Crematories

Crematories are the facilities used by funeral homes for cremating deceased individuals. Deciding among the many cremation providers and crematories is a very important but complicated decision. Cremation Options wants the families we serve to have peace of mind about what type of care is involved in preparing their loved one after demise and where their loved one will be located.  We hope to ease your mind by offering this information as a tool to better inform you about the cremation process. Importantly, choosing the final disposition for your loved one should be agreed upon by all family members because it is an irreversible process.  Our site is providing this information to better inform you and your family about funeral homes and their procedures as well as an explanation of how crematories are operated. Funeral arrangement planning can be extremely overwhelming especially to grief stricken families. Usually there are many unanswered questions about where and how loved ones are cremated. 

To guarantee appropriate care for decedents, all funeral homes, cremation societies and crematories in our network follow the due diligence process. In this file, the funeral homes place all documentation and reports. It is generated using four steps.

1. Internal Due Diligence
   
   Due diligence begins with a review of the funeral homes own internal procedures. To ensure that all funeral homes and crematories properly handle the cremation cases, each of the following areas are examined and most states have an authorization for cremation law which will dictate disclosures that will be addressed and signed by authorizing agent(s) prior to the cremation process beginning. If for some reason this law is not a requirement from a particular state, our affiliates require a cremation authorization to be made. At a minimum, the authorizing agent(s) / next of kin(s) will attest to each of the following: A. Identification of the decedent. A positive identification will be required by the closest kinship before allowing the crematory to begin the process of cremation. B. It is a requirement to provide identification proving that you are the legal closest kinship to the decedent before final arrangements can be made. All parties must sign the cremation authorization if there is more than one next of kin before the crematory will proceed with cremation. C. Written authorization from the authorized agent(s) is required in order to allow the disposal of any medical devices implanted in the human remains. Otherwise a authorization must be signed stating no medical devices are present in the deceased’s body and these documents will be given to the crematory. D. You will be given a detailed explanation of the cremation process and then an authorized signature of the authorized agent(s) is required in order for the cremation process to begin. E. Acknowledgment by signature from the authorized agent(s) will be provided stating that either an alternative container or cremation casket will be used for placement and cremation of human remains inside the cremation chamber.
   
   
2. Records Request
   
   The due diligence is the review of operational records and licenses. Crematories provide copies of its licenses and applicable operational records to every funeral home and state official/inspector it serves. The funeral homes keep all records they maintain from the crematory in the due diligence file. In this file, a log is kept showing when the records were requested, received and reviewed. The records request is updated annually.
   
   
3. Interview
   
   

   Interviewing the management and obtaining information of the crematories about personnel, facilities and operations of all affiliated crematories. The state official/inspector and funeral home will interview the facility.

4. Inspection
   
   

   The final step in the due diligence process is that an annual unannounced inspection of the premises by a state official/inspector will be completed during business hours. This is a requirement in order for the establishment to keep their license. To ensure that all laws are being followed, the funeral home is permitted to do their own inspection of the crematory at any time.

Once cremation is complete personnel from all of our funeral homes will retrieve the cremated remains from our affiliated crematories. Last, family members will be notified and an appointment will be set for our professionals to return the cremated remains.  If a cremation urn was chosen, the cremains will be placed inside it with appropriate identification and returned to the family.  If an urn was not selected, then the cremated remains will be placed in a corrugated or hard plastic temporary receptacle with proper identification and then returned to the family. The family might decide to have a memorial service or gathering with or without the cremated remains present.  This will allow family and friends to lend support to each other and talk about fond memories.  A memorial gathering can take place prior to cremation taking place if you decide not to have cremated remains present.

Our caring staff is available for assistance 24 hours-a-day.  For additional information about crematories please contact our firm at any time. If you would like our firm to contact you complete the contact us form. From browsing our site you will be able to view the wide variety of funeral merchandise and services that are available for you. Your loved one will be treated with the utmost dignity and respect.