Funeral Arrangements Timeline and Important Information
When someone passes away in California, your first immediate action must be to secure a legal pronouncement of death. This official declaration is required by the state before any funeral arrangements can be made or a death certificate can be issued. For hospitals, you will need to notify them of your chosen Mortuary for authorization. A release form may also be required and can be sent to you as an E-Form document. Some hospitals also have specific times we may take your loved one into our care. We will communicate with you if this is the case. For hospice, the nurse will call the selected Funeral Home and provide important medical information after pronouncing the time of death. The Medical Examiner requires the next of kin(s) to sign release(s). They are open Monday through Friday and your loved one can be release only between 1pm-5pm. If your loved one dies at home suddenly, you will need to call 911 for further assistance. Once your loved one is in the Funeral Home’s care, further arrangements will begin. Cremation or Burial must be selected. Your funeral director will go over all of the options with you. Payment is expected prior to services. The funeral home will begin the registration of the Death Certificate, which also includes the County Permit. You need a permit before you can bury or cremate someone. California calls this a Permit for Disposition or Burial Permit. The cemetery and Crematory require original permits before burial or cremation can happen. The Death Certificate/Permit registration is not immediate and by law, it must be done within (8) days of the passing. The process includes the Dr. providing causes of death and signing the certificate electronically. You will not be involved in this portion of the process. However, you will be required to provide the information requested by the Funeral Home. The Death Certificate can only be registered during business days and hours. Although we try our best to register as soon as possible, there can be unseen delays. We will always keep you updated and confirm the certificate is correct before registration. Our goal is always to register within 1-4 business days.
Viewings can be held prior to burial or cremation. Please expect embalming services to take a minimum of 48 hours and a maximum of (3) business days. You must verbally or with the proper form, confirm that you would like this service. Your Funeral Director will guide you through the planning process. A short 30-to-60-minute ID View can be held in our crematory viewing room. This does not include a service. · Military arrangements will all be done for free through the Funeral Home. A flag and honors can be provided, and we will work with you to get a preferred time/date, which is dependent on what is available through the National Cemetery. In order to set up any services, a DD214 Military Discharge document needs to be given to the Funeral Home, this does not need to be an original and can be a photocopy. We strive to get all burials done within 2 weeks however, this is dependent on availability and death certificate registration.
Cemetery Burials include (3) categories; Immediate Burial is the least expensive option. There are no services at cemetery and family is not present. The Funeral Home will deliver your loved one and permits and you will receive information once the burial has occurred. The Graveside service is the most popular option. This includes a service at the cemetery for family and friends to attend. For casket burial, the Funeral Home will bring the casket in the hearse to the burial plot and attend/assist services. Another option for burial is the Viewing/Graveside Service. This will be unique to each family, and your Funeral Director can guide you through this arrangement process. Viewings can be held in our viewing room at the crematory, our contracted churches, family requested churches, and in home. For urn interments, the Funeral Home is generally not present, and you will provide the urn/permits to the cemetery prior to services being held.
For cremation there are also many options. The most common is the Direct Cremation, which will occur 3-5 business days after the registration of the County Permit. If you would like a call at the start of cremation, you may request one through your funeral director. Otherwise, cremation time/date will not be known prior. You may also request and pay for a Rush Cremation. Depending on if the cremation is done in the morning or afternoon, you will receive the urn back the next business day or the following day. Many families would like to say goodbye to their loved one prior to cremation start. The Witness Cremation is a way to do so. For a standard witness cremation, you will arrive up to 15 minutes prior. We do have (2) rooms for before and after the witness occurs. Witness Cremation is for up to 15 people maximum and usually takes 20 to 30 minutes. You will be able to see your loved one in their natural state, (or embalmed if you prefer). Objects such as photos, flowers, etc. may be placed in the box with your loved one however, this does not include metal or glass for safety reasons. Once you are ready for cremation to start, you may be asked if you would like to push the button. For those who do not wish to be in the crematory area, you may witness through a window in our crematory rooms.
For a larger group with a longer time, charges will be applied. Please note, our crematory is closed on Mondays, weekends and after 4pm on business days. It is up to their discretion to schedule these services. Pacemakers must be removed prior to cremation. There will be a fee for our director removing/disposing of them.
Commonly asked questions;
Next of Kin is the only person with the power to control all arrangements, unless a Change of Authorized Authority form is provided. Order of Next of Kin Spouse or Registered Domestic Partner: First in priority for personal representation, medical decisions, and inheritance rights. Children: Biological and legally adopted children share the next level equally. Parents: If there is no spouse or children, living parents take priority. Siblings: Brothers and sisters come next in the line of kinship. More Distant Relatives: Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins follow if closer relatives are not alive. PLEASE NOTE: Although the Medical Examiner and Hospital may release with a different next of kin, this DOES NOT determine who will be responsible for the arrangements. The list here is the only defining factor.
Upon death certificate registration, we will order the Official Certificates to be sent either to us, or if requested, to the next of kin’s residence. Death certificates cannot be sent to multiple residences, but per request, can be handed to different family members in our office. Death certificates are general received in 5-7 days after ordering; this also depends on the county’s processing time. If you would like to receive one sooner, you will need to go to the main office 24 hours after registration. The other San Diego County offices will not be able to provide you one until it has been 30 days since the registration occurred. Please ask your funeral Director if you would like to be notified. For future purchases of the Death Certificate, you may contact us to order more. There will only be the required fee for per certificate. Most people only require 3-5 certificates, but it will depend on your loved one’s personal situation. Please ask our Funeral Director for assistance in determining how many you will need. Social Security and Medicare are automatically notified at the time of the Death Certificate registration, if the number is provided and confirmed by the electronic state system. This will trigger a stop in benefits, please consult Social Security directly for a timeline of when social security payments will stop. You may or may not, have funds redacted from the recipient’s bank at this time.
Obituary Services are only offered for free on our website. If you would like to place an obituary elsewhere, please call them directly. Grief
Counseling is available for free through our certified counselor. This service is always given, even after arrangements are concluded.
For all other questions, please speak with your funeral director. All immediate calls for taking someone into our care or pricing information, will be answered 24/7. For other information, calls will be returned in the order they were received. This will be either be immediately, or within a few hours. We do not use an answering service, it is our belief that all information should be responded to by a knowledgeable member of our Funeral Home.
