I have been asked this question several times by families. With the increasing interest in direct cremation, a family may question their need to deal with a funeral home at all. Now, this may all depend on your state and whether your funeral services provider has its own crematory.
Do I legally have to employ a funeral director?
In most states, you do not. There are only 10 states that have laws in place explicitly requiring you to employ a funeral director for death-care services. A list of these and their specific funeral laws can be found here in a guide to DIY Funerals – Home Funeral Care.
Can I transport the deceased directly to a crematory?
In states that do not require a funeral director to transport the deceased legally, you may be able to transport the deceased in a suitable cremation container or casket directly to the crematory. Of course, moving a dead body is not for everyone. Considerations must be made about how easily the body can be moved and the public health and safety aspects of managing a corpse.
What is a ‘direct’ cremation? And what services do the funeral home offer?
Direct Cremation from as little as $795 – Find your Local DFS Memorials location now.
A direct cremation is where only the cremation is facilitated by the funeral services provider. No visitation, viewing, or ceremony is held. The deceased is transferred from the place of death to the funeral home or crematory. There, he or she is placed in a refrigerated shelter for a few days while all the correct authorizations and permits are obtained.
Once all legal requirements are met, the deceased is cremated in a basic cremation container. The cremation ashes are then returned to the family in a temporary cremation urn.
The funeral director arranges the transportation of the deceased and assists the family with completing the necessary arrangements, authorizations, and submission for the death certificate.
A direct cremation service from a funeral home is a minimal service level package. As the cost for a direct cremation service is at an ‘entry point’ level, so are the services offered by the funeral home.
Some funeral service providers offer more than one direct cremation package, from a minimal service where most of the arrangements are made online to concierge services where more support and extra benefits, such as copies of the death certificate, obituary notice, and upgraded cremation urns, are offered.
What are the benefits of employing a funeral director to conduct a direct cremation?
Employing a funeral home or funeral director to conduct a direct cremation service does mean that you are using the services of a licensed professional with experience. Although it is not a legal requirement in many states, it can still be a preferred option to let someone who knows exactly what they are doing handle everything.
The funeral director will already have processes for collating the data required legally to issue a death certificate and obtain cremation authorizations and permits from the county.
Also, it can take several days to complete these before the cremation can go ahead, so you can be assured that your loved one is sheltered with care. Many states have a mandatory wait period after death before a cremation can proceed. (24-48 hours)
With direct cremation gaining popularity as the ‘simple’ cremation option, more funeral service providers are offering competitive direct cremation packages. For under $1,000 in many cities, employing a cremation provider to handle everything is much simpler!
Direct Cremation from as little as $795 – Find your Local DFS Memorials location now.
Do you need a casket for a cremation?
The simple answer is no. Legally, there is no requirement for a casket. Generally, a simple cremation container is used for direct cremation. This is a reinforced cardboard container, often with a plywood bottom. This burns quickly during the cremation process.
Alternatively, simple plywood or pine coffins can be used. Direct cremation is affordable because only a basic cremation container is used.
More funeral homes are also offering rental caskets for their cremation families. A ceremonial cremation rental casket is designed to house the basic cremation container inside for viewing or ceremony. The cremation container with the body simply slides out and can be moved to the crematory for cremation. This means that even if a funeral service or viewing is required before cremation, you do not need to purchase a casket, and can reduce overall cremation costs.
What can you do with the cremation ashes if you opt for a cremation without a ceremony?
This is another frequently asked question, as more families are choosing a simple cremation. Fewer families are concerned about interring cremation ashes because of the costs involved. What had been an inexpensive cremation can become costlier with cemetery or columbarium cremation niche fees.
Some families just want to scatter the ashes after a family memorial service, which makes the whole disposition process inexpensive and personal. There is also no time frame for doing something with the ashes, which can allow family members to take time to grieve and decide on a befitting final resting place at a later date.
There are also many different cremation artifact products now, some of which allow the ashes to be blended into a keepsake memorial.
The growing market for simple and direct cremation is changing how funeral homes operate and giving families more control and options. If you need to find out the cost of a direct cremation in your area, use the DFS Local Provider Search to find your nearest city and DFS Memorials provider.
Sara Marsden-Ille is the co-founder and editor of DFS Memorials as well as US Funerals Online. She has been writing about funeral planning, consumer rights, and cremation costs since 2003, when US Funerals Online launched — one of the first independent funeral consumer resources in the United States. Sara is responsible for editorial standards across the DFS Memorials network and helps to host the Cremation Nation podcast.
