include Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, and New York. In the remaining 42 states families may conduct their own funerals without the assistance and costs of hiring a funeral home.

Let’s review what funeral homes typically provide:

· Funeral directors, coordinate the entire funeral process from picking up the deceased right through burial or cremation—a family needs to do nothing other than decide on which type of services and merchandise they wish to purchase.

· If a traditional open casket funeral with viewing is desired, regardless of the state where the funeral is being held, embalming is usually required and must be performed by a licensed funeral director/embalmer.

· Funeral homes provide space where family and friends can gather to memorialize the deceased, which may be more convenient for some families instead of using their home or place of worship.

· The cost of a typical funeral with burial and viewing is more than $8,000 and a cremation with service is approximately $6,000.

Why not forego the use of a funeral home?

· Many families who conduct their own funeral or memorial service find both the process and ritual very personal and rewarding.

· Conducting a memorial service outside of a funeral home feels more celebratory and uplifting.

· Costs are significantly less.

Home Funeral Alliance

As a matter of fact, there is a growing, albeit small group of families that are conducting home funerals themselves. Many of these families feel that there is great beauty, satisfaction, love, and an acceleration of the grieving/healing process from conducting their own family funerals. The Home Funeral Alliance https://www.homefuneralalliance.org is a respected national organization that advocates for families who wish to conduct their own funerals. They provide an impressive array of resources for families who wish to conduct their own funerals.

But most families are probably not up to conducting the entire funeral process themselves. How many of us in the remaining 42 states, where a funeral director is not required, are ready to pick up the body of the deceased and prepare it for burial? Probably not a lot of us. So, what is the middle ground? There are a growing number of families that are choosing green burial or are using direct cremation providers. In either case the family arranges its own memorial celebration with relatives, friends, neighbors, and clergy in ways that they feel memorialize the deceased.

And for those who reside in the 8 states that require a funeral director’s services (Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Jersey, and New York), there are effective ways to take control of the funeral process.

At forevermore.co https://www.forevermore.co we will provide families with environmentally sensitive and cost-effective funeral options, which can be arranged either online or by phone without having to visit a funeral home. We'll offer green burial and cremation services. We'll purchase carbon offsets to improve the environmental impact of cremation, and we will be embarking on R & D to develop crematoriums that utilize renewable energy.

Forevermore.co staff of trained counselors will be available 24/7 to help your family plan their own memorial in a very personal, celebratory, and respectful manner. For states that require a funeral director, we'll have them on staff to handle only the regulated tasks such as transporting the deceased and completing death certificates, thereby allowing your family to plan and hold the memorial that you desire, where you want it; at a very affordable price.