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Loved One Died? How To Start The Cremation Process

14 June 2017

Stacy Carpenter

If your loved one has passed away, and you know that they want to be cremated but your loved one has not put in writing the specific steps that you need to take following their death to start the cremating process, here are some tips on what you need to do to fulfill your loved one's wishes.

#1 Get Your Loved One's Death Certificate

You are going to need to obtain your loved one's death certificate before the crematory process can start. How you obtain the death certificate depends upon how your loved on died.

If your loved one passed away while at a hospital, the coroner at the hospital should create a death certificate for you loved one. If your loved one passed away at home, and was privately transported to funeral home, you are going to need to contact the records office or local county health office in order to get a death certificate issued.

Once you obtain a death certificate, get as many copies as you can, as you will need your loved one's death certificate to do take care of many other legal matters as well.

#2 Share Death Certificate With The Cremation Facility

Now that you have the death certificate, you are going to want to take it to the funeral director where your loved one will be cremated. They will need an official copy of the death certificate, not a photo copy of it. The funeral director is going to need to keep the death certificate that you give them.

#3 Arrange For Transportation Of The Body

Next, you are going to need to arrange for transportation of the body from the emergency services, hospital, nursing home, county coroner's office, or other location where your loved one's body is being held.

Most of these locations are going to require you to fill out some paperwork before they release the body to you for cremation. This form is called the "Release To Cremate."

To fill out this form, you will need to know important information about your loved one, such as their birth date, death date and cause of death. You are also going to need to know if your loved one has any metal implants in their body, like a pacemaker. These items will not burn during cremation. You may also be asked how you want things such as prosthesis, dentures, and hearing aids handled as these are also items that will not burn through the cremation process.

#4 The Actual Transportation Of The Body

Once you have done everything above, you can now have the body transported to the location for the cremation. You can use the transportation services provided by the funeral home for this process or you can hire a private transport service to carry out this task for you. 

For additional help with this process contact a funeral home, like Ryan-Parke Funeral Home. They will be able to answer any additional questions.

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