Funerals provide surviving family members and friends a caring, supportive environment in which to recognize the death of a loved one and to share thoughts and feelings about that person. Funerals are the first step in the healing process. The ritual of attending a funeral service provides many benefits including:
Providing a social support system for the bereaved
Helping the bereaved understand death is final and part of life
Integrating the bereaved back into the community
Easing the transition to a new life after the death of a loved one
Providing a safe haven for embracing and expressing pain
Reaffirming one's relationship with the person who died
Providing a time to say good-bye
It is possible to have a full funeral service even for those choosing cremation. The importance of the ritual is in providing a social gathering to help the bereaved begin the healing process.
I've never arranged a funeral before. What do I need to know?
At some time in our lives, most of us will make or assist in making funeral arrangements. This will not be an easy time, but we offer these tips for smart planning:
Be an informed consumer and ask questions
Choose an independent funeral home and a licensed funeral director
Discuss all service and payment options during the funeral arrangements
Make sure you receive a copy of the funeral home's General Price List
Be prepared to make decisions and organize details in advance of need
Plan a personalized and meaningful ceremony to help you begin healing
What do funeral directors do?
Funeral directors are caregivers and administrators. They make the arrangements for the transportation of the deceased, complete all necessary paperwork, and implement the choices made by the family regarding the funeral and final disposition of the deceased.
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.
What types of funeral services exist?
Every family is different, and not everyone wants the same type of funeral. Funeral practices are influenced by religious and cultural traditions, costs, and personal preferences. These factors help determine whether the funeral will be elaborate or simple, public or private, religious or secular, and where it will be held. They also influence whether the body will be present at the funeral, if there will be a viewing or visitation, and, if so, whether the casket will be open or closed and whether the remains will be buried or cremated.
Why have a public viewing?
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.
Embalming Questions
What is the purpose of embalming?
Embalming sanitizes and preserves the deceased, retards the decomposition process, and enhances the appearance of someone 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.
Is embalming required by law?
No. Most states, however, require embalming when death is caused by a reportable contagious disease or when a deceased is to be transported from one state to another by a common carrier, or if final disposition is not to be made within a prescribed number of hours.
Cremation Questions
Is cremation a substitute for a funeral?
As more people are choosing cremation, funeral service professionals are striving to give consumers a true sense of what their many options are for a funeral service. Often funeral directors find that people have a preconception that they have fewer choices for a ceremony when selecting cremation for themselves or a loved one. Therefore, they request direct cremation and deny the surviving friends and family the opportunity to honor them with a memorial service. In actuality, cremation is only part of the commemorative experience. In fact, cremation can actually increase your options when planning a funeral. Cremation gives people the flexibility to search for types of tributes that reflect the life being honored. But, this doesn't mean that aspects of traditional funeral services have to be discarded. Even with cremation, a meaningful memorial that is personalized to reflect the life of the deceased could include:
A visitation prior to the service
An open or closed casket
Special music
A ceremony at the funeral chapel, your place of worship, or other special location
Participation by friends and family
Commonly, cremated remains are placed in an urn and committed to an indoor or outdoor mausoleum or columbarium, interred in a family burial plot, or included in a special urn garden.
Cremation also gives families the option to scatter the remains. This can be done in a designated cemetery garden or at a place that was special to the person. Today, cremated remains can even become part of an ocean reef or made into diamonds.
Where can I get more information on cremation?
We can assist you with the necessary information for a funeral or memorial service with a cremation. For more technical information about the cremation process, we encourage you to view information online at the National Funeral Directors Association.
Funeral Cost Questions
What does the average funeral cost?
In 2009, the national average cost of an adult, full-service funeral was $6,560. This includes a professional service charge, transfer of deceased, embalming, other preparation, use of viewing facilities, use of facilities for ceremony, hearse, service car or van, and metal casket. This average increases to $7,755 if a vault is included. Cemetery and monument charges are additional. (Source: 2010 NFDA General Price List Survey.)
What recourse does a consumer have for poor service or overcharging?
Funeral service is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission 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).
What to Do If Death Occurs
What should I do if a death occurs at home?
When death occurs, Toland-Herzig Funeral Homes personnel are available to assist you at any hour, seven days a week. Please call 330-343-6132 or any of our locations for assistance.
Will someone come right away?
If you request immediate assistance, yes. If your family wishes to spend a short time with the deceased to say goodbye, this is acceptable. Our staff will come when the time is right for you.
If a loved one dies out of state, can Toland-Herzig Funeral Homes still help?
When death occurs away from home, Toland-Herzig Funeral Homes can assist you with out-of-state arrangements and transfer the deceased to a preferred location. Please call 330-343-6132 for assistance.
From the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles
My spouse has died and the vehicle is still in her/his name. What do I do?
Proceed to the Title Office in any county and apply for surviving spouse certificate of title. Some counties require a certified copy of the death certificate, so phone ahead for requirements. You may apply for up to two vehicles on a surviving spouse benefit, however, the estimated value of both vehicles cannot exceed $40,000. Surviving spouse can only transfer passenger vehicles, a 3/4 ton truck or smaller, or a motorcycle into their name. Commercial vehicles, motor homes and recreational vehicles are not covered under the surviving spouse law.
How do I obtain and apply for a "Transfer on Death" title?
Only a sole owner of a vehicle can apply for a transfer on death beneficiary title under current Ohio law. No companies or two-owner titles qualify for this type of title. To apply, you would take your Ohio title to your county Title Office and apply for a Transfer On Death "TOD" title. You will be asked to complete an affidavit naming the beneficiary with their full legal name, address and Social Security Number. That affidavit will require your notarized signature and a fee of $1.00. A new title will be issued with the "TOD" designation and a fee of $16.00. Upon your death, the beneficiary will present a certified Death Certificate to the county Title Office, and a title will be issued to your named beneficiary.
How is a "With Rights of Survivorship" title transferred?
To transfer or encumber a vehicle that has "With Rights of Survivorship (WROS)" on the title, both signatures are required if both parties are living. If one of the parties is deceased, the survivor applies for a certificate of title with only a copy of the death certificate. Only the application portion of the title needs to be completed, signed and notarized.
Funeral Homes
803 N. Wooster Ave. 232 N. Wooster Ave. 246 E. High Ave.
Dover, OH 44622 Strasburg, OH 44680 New Philadelphia, OH 44663
