The Bureau licenses and regulates funeral firms and their practitioners, cemeteries and crematories. It also investigates complaints and examines cemetery endowment care and special care trust funds, and funeral trust funds.
In New York, only a licensed funeral director can make arrangements for the care, transport, preparation and burial or cremation of a body. The funeral home should provide you with an itemized statement of costs at your arrangement conference.
Caskets & Urns
Whether your loved one is buried or cremated, the casket or urn they are contained within will play a significant role in how you honor them. Understanding the differences between these two types of containers will help you make a choice that is respectful and meets your family’s unique needs.
A casket is a specially-designed box that holds your deceased loved one’s body, and is typically used during a funeral service or viewing. If your loved one is buried, you will also need a burial vault.
Burial vaults are a protective outer container that is buried underneath the casket. They are required by many cemeteries because they help preserve the ground and prevent it from becoming unstable over time. There are many materials available to choose from when selecting a casket or urn, and each may function differently in terms of strength, durability and aesthetics. You can also personalize your chosen container by adding etchings or engravings, such as a person’s name, dates of birth and death, or a short epitaph.
Preparation
Preparation services are what most people think of when they consider funeral home offerings. This includes embalming and dressing the body in a casket or cremation container for viewing, a ceremony or interment. It also can include extra elements of the ceremony, such as live music and video and catering. Funeral homes can also help you make arrangements for donations to a loved one’s favored charity, arrange for an obituary listing and order certified copies of the death certificate.
Funeral professionals are experienced at guiding family members through the essential tasks that must be completed within days of a death. Preplanning allows individuals to express their preferences, reduce the need for stressful decisions at a time of grief and remove financial burdens from their families. NFDA consistently ranks this as one of the most valuable benefits of membership.
Services
During a visitation or service, friends and family can come together to share memories, express condolences and celebrate a life well lived. Funeral homes offer a variety of service options, including memorial videos and slideshows, and can help you personalize your loved one’s farewell.
Funeral homes also provide other services, such as making death announcements and placing obituaries in newspapers. They can also assist with the transfer of the body to the cemetery or crematory, if applicable.
Under the Funeral Rule, funeral providers must give you an itemized statement of the total cost of all the goods and services you select when you make your arrangements. This is also known as a good faith estimate.
The Office of Burial Services (OBS) helps pay for funeral expenses for low-income City residents. You can apply to OBS for reimbursement of funeral expenses that you already paid, or pre-approval for the cost of a planned funeral. Learn more at the OBS website.
Final Arrangements
The funeral service is an important event for family and friends. It includes many details from the music played to the pallbearers chosen to carry the casket. It is also a time for families to gather and share memories.
Funeral homes offer pre-planning options that allow people to plan their preferences and pay for them in advance. This helps spare survivors the burden of making decisions at a traumatic time and can help alleviate financial concerns.
When selecting a funeral home, it is a good idea to visit several and select the one that best meets your needs. You should also make sure the establishment and individuals are licensed by the state.
Funeral homes must provide a General Price List, which is a written form containing prices for the goods and services regularly offered by the home. The funeral home must also provide you with an Itemized Statement of Services and Merchandise Selected, which contains contractual language that legally obligates you to pay for the items and services selected.