Frequent Questions
Click on the questions below to reveal each respective answer.
Funerals fill an important role for those mourning the loss of a loved one. By providing surviving family and friends with an atmosphere of care and support in which to celebrate a loved one and share memories, funerals can be the first step in the healing process. Funerals are recognized rituals for the living to show their respect for the deceased and those close to the deceased.
Funeral services are available for any family, whether burial or cremation is chosen. Planning a personalized ceremony or service can help say goodbye, provide a meaningful homecoming, and begin the healing process.
Your funeral director is available to help you in a variety of ways. Funeral directors are on call each hour and day of the week to receive calls if someone has passed. Upon notification of a passing, the funeral director contacts the family to arrange to take the deceased into our care, determine what kind of preparation is preferred by the family, and schedule a meeting for the funeral arrangement.
After meeting with families and establishing service days and times, the director will make all necessary arrangements to prepare for the service and final disposition of the deceased. This involves communicating with several different parties, such as clergy, florists, cemeteries, newspapers, police escorts, and other vendors.
In preparation for services, funeral directors work together with a team of funeral professionals to prepare death certificates, burial and cremation permits, insurance filings and other necessary paperwork required for Social Security and the Veterans Administration.
Sometimes funeral directors are also licensed embalmers who are trained in body preservation, preparation, and restorative art. They will prepare the deceased for viewing, including dressing, casketing and cosmetizing.
Funeral directors and the entire funeral professional team are also available after services are completed to answer questions and provide assistance to the families we serve.
After meeting with families and establishing service days and times, the director will make all necessary arrangements to prepare for the service and final disposition of the deceased. This involves communicating with several different parties, such as clergy, florists, cemeteries, newspapers, police escorts, and other vendors.
In preparation for services, funeral directors work together with a team of funeral professionals to prepare death certificates, burial and cremation permits, insurance filings and other necessary paperwork required for Social Security and the Veterans Administration.
Sometimes funeral directors are also licensed embalmers who are trained in body preservation, preparation, and restorative art. They will prepare the deceased for viewing, including dressing, casketing and cosmetizing.
Funeral directors and the entire funeral professional team are also available after services are completed to answer questions and provide assistance to the families we serve.
Your funeral director will help guide you each step of the way after a loved one has passed. Below is a helpful list to assist you with taking care of all the details with your director.
1. Bring the following information to the arrangement to help complete the State vital statistic requirements:
3. Decide on appropriate memorial to which gifts or donations may be made (church, hospice, library, charity or school). Your director can add this information to the obituary and also set donation envelopes out at the services.
4. Gather other obituary information you want to include such as age, place of birth, occupation, college degrees, memberships held, military service, outstanding work, and list of family members. Your director will submit the obituary to the necessary newspapers.
5. Select photos for the obituary and tribute DVD. Each DVD can be up to fifty photos and your director will create it for you.
6. Take care of yourself. Arrange for members of family or close friends to take turns answering door or phone, keeping careful record of calls. Be sure to schedule your meals and stay hydrated. Grieving is physically taxing as well as emotionally taxing, and it's important to keep a healthy schedule and get plenty of food, water, and sleep.
1. Bring the following information to the arrangement to help complete the State vital statistic requirements:
- Birth Date
- Birthplace
- Father's Name
- Mother's Name
- Social Security Number
- Veteran's Discharge (DD214)
- Education
- Marital Status
3. Decide on appropriate memorial to which gifts or donations may be made (church, hospice, library, charity or school). Your director can add this information to the obituary and also set donation envelopes out at the services.
4. Gather other obituary information you want to include such as age, place of birth, occupation, college degrees, memberships held, military service, outstanding work, and list of family members. Your director will submit the obituary to the necessary newspapers.
5. Select photos for the obituary and tribute DVD. Each DVD can be up to fifty photos and your director will create it for you.
6. Take care of yourself. Arrange for members of family or close friends to take turns answering door or phone, keeping careful record of calls. Be sure to schedule your meals and stay hydrated. Grieving is physically taxing as well as emotionally taxing, and it's important to keep a healthy schedule and get plenty of food, water, and sleep.
If you request immediate assistance, yes, someone will arrive within 60-90 minutes, depending on the distance. If the family wishes to spend a short time with the deceased to say good-bye, that’s perfectly acceptable. Your funeral director will arrange when the time is right.
Burial in a casket is the most common method of disposition in the United States, although entombment also occurs. Cremation is increasingly selected because it can be less expensive and allows for the memorial service to be held at a more convenient time in the future when relatives and friends can come together.
A funeral service followed by cremation need not be any different from a funeral service followed by a burial. Usually, cremated remains are placed in urn before being committed to a final resting place. The urn may be buried, placed in an indoor or outdoor mausoleum, or interred in a special urn garden that many cemeteries provide for cremated remains. The remains may also be scattered, according to state law.
Viewing is a part of many cultural and ethnic traditions. Many grief specialists believe that viewing aids the grief process by helping the bereaved recognize the reality of death. Viewing is encouraged for children, as long as the process is explained and the activity is voluntary.
Embalming sanitizes and preserves the body. Embalming makes it possible to lengthen the time between death and the final disposition, allowing family members time to arrange and participate in the type of service most comforting to them. For preservation and public health purposes, we require embalming for all public viewings.
The Federal Trade Commission says, "Except in certain special cases, embalming is not required by law. Embalming may be necessary, however, if you select certain funeral arrangements, such as a funeral with viewing. If you do not want embalming, you usually have the right to choose an arrangement that does not require you to pay for it, such as direct cremation or immediate burial."
When compared to other major life events like births and weddings, funerals are not expensive. A funeral home is a 24-hour, labor-intensive business, with extensive facilities (viewing rooms, chapels, limousines, hearses, etc.); these expenses must be factored into the cost of a funeral.
Additionally, the cost of a funeral includes not only merchandise, like caskets, but the services of a funeral director making arrangements; filing appropriate forms; dealing with doctors, ministers, florists, newspapers and others; notifying the state and completing the necessary paperwork; and seeing to all other necessary details.
It really depends entirely on how you wish to commemorate a life. One of the advantages of cremation is that it provides you with increased flexibility when you make your funeral and cemetery arrangements. You might, for example, choose to have a funeral service before the cremation; a memorial service at the time of cremation or after the cremation with the urn present; or a committal service at the final disposition of cremated remains. Funeral or memorial services can be held in a place of worship, a funeral home or in a crematory chapel.
With cremation, your options are numerous. The cremains can be interred in a cemetery plot, i.e., earth burial, retained by a family member, usually in an urn, or scattered on private property or at a place that was significant to the deceased. (It is always advisable to check for local regulations regarding scattering in a public place; your funeral director can help you with this.)
Today, there are many different types of memorial options from which to choose. Memorialization is a time-honored tradition that has been practiced for centuries. A memorial serves as a tribute to a life lived and provides a focal point for remembrance, as well as a record for future generations. The type of memorials you choose, from jewels made from ashes to keeping lockets or glass orbs, are a personal decision.
You might choose ground burial of the urn. If so, you may usually choose either a bronze memorial or monument. Cremation niches are also available at many cemeteries. They offer the beauty of a mausoleum setting with the benefits of above ground placement of remains. Many cemeteries also offer scattering gardens. This area of a cemetery offers the peacefulness of a serene garden where family and friends can come and reflect.
If you wish to have your ashes scattered somewhere, it is important to discuss your wishes to be scattered ahead of time with the person or persons who will be taking care of your affairs. Funeral directors can also be very helpful in creating a meaningful and personal ash scattering ceremony that they will customize to fit your families specific desires. The services can be as formal or informal as you like and can also be public or private. It is advisable to check for local regulations regarding scattering in a public place. Your funeral director can help you with this.
Yes — Depending upon the cemetery's policy, you may be able to save a grave space by having the cremains buried on top of the casketed remains of your spouse, or utilize the space provided next to him/her. Many cemeteries allow for multiple cremated remains to be interred in a single grave space.
Uncertainty about income tax issues can add to the stress experienced from the death of a spouse. You should meet with your family attorney and/or tax advisor as soon as possible to review your particular tax and estate circumstances. Bring a detailed list of your questions to the meeting. If you do not have an attorney or tax advisor, call the IRS toll-free at 800-829-1040 for answers to specific tax questions.
There are a number of options available, including:
- Determine if the deceased person qualifies for any entitlements. Check with the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and with your State Fund. Many people are entitled to get financial assistance with their funeral costs from these agencies if they qualify.
- Review all insurance policies the deceased person has, including life insurance. Some life insurance policies have coverage clauses for funeral related costs.
- Find local charities providing financial help for funeral expenses. Search for non profit organizations and for churches in your area.
- Talk to your funeral director about your options. He or she will work with you to provide a meaningful memorial within your price range.
© 2024 Paul R. Young Funeral Home. All Rights Reserved. Funeral Home website by CFS & TA | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Accessibility