ALBERTA FUNERAL SERVICE ASSOCIATION
Whether you’re planning ahead or making decisions in the moment, understanding your options — ceremonies, disposition, financial planning, and the practical steps involved — can help you feel more in control of the process.
A helpful guide to provide general information regarding practical issues surrounding death. Also provides a comprehensive reading list. This guide is now available free of charge both in print or digital versions.
Pre-Need is the prearrangement and planning of funeral services before the need arises. Making these decisions in advance eases the burden on the people you love.
Pre-Need is the prearrangement and planning of funeral services before the need arises, often years before the death occurs. A funeral director records your preferences for the type of service desired, music and flowers, casket selection or cremation, and other information. You and your family receive a copy of the preferences, and the funeral home keeps a copy as well.
People prearrange funerals for many reasons. Some have definite preferences and want their families informed or involved. Others want to save their survivors from having to make choices at a difficult time. Many like the financial savings that come from prepaying expenses. In any case, funeral prearrangement can ease many concerns and is often viewed as an element of estate planning.
Services can be planned for you and your family members at a convenient time by contacting a funeral director to discuss the selection of merchandise and services. Simply ask the funeral director of your choice, either at the firm or in the comfort of your own home. There is no charge for such a consultation.
Understanding your options for funding a funeral — both in advance and at the time of need — helps make sure your wishes can be carried out without financial strain on your family.
No, although families choose to for many reasons. Prefinancing reduces financial concerns, preventing an unnecessary burden at a time of loss because it ensures funds are available when needed. Prefinancing can also help offset inflation — allowing you to pay tomorrow’s costs at today’s prices.
Trusts can be revocable or irrevocable. In most cases they are revocable, meaning funds can be withdrawn at any time. At the time of death, funds can be paid directly to the funeral home upon presentation of the death certificate. Trusts are often used to protect an individual’s assets and help with estate planning.
With life insurance, coverage often begins the day you apply for a policy, and you may not be required to hold your policy for a specified period before receiving full benefits. Flexible payment plans may also be available.
If funeral preparations take place at a funeral home other than the one prearranged with, records of your preferences can be transferred. If funds were in a trust, they normally will be paid to the funeral home providing services. Insurance will be applied toward your arrangements regardless of the funeral home that provides services, subject to the funeral home’s policy and provincial laws.
The fee may depend on whether or not the deceased had some church affiliation or involvement. It is customary to provide an honorarium to the officiating clergy. Local policy set by the congregation or district will determine if there is a rental charge for the church. Your funeral director can help with these questions.
Disposition is the term used by the funeral profession to describe the final handling of the deceased’s remains. Your initial decision is between burial and cremation, with several variations on each. Whichever choice you make, the body will eventually return to its natural elements.
Decomposition of the body in the earth (after burial) is the slow oxidation of body tissues. Cremation provides rapid oxidation. No casket is legally required for cremation, just a simple container strong enough to hold the body. Some crematories accept metal caskets; most require the container to be combustible.
In Alberta, there is no restriction on when a cremation may occur.
Most people who select cremation have a viewing and a ceremony, which is very helpful to the family before the cremation takes place.
A funeral home or crematorium must not charge for holding or storing cremated remains during the 60-day period following cremation. After that, a storage fee may be charged. Under provincial regulations, if remains are not retrieved within one year, the funeral home has the right to dispose of them. Families store remains for many reasons — waiting for weather, a family gathering, interment with a spouse, or a meaningful date like Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
A funeral or memorial service can be as unique as the person being honoured. Today’s services often reflect a person’s whole life — their passions, their heritage, and the people who mattered to them.
A funeral is an important part of the mourning process and fulfills the needs of the bereaved. It:
A funeral is so much more than a way to say goodbye — it’s an opportunity to celebrate the life of someone special. From simple touches like displaying personal photographs to events created around a favourite pastime, funerals can reflect any aspect of a person’s life and personality. Questions to help personalize a service:
A memorial service is a service without the body present. Ceremony and procedures can vary according to community and religious affiliation. Some families prefer public visitations followed by a private or graveside service, with a memorial service later at the church or funeral home. Because the body is not present, disposition may take place either before or after the service.
A visitation is when the body is laid out in the casket (which may be open or closed) before the service so that mourners may come to “visit.” A visitation offers a chance to pay final respects and can be a time for mourners to meet and console each other in a more informal setting than at the funeral. Visitations can range from half an hour on the day of the service to several days beforehand, and can be private, public, or a combination.
Viewing is helpful in accepting that death has occurred, especially for the immediate family. Each family member can physically say farewell.
A Celebrant is a person who seeks to meet the needs of families during their time of loss by providing a funeral service that is personalized to reflect the personality and lifestyle of the deceased.
A Celebrant:
Embalming has been recorded in history as far back as the Egyptians. The procedure has changed many times over the centuries to what we know as modern-day embalming.
Embalming today is done for two primary reasons — to allow adequate time between death and burial to observe social customs such as visitations and funeral services, and to prevent the spread of infection. Cosmetic work is often used for aesthetic reasons. Without embalming, most remains become un-viewable within a short time.
Embalming is not mandatory, but without specific instruction, it is usually done. There are also certain regulations to be followed if public transportation is involved.
Some families choose to have their loved one give of their body for medical education or organ and tissue donation. Both are options worth discussing in advance.
An Albertan may bequeath all or part of their body for medical education. Some requirements must be met for the body to be accepted, and there may be some costs to the family. It is still appropriate to honour the deceased with a funeral service. Individuals wanting more information should contact their funeral director, the University of Calgary, or the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
There is no greater gift than the “Gift of Life and Sight.” One person can change the lives of up to 7 people through organ donation and up to 75 people through tissue donation. Procedures available in Alberta include the use of heart, lung, liver, kidney, pancreas, eyes, heart valves, bowel, skin, and bone for transplantation.
HOPE Coordinators in Northern Alberta and the Southern Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation Program are available 24 hours a day. HOPE Program: 866.407.1970. Southern Alberta Program Coordinator: 403.944.8700. Organ donation does not interfere with a family’s funeral plans.
