frequent questions

It is the customary way to recognize death and its finality. Funerals are recognized rituals for the living to show respect for the dead and to help survivors begin the grief process.

At some time in our lives, most of us will make or assist in making funeral arrangements. This will not be an easy time, but we offer these tips for smart planning:

  • Be an informed consumer and ask questions

  • Choose an independent funeral home and a licensed funeral director

  • Discuss all service and payment options during the funeral arrangements

  • Make sure you receive a copy of the funeral home's General Price List

  • Be prepared and make decisions and organize details in advance of need

  • Plan a personalized and meaningful ceremony to help you begin healing

Funeral directors are caregivers and administrators. They make the arrangements for transportation of the deceased, complete all necessary paperwork, and implement the choices made by the family regarding the funeral and final disposition of the decedent.

Funeral directors are listeners, advisors, and supporters. They have experience assisting the bereaved in coping with death. Funeral directors are trained to answer questions about grief, recognize when a person is having difficulty coping, and recommend sources of professional help. Funeral directors also link survivors with support groups at the funeral home or in the community.

In most states, family members may bury their own dead although regulations vary. However, most people find it very trying to be solely responsible for arranging the details and legal matters surrounding a death.

In some states, a burial permit is required. The burial permit requires a death certificate that must be signed by a funeral director.

Viewing is part of many cultural and ethnic traditions. Many grief specialists believe that viewing aids the grief process by helping the bereaved recognize the reality of death. Viewing is encouraged for children, as long as the process is explained and the activity voluntary.

Every family is different, and not everyone wants the same type of funeral. Funeral practices are influenced by religious and cultural traditions, costs, and personal preferences. These factors help determine whether the funeral will be elaborate or simple, public or private, religious or secular, and where it will be held. They also influence whether the decedent will be present at the funeral, if there will be a viewing or visitation, and if so, whether the casket will be open or closed, and whether the decedent will be buried or cremated.

Embalming sanitizes and preserves the decedent, retards the decomposition process, and enhances the appearance of a decedent disfigured by traumatic death or illness.

Embalming makes it possible to lengthen the time between death and the final disposition, thus allowing family members time to arrange and participate in the type of service most comforting to them.

No. Most states, however, require embalming when death was caused by a reportable contagious disease, or when the decedent is to be transported from one state to another by common carrier, or if final disposition is not to be made within a prescribed number of hours.

In Michigan, embalming is required if the final disposition is after 48 hours.

No, cremation is an alternative to earth burial or entombment for the decedent's final disposition and often follows a traditional funeral service.

As more people are choosing cremation, funeral service professionals are striving to give consumers a true sense of what their many options are for a funeral service. Often funeral directors find that people have a preconception that they have fewer choices for a ceremony when selecting cremation for themselves or a loved one. Therefore, they request direct cremation and deny the surviving friends and family an opportunity to honor them with a memorial service. In actuality, cremation is only part of the commemorative experience. In fact, cremation can actually increase your options when planning a funeral. Cremation gives people the flexibility to search for types of tributes that reflect the life being honored. But this doesn't mean that aspects of traditional funeral services have to be discarded. Even with cremation, a meaningful memorial that is personalized to reflect the life of the deceased could include:

A visitation prior to the service

An open or closed casket

Special music

A ceremony at the funeral chapel, your place of worship, or other special location

Participation by friends and family

Commonly, the cremated decedent is placed in an urn and committed to an indoor or outdoor mausoleum or columbarium; interred in a family burial plot, or included in a special urn garden.

Cremation also gives families the option to scatter the decedent. This can be done in a designated cemetery garden or at a place that was special to the person. Today, cremated remains can even become part of an ocean reef or made into diamonds.

We can assist you with the necessary information for a funeral or memorial service with a cremation. For more technical information about the cremation process, we encourage you to view information on-line at the National Funeral Directors Association.

In 2009, the national average cost of an adult, full-service funeral was $6,560. This includes a professional service charge, transfer of deceased, embalming, other preparation, use of viewing facilities, use of facilities for ceremony, hearse, service car or van, and metal casket. This average increases to $7,755 if a vault is included. Cemetery and monument charges are additional. (Source: 2010 NFDA General Price List Survey.)

Funeral service is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and state licensing boards. In most cases, the consumer should discuss problems with the funeral director first. If the dispute cannot be solved by talking with the funeral director, the consumer may wish to contact the Funeral Service Consumer Assistance Program. FSCAP provides information, mediates disputes, provides arbitration, and maintains a consumer guarantee fund for reimbursement of services rendered. (To contact FSCAP, call 708-827-6337 or 800-662-7666).

When a death occurs, Howe-Peterson Funeral Home personnel are available to assist you at any hour, seven days a week. Call 313-561-1500 or any of our locations for assistance. We will help coordinate arrangements with the cemetery, church, and clergy.

If you request immediate assistance, yes. If the family wishes to spend a short time with the deceased to say goodbye, that is also acceptable. Howe-Peterson staff will come when the time is right for you.

When a death occurs away from home, Howe-Peterson Funeral Home can assist you with out-of-state arrangements and transfer the deceased to a preferred location. Call 313-561-1500 for assistance.