Your mortician in Vienna | Benu – funeral home & Funeral Planning (2024)

FAQs

How long can a funeral home hold a body before burial? ›

In most cases, so long as the remains are properly refrigerated, funeral homes can store a body for a few days to a few weeks.

For example, according to Macrotrends, the life expectancy in the U.S. for 2024 is 79.25 years. So, planning anywhere in your 30s, 40s, and 50s is a great idea, and there's no reason why you can't start earlier. Consider some of the factors below when deciding what age to start planning your funeral.

Cold rooms are used for a variety of industries to protect and store, but an industry which may not be the first to come to mind is funeral homes and morgues. Cold rooms are used in this industry to store and protect dead bodies from decomposition before they are buried or cremated.

Typically, the conference takes about 2-3 hours on the day of or the day after a death. The funeral director will guide you through the available funeral service and memorial options, music selections, coordination with a church and cemetery (or other desired location for the service), and much more.

If you are looking at a long-lasting ground casket, pick a steel or metal casket. If the grave site is low on water content or moisture, metal caskets are known to last even longer, over five decades. Under favorable weather conditions, experts say that metal caskets may even last more than that – up to 80 years.

Though the rate of decomposition varies depending on temperature, moisture levels, and other variables, an embalmed body will last inside a casket for many years. However, the goal of embalming is to make the body look as good as possible for the funeral, usually about a week after the process.

Funerals can be an important part of the grieving process. They are a time to symbolically say goodbye and get on the path of accepting that a loved one is no longer here. When it comes to kids attending funerals, there's no right or wrong thing to do.

Most funeral services take place either late in the morning or around midday, often during the week. This allows family or friends who are travelling a long distance to arrive in good time and it usually fits in well with the arrangements for the wake or funeral reception.

Generally, the executor of the deceased person's estate is responsible for making funeral plans, and the costs are covered by the estate. But as the executor, you might still want to include close family or friends in the planning process.

Is a body drained before cremation? Draining a body of fluids does not happen before cremation. If a body is embalmed before cremation, the bodily fluids are exchanged (drained, and then replaced) with chemicals during the embalming process. These chemicals are also fluid.

Do they take the clothes off a body before cremation? ›

Typically, if there has been a traditional funeral (with the body) present, the deceased will be cremated in whatever clothing they were wearing. If the cremation is done right after death, then it is usually done with the deceased wearing whatever clothing they were wearing at the time they died.

The only parts of the body that are removed before cremation are artificial ones like a medical device or implant with a battery, silicone, pins, radiation pressurization, pacemakers, and large hip, knee, and shoulder replacements along with any external jewelry.

The gathering after the funeral usually has food known as a repast. Repast food is a type of food that is often served at funerals. It is typically light and simple, such as sandwiches and finger foods.

The Funeral Service

Expect service to last between half an hour to one hour; longer for public figures, or if there are lengthy readings or speeches. A clergy member or other officiant presides over the funeral service, and a printed program is generally provided to guests.

Storing the body until the funeral

If the death occurs at home, a local funeral director may agree to provide the mortuary facility only, to help you. In the meantime, the body should be kept in a well ventilated, cool room, ideally for under a week.

Slowing down the natural processes of deterioration is generally a priority for people who want to care for their dead themselves, as this will enable the body to remain at home for a longer period without problems – up to several days is easily possible if the body is quickly cooled and then kept at a cool temperature ...

How long can the body remain preserved? A body presents little threat to public health in the first day following the death. However, after 24 hours the body will need some level of embalming. A mortuary will be able to preserve the body for approximately a week.

A standard funeral can be up to about 2 weeks after the date of death. If the body is cremated, the family can wait as long as they'd like, but most are done within a month at the latest. If the deceased is already buried or cremated, a memorial service can be held at any later date.