A home funeral is a family or community-centered response to death and after-death care. Most state laws support the right of the family to care for their own departed. Depending on the specifics of each state’s law, families and communities may play a key role in:
- Preparing the body for burial or cremation (Bathing, dressing, anointing)
- Planning and carrying out after-death rituals or ceremonies such as laying out the deceased for visitation and holding a funeral service in the home
- Filing of death-related paperwork such as the death certificate and disposition permit.
- Transporting the deceased to the place of burial or cremation
- Facilitating the final disposition such as digging the grave in natural burial
For more information on the home funeral movement, please visit: www.homefuneralalliance.org