What is a home funeral?

A home funeral happens when a person's body is cared for at home or in prepared space after death, giving family and friends time to gather and participate in:

• preparing the body by bathing, dressing and laying out for visitation

• keeping the body cool with ice or air conditioning

• filing the death certificate and obtaining transport and burial permits

• transporting the deceased to the place of disposition

• facilitating the final disposition, such as digging the grave in a natural burial

• hiring professionals for specific products or services

• planning and carrying out after-death rituals or ceremonies
  

Are home funerals legal in the US?

Yes. In every state and province, it is legal for people to bring or keep their deceased at home until time of disposition. In ten states, a funeral director may need to be involved in some capacity, but this does not hinder the ability to have a home funeral. 

Is it safe to have a funeral in my home?

Yes. Dead bodies do not pose an increased health risk any more than when they were alive. With appropriate hygiene and cooling techniques, it is perfectly safe to keep a deceased person home for several days. Some states & counties do have a time limit for how long the body can remain at home, check with your county or health department for the laws in your area.

Why should I consider a home funeral?

The benefits of home funerals may be financial, therapeutic, and spiritual. People who choose to care for their own report a sense of completion, a feeling of having done their best for the deceased, and a stronger connection to their friends, family and community. Having something meaningful to do to help others through a crisis or sorrowful time is usually meaningful for all involved. 

Top reasons for electing to conduct care of the deceased include, in no particular order:

• Because they can; it’s their legal right

• To have time to slow down and create space for grieving

• To follow the wishes of the dying and grieving

• Access to more time, privacy, and/or hands-on engagement for a more meaningfulexperience and support for the grieving process 

• To save money by not paying for funeral home services 

Who has custody of the deceased?

In the language of the law, the family member or agent of disposition who has the most direct link in the next-of-kin chain has legal custody and control of the body. 

When working with a funeral director, the agent of next-of-kin relinquishes physical custody of the deceased person's body but not their right to decide what ultimately happens to that body. The only bodycare service that a funeral director is licensed to perform that a family member cannot is embalming. 

Even in cases of autopsy (where the medical examiner or coroner has temporary custody of the body) and organ/tissue donation (where the organ procurement organization (OPO) has temporary custody of the body), primary custody remains with the next-of-kin or agent of disposition. 

What are the drawbacks to a home funeral?

Even when people have the right under their state law to have a home funeral, they may still be obstructed from handling the entire process without being forced to hire an intermediary.

Some hospitals, hospices, and care facilities may have an internal policy that requires removal of the dead by a funeral home without regard for their policies compliance with the law. They may also have limits on how long a body can be sheltered there, forcing people to hire a funeral director to file the death certificate more quickly in order to obtain the transport permit needed to transport the body home. Some cemeteries and crematories have policies prohibiting non-funeral directors from transporting bodies to their facilities. 

Some states have created an Electronic Death Registration Systems (EDRS) that funeral directors have direct access to to file the death certificate. Next-of-kin or agents of disposition who want to file the death certificate on their own, in states where they are permitted to so, do not have access to the EDRS. This means that that they will have to go to the town clerk to file a death certificate manually.

Want to know more?

Visit the National Home Funeral Alliance (NHFA) and download their Home Funeral Guidebook.