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Frequently
Asked Questions
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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.
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Funeral directors are caregivers and administrators. They
make the arrangements for transportation of the body, complete
all necessary paperwork, and implement the choices made by
the family regarding the funeral and final disposition of
the body. 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.
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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 Maine, a burial permit is required. The burial permit requires
a death certificate that must be signed by a funeral director.
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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.
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Embalming sanitizes and preserves the body, retards the decomposition
process, and enhances the appearance of a body 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.
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No. Most states, however, require embalming when death was
caused by a reportable contagious disease or when remains
are 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.
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No, cremation is an alternative to earth burial or entombment
for the body's final disposition and often follows a traditional
funeral service.
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Yes, a person who dies of an AIDS-related illness is entitled
to the same service options afforded to anyone else. If public
viewing is consistent with local or personal customs, that
option is encouraged. Touching the deceased's face or hands
is perfectly safe. Because the grief experienced by survivors
may include a variety of feelings, survivors may need even
more support than survivors of non-AIDS-related deaths.
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In 1998 the national average charge for an adult, full-service
funeral, was $5,020. This includes our professional service
charge, transfer-of remains, embalming, other preparation,
use of viewing facilities, use of facilities for ceremony,
hearse, limousine, and casket. The casket included in this
price was an 18-gauge steel casket with velvet interior which
may or may not be the most common casket chosen. Vault, cemetery
and monument charges are additional. (Source:
1999 NFDA Survey of Funeral Home Operations)
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Funeral service is regulated by the FTC 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).
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Funeral directors are caring individuals who help people deal
with a very stressful time. They serve the same families 80%
of the time, and many have spent most of their lives in the
same community. If they took advantage of bereaved families,
they could not stay in business. The fact that the average
funeral home has been in business over 59 years shows that
most funeral directors respect the wishes of the bereaved
families.
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Funeral directors look upon their profession as a service,
but it is also a business. Like any business, funeral homes
must make a profit to exist. As long as the profit is reasonable
and the services rendered are necessary, complete, and satisfactory
to the family, profit is legitimate.
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No. Talking about the mark up on caskets is really not the
point. Most items--clothing, furniture, jewelry--are marked
up as much or more than caskets. The real question is whether
the funeral director is making an excessive profit, and that
answer is "No." Profits run around 12.5% before taxes -- not
excessive by any standard.
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Other than the family, there are veteran, union, and other
organizational benefits to pay for funerals, including, in
certain instances, a lump sum death payment from Social Security.
In most states, some form of public aid allowances are available
from either the state, county, or city or a combination. Most
funeral directors are aware of the various benefits and know
how to obtain them for the indigent. However, funeral directors
often absorb costs above and beyond what is provided by agencies
to insure the deceased a respectable burial.
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WHAT TO DO WHEN A
DEATH OCCURS
Contact us as soon as a death has occurred. A time will be
set up with the funeral director to come in and make arrangements.
The funeral home will help coordinate arrangements with the
cemetery, church and clergy.
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Most funeral directors, including Oxford Hills Funeral Services,
are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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If you request immediate assistance, yes. If the family wishes
to spend a short time with the deceased to say good bye, it's
acceptable. They will come when your time is right.
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Yes, they can assist you with out-of-state arrangements, either
to transfer the remains to another state or from another state.
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Yes, quite often some sort of viewing precedes the actual
cremation. Your funeral home can assist you with the necessary
information for a funeral with a cremation following or a
memorial service.
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Contact us immediately, and let us coordinate with a funeral
home in the area where the death has occurred. We will take
charge from then on and make all the arrangements for transporting
the deceased to a local funeral home for embalming and preparation
for return to home. You only need contact us with some basic
information and call us when you return home to set a time
for an arrangement conference.
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If a family member dies while traveling outside the United
States, contact the U.S. Embassy, and they will assist you.
You should call us immediately when a death occurs abroad.
We are well versed in the procedures for returning the deceased
to the United States.
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SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS
A widow or widower age 60 or older (50 if disabled), or at
any age if caring for an entitled child who is under 16 or
disabled; a divorced widow or widower age 60 or older (50
if disabled) if the marriage lasted 10 years, or if caring
for an entitled child who is under 16 or disabled; unmarried
children up to age 18 (19 if they are attending a primary
or secondary school full lime); children who were disabled
before reaching 22, as long as they remained disabled; dependent
parent or parents 62 or older.
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You must apply in order to receive benefits. You may apply
at any Social Security office or, if you wish, you may apply
by telephone. Just dial the toll-free number 1-800-772-1213
and the operator will schedule an appointment for you or arrange
for the local Social Security office to take your claim by
telephone. You may also visit http://www.ssa.gov
for more information.
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VETERANS BENEFITS
An eligible veteran must have been discharged or separated
from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable
and have completed the required period of service. Persons
entitled to retired pay as a result of 20 years creditable
service with a reserve component are eligible. A U.S. citizen
who served in the armed forces of a government allied with
the United States in a war also may be eligible. A 1997 law
bars persons convicted of federal or state capital crimes
from being buried or memorialized in one of the VA national
cemeteries or in Arlington National Cemetery.
Spouses and minor children of eligible veterans and of service
members also may be buried in a national cemetery. Adult children
incapable of self-support due to physical or mental disability
are eligible for burial. If a surviving spouse of an eligible
veteran marries a nonveteran, and remarriage was terminated
by divorce or death of the nonveteran, the spouse is eligible
for burial in a national cemetery.
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Burial benefits in a VA national cemetery include the gravesite,
a headstone or marker, opening and closing of the grave, and
perpetual care. Many national cemeteries have columbaria or
gravesites for cremated remains. Benefits also include headstones
and markers, Presidential memorial certificates, burial flags
and Reimbursement of Burial Expenses, depending on the circumstances.
Contact should be made to the Veterans Affairs Office to determine
what benefits can be claimed and then gather the information
required. The National Toll-free Number for the Veterans Affairs
Office is (800) 827-1000.
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