At Going Home Cremations, we have spent many years helping families through difficult situations. We understand that families have many questions depending on their situation or needs. After many years of speaking with families, we find these to be our most commonly asked questions:
- What is the Price of Cremation?
Once you have made your decision that cremation is what you want to do, you should be able to have a cremation for your loved one between $1,200-$1,600. At Going Home Cremations, we start at $795 for the cremation itself, picking up your loved one, the casket for cremation, the urn, and a beautiful life tribute obituary. In addition, we charge $395 to acquire all the necessary paperwork to fulfill a death certificate, and acquire a permit for the medical examiners. Paperwork consumes 4 to 8 hours for any cremation service.
A lot of families do not think their loved ones need to pay for a medical examiner fee, but all United States counties require that a medical examiner reviews the death certificate that the doctor has filed. They reviewed the death certificate to make sure that they do not want to investigate the cause of death. If the medical examiner thinks that there was a suspicious death, they will not approve the cremation and require us to return the body to them so they can perform an autopsy or an investigation. There will be additional fees to acquire death certificates. Going Home Cremation charges $18 per death certificate. The family is also allowed to go to the health department to buy the death certificates directly. If you go in yourself, you can usually do everything for about $10 each.
- How Long Will the Cremation Process Take?
Cremation services take approximately two weeks to complete. Between taking your loved one into our care, acquiring all the necessary paperwork from the family, filing for death certificates, having the doctor approve, getting the death certificate to the medical examiner for approval, and then the cremation itself; it will take about two weeks before the ashes are ready to be picked up.
- Do I Have to Buy an Urn?
We provide a free basic black polystyrene urn, but if you would like to purchase an urn, Going Home Cremations will give you $100 credit towards any purchase of a full-size cremation urn on our website. The average price of an urn is anywhere between $280-$500. We also have many urns available for $200, so with the $100 credit, you would only look to spend about $100!
- What Should I Do With the Ashes?
You have many choices when it comes to what to do with the ashes. Many families choose to scatter the ashes in the Gulf of Mexico. At Going Home Cremations, we have an option to scatter in the Gulf for $295. This cremation is an unattended service, and we will scatter the ashes of between 4 to 6 family members per boat trip.
Another option for a family is to charter a boat for 3 to 4 hours. you will go out 3 miles with the captain to scatter the ashes and then come back. Another option is to inurn the ashes in a cemetery. Or you can scatter the ashes in your favorite park or vacation spot, but you should make sure to check with local permit requirements before doing that.
At Going Home Cremation Services, we understand that families have a lot of questions. Please feel free to call us if you have any questions regarding the process and what to do for your loved ones. We are here for you!
