Frequently Asked Questions: Embalming
Below is a list of questions and responses that we commonly receive at the funeral home. We will continue to include any new questions in this section that we feel would be helpful to others.
If you have a question that has not been covered in this site we would like to hear from you. You may use the "Ask the Director" section of our site to forward your question or comments to us.
If you would prefer to call us on the telephone, our staff would be pleased to provide an answer to any funeral related matter you may have. If we do not have the answer immediately, we will find it for you and contact you the minute the information is in our hands.
1. | What Is The Purpose Of Embalming? |
2. | Does A Dead Body Have To Be Embalmed, According To Law? |
Question #1 | What Is The Purpose Of Embalming? |
Answer: | Embalming sanitizes and preserves the body, retards the decomposition process, and enhances the appearance of a body 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. |
Question #2 | Does A Dead Body Have To Be Embalmed, According To Law? |
Answer: | No. Most states, however, require embalming when death was caused by a reportable contagious disease or when remains are to be transported from one state to another by common carrier or if final disposition is not to be made within a prescribed number of hours. |
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