Know These Things Before Planning Funeral Services For Your Loved Ones

Dealing with loved one’s death can be very distressing & painful. And it’s the overwhelming responsibility of the family to pay respectful tribute to the deceased person. And many a time’s deceased person families are confused about many questions about the funeral services & arrangements.

Here are a few questions that rise about Funeral services & arrangements:

1. Whether body to be buried or cremated?
2. Which type of vehicle to be used, whether a mortuary vehicle or hearse van?
3. Will there be a casket, and if so, will it be open or closed?
4. Where is the burial site/crematorium in the city?
5. What are the religious traditions to be followed?
6. If the death is happened outside their country, then how to transport the body to their origin country?
7. What is the Dead body Transportation cost?

To assist in such a distressing situation, there are Funeral directors who help in complete funeral arrangements & process by taking sole responsibility for the Funeral Services depending on your needs & wishes.

Also Read: What is the procedure for funeral shipping services in India?

Here are a few tips to be followed when your loved one dies.

1. When someone dies at Nursing Home/Hospital: The hospital will issue the death certificate soon after the death. While waiting for Death certificate call mortuary ambulance Services to transport the dead body to their place. You can contact Funeral Service Provider to handle complete Funeral Services including arranging a mortuary vehicle, Freezer box, Coffin box, Washing Human Remains, casket, & other facilities on request.
2. When someone dies in an accident/homicide: If the person is still breathing Call immediate ambulance. Give emergency First Aid if you know. If the person is already dead, inform to police right away & call Mortuary Ambulance to move the body for post-mortem. By obtaining post-mortem report & death certificate call Funeral Service providers for better assistance.
3. When Someone Dies Abroad: When your loved one dies abroad or away from home, the bereavement can become worse. However, you can get help from an organization like VMEDO who give you better assistance in such an emergency and help you with complete funeral arrangements. To get connected with VMEDO, a helpline number is 9343-180000.

There may be multiple original & photocopies of the documents are required to transport the descendant’s transportation to the origin country. Here are a few useful steps that can help for international & domestic dead body transportation:

1. Register the Death: All the deaths should be registered in the country where the person died. To register the death of the deceased with local authorities you should know the following details of the person.
2. Full name & surname of the person.
3. Date of Birth.
4. Passport Number
5. When & where the passport was issued.
6. Death certificate showing the cause of death.
7. Any Government id proof.
8. Embalming Services: Embalming is a type of funeral custom of cleansing and disinfecting bodies after death by removing the blood & gas from the body to keep it away from decomposition & keep it hygienic for the transportation till its final destination. Many a time, they may remove a few organs from the deceased body to avoid decomposition if necessary. After embalming, the body will be kept in coffin box or freezer Box based on the type & distance of transportation.
9. Repatriation Services: For dead body repatriation services, after embalming, the body should be kept in coffin box services & the accompanying passengers should be booked for the same flight & it should subject to Transportation Security Administration(TSA) guidelines.

The different types of documents needed for Repatriation services include:

1. Death Certificate.
2. Embalming certificate.
3. Post-mortem report.
4. Certificate for packing of the coffin.
5. Infectious/non-infectious disease certificate (issued by a Doctor)
6. Certificate of contents issued by undertakers.
7. Funeral Arrangements: Depending upon your requirements Funeral directors help you in arranging transportation of the deceased by Road Ambulance, Air Transportation & Train Transportation & they also help you with Documentation Clearance, Ticket booking & communicating the destination ambulance or funeral directors.

Information required for Funeral Directors:

1. Name of the deceased.
2. The current location of the body.
3. Cause of death.
4. Destination address.
5. Your relationship to the deceased.
6. Transporting Cremated Remains: Many a time cremated remains need to be transported to different cities & sometimes different country through air transportation.

You should check with concerned airlines or Funeral Director to know the policies for transporting cremated human remains. Many of the times it is transported as Cargo which needs documentations & it has to follow T S A (Transportation Safety Administration) guidelines.

The specific requirements include the type of container to be used, which should allow X-rays inside the container to permit the item to transfer. Contact any Funeral director/Funeral Service Provider who assists you in dignified & respectful care of the deceased upon your request.

4. When someone dies at home: When someone dies at home, contact your family doctor or any General physician to confirm the death, which helps to issue the death certificate. Then you can contact Funeral Undertakers or Funeral Service Providers or morgue undertaker service for the better funeral assistance, who can perform Hindu Funeral Services, Christian Funeral Services etc based on your religious customs.

If you are planning to move the dead body to a different place or planning to keep it for more hours, then the body should be kept in a freezer box (icebox) to avoid decomposition.

Funeral planning involves many decisions concerning funeral ceremonies, religious customs, funeral products & final disposition of the body.

Funeral directors can help based on your wishes & needs including coordinating with the cemetery.

The choices to be made when making funeral arrangements include:

1. Method of interment

Will the deceased be buried or cremated?

Will the body be donated to Medical College? Will organs be donated?

2. Ceremonies

What are the funeral traditions to be followed?

Where will the ceremonies be held? At a funeral home? At a place of worship? At the graveside?

Will there be a procession to the cemetery? Will the deceased be transported in a hearse or mortuary vehicle?

Where to purchase Funeral products?

To all the above confusions, the funeral director can assist & arrange on behalf of a family.

    3. Funeral products:

1. Caskets: If the body to be buried, you need to choose a casket that is available in varied sizes and budgets that are made of metals, woods, and fiberglass.
2. Urn: When cremation is the final choice, an urn is needed to hold the ashes until the scattering takes place. Urns are available in marble, wood or metals such as bronze or steel.

The different types of services Funeral directors serve include Funerals of all faiths, burial services with related equipment, Graveside services, cremation services, scattering of Ashes, Coffin box services, Freezer box services, cold storage with mortuary facility, Floral arrangements, Embalming services, Exhumations, Repatriations, Hearse Van Services & Mortuary Vehicle Services.