As quoted in epic Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita, Death is inevitable and certain. It is at this critical time in one’s life that one has to develop the necessary strength and courage to face the situation and do what is expected in the age old cycle of human life – the funeral process of disposing the human body.
In our lifetime, we face this situation many times in the community we live in. Unlike in India where the necessary infrastructure is readily available conducive to the Indian life conditions, it is not so easy overseas. The local customs and infrastructure to handle such situations are present but may not be amenable for Indian way of funeral services.
It is common for most of us not knowing the formalities or having any close contacts with funeral homes until it is absolutely necessary. When it is needed, family members will be in shock, can’t think straight and get panicky, unable to make proper final arrangements for their loved ones. Some funeral homes try to extract as much money as they can depending on the situations. Choosing the right funeral home is the key to have respectable last rites to loved ones.
The quicker we provide the following information, the faster the funeral homes can provide needed services. Some State laws permit family members to take the deceased home if a person dies someplace else other than at home. Deceased will be transported directly from the place of death to the funeral home of a family’s choice. All funeral homes may not have crematorium/burial facilities but may have agreements with nearby funeral homes. Family members have right to choose whatever the facility they prefer.
Information required for funeral services in USA
• Name of the deceased
• Sex
• Date of Birth
• Age
• Birth Place
• Social Security
• Race
• Education
• Marital Status
• Surviving Spouse (if applicable)
• Descendant’s occupation
• Kind of Business/Industry
• Residence Address
• Father’s Name
• Mother’s Maiden Name
• Place of Death – Hospital/Nursing Home/Residence/Other
• County of Death
• City/Town
• Name of Hospital
• Name of the Informant
• Informant’s Mailing address
• Method of Disposition – Burial/Cremation/Removal from State/Donation/Other
Note: Funeral home staff will contact hospital authorities to obtain death certificate and county officials to get county death registration certificate.
Information required for sending the deceased abroad
• Passport of deceased
• Burial Permit/Transit Permit
• One certified copy of the death certificate
• A letter of preparation on funeral home letterhead stating the remains have been hermetically sealed within a zinc lined wooden container (must be notarized)
• Letter of ‘non-contagious’ diseases from the department of Health (with official raised seal)
• No casket requirements
• Zinc lined outer wood box
• If a homicide, a letter of permission to ship from the Police department involved in the investigation and the District Attorney’s office
• One photocopy of all the above documents.
• Inspection of Consul General of India is not required. Consulate fee is $21.00 (estimated)
Note: Funeral home staff will contact concerned officials, coordinate in getting all the necessary documents, airlines to transport the body to overseas provided they have all the required information from the family members in a timely manner. It is estimated that it would take a minimum of three to five days to ship the body depending on the situations. It may cost around $5,000 to $8,000 to send the deceased to Asian countries depending on various logistics.
Services provided by Funeral Homes
Usually, most of the funeral homes provide the following services
• Transport the body from hospital/home/out of state to the funeral home
• Make arrangements with hospital/county officials to get death certificates
• Refrigerate the body
• Arrangements for viewing/memorial services
• Dressing, cosmetology services
• Embalming
• Memorial book
• Flower arrangements
• Chapel/Priestly services
• Motor Escort
• Cremation Urns
• Temporary storage of cremation Urns
• Casket types – Bronze/Hardwood/Stainless Steel/Steel/Cloth covered wood / Card Board Box
• Family Car (Limousine) /Pallbearer Car (Limousine) /Funeral Coach (Hearse) /Service
• Vehicle/Flower Car
Note: Embalming (preserve from decay by arterial injection of a preservative) is not required by law if the burial or cremation takes place within 24 hours. Embalming is also not required if the body is refrigerated or placed in an approved sealed container within 24 hours of death. In all other cases, embalming is must.
For more information, please access https://www.prasadthotakura.com/
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