IMMEDIATE NEED
Making the basic decisions
For the person handling disposition arrangements (usually the next of kin), there are some decisions to be made:
What level of help do you desire to accomplish the necessary activities?
- At one end of the spectrum, a funeral director at a mortuary can make most of the arrangements, in consultation with the family.
- At the other end, the family can opt for home death care, managing all the arrangements, including moving and transporting the body, and filing all the necessary paperwork (including attending physician's information).
- In between is family-managed death care with the help of a home funeral consultant or a willing funeral director.
Do you wish to join FCA “at need”? For non-members who wish to use FCA’s providers and prices you should call the office (650-321-2109) in order to expedite joining. You can also go to our membership page and apply for membership on-line or via mail.
Choose between burial and cremation. This must be done by a person who has the right to control the disposition of the remains. Note that the option to donate the body is not available at this point unless previous arrangements have been made. The choice of cremation requires requires an additional form, California's Cemetery and Funeral Bureau's (CFB) printable Declaration for Disposition of Cremated Remains.) See also, CFB's Consumer Guide to Funeral and Cemetery Purchases for general information.
Choose a final resting place for the remains.
- Here is a list of cemeteries in San Francisco, the Peninsula and South Bay
- List of Monument Dealers.
- Here is some information about what to do with ashes
These are only the very basic and immediate decisions. There will be many more.
TM
