Timeline For a Funeral Service

When a loved one passes, when do you have the funeral? How long after someone passes should you have a service? This article will discuss approximate timelines for families when a loved one passes.

Adjustments to a Funeral Timeline

It is important to note that many things can affect the timeline from death to the final resting place. Transportation of remains, whether or not the body is cremated, police investigations, autopsies, and more can all play a role in the time it takes to provide a funeral service. Even the amount of time that it takes for people to discover a death has occurred can vary. Some religions may also dictate that services happen sooner rather than later. This article will seek to provide a general timeline under more normal cases of a local funeral, from death to burial. Please note that this is an approximate guide, and families may experience differences in their timeline based on the unique circumstances of their loved one’s service.

After a Loved One Passes

After a loved one passes, it is common for them to be taken to a hospital’s morgue or a funeral home’s mortuary. This is for storage purposes for the family to prepare for funeral services and burial. If needed, the body can also go to a coroner's or medical examiner’s office. If your loved one is an organ donor, they should go to a hospital’s morgue so that any donations can be recovered. 

Choosing a Funeral Home

Once a body has been properly identified and the individual declared dead, a funeral service can be planned. Families usually choose a local funeral home. If the deceased has pre-planned their funeral, they should already have a funeral home chosen. Generally, families meet with a funeral director within a day or two of an individual’s passing. 
From there, your funeral director can go over the steps to plan and schedule your loved one’s service.

Planning a Service

Your funeral director will help you plan out any aspects of your loved one’s service. This can also include helping with burial arrangements and the like. Generally, families schedule a wake within a few days to a week of the passing of a loved one. However, some factors may cause a family to push the service back. Families expecting a lot of out-of-town mourners may want to push the service back. This can be especially helpful for those with a lot of family in different countries. Cremations can be beneficial if the family is planning on pushing a funeral service back by an extended period of time. There is no real time limit between a cremation and a funeral service. For burial, it is usually better to do the service within 2 weeks. It is best to get your loved one’s funeral service information decided as quickly as possible, so that friends and family can be informed and plan to attend the service. 

Specialized Services for Servicemembers

Specialized services during the funeral can cause the service to take longer. If your loved one was an active duty military servicemember, veteran, police officer, firefighter, etc., confirming a specialized funeral service with the proper authorities can take up to a few days. Your funeral director can help you with any arrangements that need to be made.

Timelines for Burial vs Cremation

The embalming process for a body, by today’s standards, will usually take a few hours to a full day. After that, the funeral home may apply makeup to your loved one’s appearance for the casket viewing. Cremation generally can take a bit longer, especially since bodies are usually transported to crematoriums and back to the funeral home. Overall, the difference can be negligible, but cremation will take a bit longer. 

Services in a Funeral Home

Many families will take 2 days for the wake and funeral. If you are expecting a large number of mourners, some families may decide to hold services on an additional day. The first day is usually for the viewing and gathering at the funeral home. The next day may include travel to a church or temple, and the final resting place. The final resting place may be a burial site, mausoleum, or columbarium at the cemetery.

Final Resting Place

If your family chooses to cremate and take an urn home, you will receive it after the funeral service. If you are burying a loved one or interring their remains in a mausoleum or columbarium, the cemetery will provide a timeline for internment. Generally, remains are buried or interred shortly after a service. However, memorial stones or plaques may take time to be created and installed. 

Matthew Funeral Home does not provide medical, legal, or financial advice via articles. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide and should not be relied on for legal, financial, or medical advice.

For over 50 years, Matthew Funeral Home has been serving the Staten Island community. We can help with almost every aspect of your loved one’s memorial service. Our family is here to serve yours, every step of the way.