Home Funeral

Definition of  a home funeral:

• A home funeral is a family or community-centered response to death and after-death care. Families and communities may play a key role in:

• Planning and carrying out after-death rituals or ceremonies, such as laying out the deceased and home visitation of the body;

• Preparing the body for burial or cremation;

• Filing paperwork, such as the death certificate and burial transit permit;

• Transporting the deceased to the place of burial or cremation;

• Facilitating the final disposition, such as digging the grave at a natural burial.

Home funerals may occur within the family home or elsewhere, such as nursing homes or hospitals. The emphasis is on encouraging the family to provide care of the body through minimally invasive and environmentally friendly care practices.

A home funeral guide is a trained individual who educates and empowers families to exercise the innate right of caring for their own dead.