Why is a funeral important?

What is embalming?

Is embalming required when a person dies?

Why does our society view the deceased in an open casket?

What does a funeral director do?

Who regulates funeral homes?

What is cremation?

Can you have cremation with an open casket visitation?

If I choose to be cremated, can I have a funeral?
What happens to a person's remains after cremation?

Isn't direct cremation easier?

Can cremated remains be scattered?

Do Catholics allow cremation?
I am a veteran, what am I entitled to?
How much does the Social Security Administration pay for funeral expenses?

Question - What is the purpose of a funeral?

Answer - The funeral fills important needs in our society. It provides for the dignified and respectful care of the deceased. It is a special tribute to a unique life. The funeral service helps the survivors face the reality of death – the first step in overcoming grief. It affords those friends and relatives an opportunity to express the love and respect they feel for someone who was important to them. Seeing how much someone cares can be a tremendous psychological help to a bereaved family adjusting to their loss.

Question - Why is a funeral important?

Answer - For many, a visitation followed by a funeral or memorial service is the first step in the grieving process. It is a time when friends, family and other guests can come together to grieve openly and to support one another in a community environment. It is also a time to say good-bye. Viewing the deceased can bring a sense of closure to the bereaved who may be in shock and denial.

There are numerous ways that you can personalize a funeral or memorial service. Services can be traditional or as unique as the life being celebrated. Below are a few ideas to consider. Feel free to discuss your ideas with your funeral director. Together, you can come up with a funeral arrangement that not only meets your budget but also is a fitting tribute to your loved one.

Ask your funeral director about using memory boards or tables. You can display cherished photos of your loved one on a memory board. If your loved one had a hobby, feel free to display objects related to that hobby such as crafts, collectibles, golf clubs, etc. Some families even allow guests to take a craft or collectible of their choosing as a remembrance of the deceased. If you have family photo albums, they can be placed around the visitation room or on a memory table for guests to look through.

Your funeral director can also help you personalize the casket or urn. Many casket styles come with personalization panels. These panels are displayed in the raised lid of the casket. These panels can reflect the life of a gardener, sports enthusiast, animal lover, veteran, member of the armed services, fisherman, etc.

Some panels also depict religious affiliation or cultural background. Aurora even offers a casket with seven interchangeable styles of corners and matching insert panels. The corner styles include: praying hands, celtic cross, columns, wheat stalks, pieta, angel and latin cross.

Cremation urns can also be personalized in similar ways. Many styles of cremation urns can be engraved not only with the deceased's name and dates but also with a design that reflects a particular hobby, interest or religious affiliation. For urns that cannot be engraved, Aurora offers engraved easels that can be placed next to the urn.

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Question - What is embalming?

Question - Is embalming required when a person dies?

Answer - Embalming is required if there will be a visitation. If the deceased is to be directly buried or cremated, embalming is not necessary. A funeral home or mortuary can refrigerate the body until burial or cremation takes place.

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Question - Why does our society view the deceased in an open casket?

Answer - Viewing is part of many cultural and ethnic traditions. Many grief specialists affirm that viewing the body aids tremendously in the grief process by helping the survivors recognize the reality of the death. This is the first step in the healing process.

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Question - What does a funeral director do?

Answer - A funeral director can perform over a 100 individual services for a family. Some of these services include:
Picking up the deceased and transporting to the funeral home (any time of day or night). Notifying proper authorities, family and/or relatives. Arranging and preparing death certificates. Providing certified copies of death certificates for insurance and benefit processing. Working with insurance agent, social security or veteran's administrations to ensure that necessary paperwork is filed for receipt of benefits. Prepares and submits obituary to local paper(s). Bathing and embalming (if necessary) of the deceased. Preparation of the body for viewing including dressing and cosmetizing. Assisting the family with funeral arrangements and purchase of casket/urn, burial vault and cemetery plot (if needed) and marker (if needed) and ordering final dates to be inscribed. If a burial is to be performed, scheduling the opening and closing of the grave with cemetery personnel. Coordinating with clergy if a funeral or memorial service is to be held. Arranging a police escort and transportation to the funeral and/or cemetery for the family. Ordering funeral sprays and other flower arrangements as needed. Providing Aftercare (grief) assistance to the bereaved.

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Question - Who regulates funeral homes?

Answer - Although laws vary from state to state, the Federal Trade Commission is currently one of the regulating agencies overseeing funeral homes. Funeral homes are required to itemize their funeral service charges and you, as the consumer, then have the ability to tailor-make your funeral arrangements. We encourage families to gather as much information as possible. An informed consumer is a wise consumer.

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Question – What is cremation?

Answer – Cremation is simply a form of disposition. The crematable casket is placed in a cremation chamber where, though the process of heat and evaporation, the body is reduced to its original elements--bone fragments, not ashes.

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Question – Can you have cremation with an open casket visitation?

Answer - Yes, most families select an appropriate funeral service to take place before the cremation or after. You may still have a traditional funeral with visitation, with the cremation disposition taking place after the service. The psychological benefits of viewing our loved ones and having the opportunity to say good-bye are well documented and are available with cremation.

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Question - If I choose to be cremated, can I have a funeral?

Answer - Yes. Cremation can take place either before or after a funeral depending on what type of service you choose. You can have a viewing, funeral/memorial service or interment (burial). Contact your funeral director to discuss your service options.

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Question - What happens to a person's remains after cremation?

Answer - After a person is cremated, the remains are placed either in an urn or temporary container. The remains can be returned to the family for scattering or kept as a memorial in the home. Other options include placement of the remains in a columbarium or burial in a family plot. If the remains are to be buried in a family plot, you may be required by the cemetery to purchase an urn vault.

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Question - Isn't direct cremation easier?

Answer - Direct cremation usually means cremation with no visitation or services. Some people choose direct cremation believing that the quickest, simplest option is best. However, all cultures recognize the need to come together to share and grieve at the time of death. Most people require something more than only to dispose of their loved one. Grief shared is grief diminished.

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Question - Can cremated remains be scattered?

Answer - A family may, if they wish, scatter the cremated remains of their loved one on privately-owned property with the consent of the property owner. Currently there are no Iowa laws with regard to scattering on public lands such as rivers, lakes and forests. If you select scattering, always be sure to check your local, state and federal laws concerning scattering of cremains. In addition, later generations of the family may not have a place to go to pay tribute, if that private property has been sold or developed into something else. Only a cemetery provides for the dignified, permanent record and memorialization of cremated remains.

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Question - Do Catholics allow cremation?

Answer - The Vatican now permits in the U.S. funeral Masses with cremated remains present. It will be the decision of each bishop to determine if this is pastorally appropriate in his diocese.

The introductory material from the Vatican reiterated that the church prefers "that the body of the deceased be present for the funeral rites" and stresses that cremated remains be treated with respect and should be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum or columbarium. Scattering at sea, from the air or ground, or kept at home are not reverent disposition.

Question - I am a veteran, what am I entitled to?

Answer - The Veterans Administration (VA) will pay a burial allowance up to $1500 if the veteran's death is service-connected. All veterans must be honorably discharged to receive any benefits. VA will also pay the cost of transporting the remains of a service-disabled veteran to the national cemetery nearest the home of the deceased that has available grave sites. VA will pay a $300 burial and funeral expense allowance for veterans who, at the time of their death, were entitled to receive pension or compensation. Eligibility also is established when death occurs in a VA facility or a nursing home with which VA is contracted. Additional costs of transportation of the remains may be reimbursed. VA will pay a $150 plot allowance when a veteran is not buried in a cemetery that is under U.S. government jurisdiction if the veteran has a service-related disability, was receiving compensation or pension or if the veteran died while hospitalized by VA. The plot allowance is not payable solely on wartime service. All honorably discharged veteran are entitled to an American flag and a grave marker. The grave marker does not include installation, foundation and perpetual care charges that a cemetery may charge.

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Question - How much does the Social Security Administration pay for funeral expenses?

Answer - Social Security has cut back the benefits payable for funeral expenses. Social Security will pay a lump sum death benefit of $255 to a surviving spouse or dependent children only. No benefit is paid to survivors upon the second spouse's death.

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