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Independent Funerals - information to help you make funeral arrangements yourself
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Civil Funerals - information to help you plan a ceremony that reflects the wishes of the family and is focused on celebrating and/or reflecting the life of the deceased
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Munipical Funerals - information on how the Councils statutory duty to arrange the funeral where there are no relatives or assets
Independent Funerals
It is understandable, given this emotional time that the majority of us will choose to have funeral arrangements made via our chosen Funeral Director. Most Funeral Directors offer pre-payment plans to help spread the costs of burial/cremation which can prove to be costly.
Many people leave instructions with their families/representatives as to their wishes as to what happens next when they die with a view to making the process easier.
It is your right to organise a funeral without the use of a Funeral Director, however their services will be required if the body is to be embalmed.
It is your right to be given the body by a mortuary, hospital etc, in order to carry out a funeral without a Funeral Director.
For cremation there are several legal documents that need to be completed before any cremation is allowed. Information regarding this can be obtained by contacting us.
Please note that Gateshead Council do not have any facilities in which to hold a body pending burial or cremation, nor do we supply coffins.
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Civil Funerals
A civil funeral is a celebration reflecting the wishes of the deceased and their family. It is a personal and dignified tribute, created by a professional celebrant who works closely with the family or executor and Funeral Director. The ceremony is appropriate for cremation or burial in a non-religious burial ground and the civil funeral may be held anywhere except religious buildings and churches.
Please note that the allocated time for a civil funeral in council premises is the same as for standard burials and cremations.
The celebrant will aim to create a highly personal ceremony with the help of family and / or friends, recounting the person’s experiences, attributes and qualities using music, poetry, readings and personal anecdotes. Your funeral director will be able to provide information on local celebrants who can lead the funeral. Alternatively you may want to contact one of the following organisations:
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Municipal Funerals
If a person dies within the borough and has no assets or relatives who can make the necessary arrangements, then the council has a statutory duty to dispose of a deceased body accordingly.
The authority may recover from the estate of the deceased person the expenses incurred.
If a person dies in hospital it is the duty of the hospital to make arrangements where there are no relatives or if there are relatives but they cannot afford to pay for the funeral and do not qualify for a funeral grant.
If the hospital has reason to believe that relatives are able to arrange to pay for the funeral but refuse to do so, the hospital should ask the local authority to make the arrangements as they have powers to claim reimbursement under section s.46 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984
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