Home Funeral Requirements

When planning a green funeral make sure you follow legal home funeral requirements.

Home Funeral Requirements

Even if you use a conventional funeral home and cemetery,
be aware that embalming, expensive caskets and concrete
vaults generally are not required by law. Cemeteries may
set such requirements, and waive them if they choose. So,
if you want a simpler burial, ask around. You may find a
funeral home and cemetery that suits your needs.

If you are thinking about handling a funeral yourself, you
should know that most states clearly allow families to care
for their own dead, according to Lisa Carlson, author of
Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act
of Love. Only six states may limit families who
want to take charge of the process: Connecticut, Indiana,
Louisiana, Michigan (thanks to an uncooperative health
department despite a law that says otherwise), Nebraska and
New York. For more details, read Caring for the Dead,
or contact Carlson at www.funerals.org. If you don’t
hire a funeral director, here are some things you should
know:

Death Certificates. A death certificate
stating the cause of death and signed by a doctor must be
filed, usually in the county or district where death
occurs, where a body is found, or where a body is removed
from a public conveyance or vehicle. This must usually be
accomplished before other permits are granted or before
final disposition.

Embalming. No state requires routine
embalming of all bodies. Refrigeration or dry ice can
substitute for embalming in most instances. Special
circumstances such as extended time between death and
disposition can necessitate embalming under state law.
Interstate transportation by a common carrier also may
require it.