Frequent Questions

The funeral director's job is to assist the bereaved in various ways to help them through the loss of a loved one. A funeral director provides bereavement and consolation services for the living, in addition to making arrangements for the cremation, burial, and memorial services for the deceased. He fulfills the role of funeral arranger, funeral director, funeral attendant, and embalmer.

The following list is not all-inclusive, but describes some of the major tasks of a funeral director: 

•     Removal and transfer of the deceased from the place of death to the funeral home
•     Professional care of the deceased, including embalming, casketing, and cosmetology
•     Consulting with family to make arrangements for the funeral service
•     Filing certificates, permits, and other required forms
•     Obtaining copies of the death certificate
•     Arrangements with the cemetery, crematory, or other places of final disposition
•     Creates and publishes the obituary
•     Arrangements for clergy, music, flowers, transportation, pallbearers, and special fraternal or military services
•     Directs and manages the funeral service and the funeral procession
•     Assists the family with death-related claims, including Social Security, VA insurance, grief counseling

A traditional funeral involves a number of services which add to the total cost. Besides a non-declinable basic services fee, other charges may include removal/transfer of the body to the funeral home; embalming; other preparation of the body; use of facilities and staff for viewing; use of facilities and staff for the funeral ceremony; use of a hearse, service car, or van; a basic memorial printed package; metal casket, a vault or grave liner, and purchase of a cemetery plot.

A funeral or memorial service provides an opportunity for the living to show respect for the deceased and pay tribute to their life. It provides a framework to freely and openly express our beliefs, feelings, and thoughts about the death of our loved one. It gives us permission to grieve our loss, share in solidarity, and gain strength from others who are experiencing the same loss.

The four main types of funeral services include the traditional funeral service, the memorial service, the committal service, and  celebration of life service.

Yes, cremation or burial is merely the disposition of the body. Funeral services are to honor and remember your loved one, regardless of disposition.

Pre-arranging funeral services can be done regardless of the final disposition. Pre-arranging is simply recording your wishes with the funeral home and prefunding if you choose to do so.

• Advance Directives - If the deceased left any written advance directives concerning the disposition of his remains and memorialization, you need to bring them with you. These instructions may be found in a will, or there may be a formally witnessed disposition directive, funeral pre-arrangements, or a pre-need contract.
• Military Discharge Papers
• Details on any cemetery property owned by the deceased or the family (grave plot, columbarium space, etc.)
• Recent photograph of the deceased and any personal effects that you wish to be included in the viewing or burial
• Specific information on the deceased: 
•     Full legal name
•     Address
•     Marital status
•     Social Security number
•     Date of birth
•     Place of birth (city and state)
•     Educational history (number of years of schooling)
•     Armed Forces service dates and serial number
•     Occupation or profession
•     Parent's names, including mother's maiden name
•     Next of kin and other survivors

 A rental casket is a specially constructed casket that can only be used for cremation.  The outer shell of the casket is what you rent and the interior removable container, including all the fabric portions, is what is cremated with the deceased. You cannot rent any of the other caskets shown on our website because Massachusetts does not allow us to reuse caskets and rental caskets can only be used for cremation, not for earth burial.

Certified copies of the death certificate are issued by the City or Town Clerk where the deceased resided or passed away. Most families need between 3 to 10 copies and in most cases, we are able to obtain these copies for you in 5 to 10 days from the date we release the funeral record to the state.  If the Medical Examiner has recorded the cause of death as Pending, it may take up to 90 days before a cause of death is recorded by them. Until that time certified copies will say "Pending" as the cause of death.

In most cases it takes about a week to ten days from the date of death until we are able to obtain the cremated remains from the crematory. In Massachusetts there is a mandatory 48-hour waiting period before the cremation can occur.  We find that frequently it can take that amount of time or longer to get the doctor to complete and sign the final death certificate. Only then can we schedule with the medical examiner for their authorization to schedule the cremation. We find it prudent to plan on at least 10 days before planning services in which the cremated remains will be present.

In Massachusetts, the death certificate system is online and it includes the electronic notification of Social Security when the death certificate is filed by us with the State (this must be done before a cremation or a burial takes place). If the deceased has a surviving spouse he/she will have to go to a Social Security office (or use the SS teleclaims system) in order to determine survivors benefits and to file for the Lump Sum Death Benefit.  If the deceased did not have a surviving spouse then no further contact with the Social Security system is needed. If a payment is received after the death of a person it should be left in the bank account and the SSA will "claw it back".  If a second payment is received after the death you should notify us and we will resubmit the notification manually.