Services of funeral homes
Death touches us all sometimes. Especially the death of a close person is always a shock. Even in the midst of grief, practical steps must be taken to bury the deceased. The easiest way is to contact the funeral home, which will take care of all funeral-related matters at the request of the relatives. You can also get support and help from funeral homes for all questions about the funeral. Contact information for the nearest funeral home can be found on the Find a funeral home page.
You are free to choose the funeral home of your choice, regardless of which company has transported the deceased, for example, from a care facility to a health center or in another connection. The funeral home also does not have to be located in the deceased’s hometown. We recommend contacting the funeral home to book an appointment. In this way, you can agree on the funeral arrangements at a time that is reserved for you and best suits you, and you avoid possible waiting. You can also book an appointment outside of office hours, the telephone hotline and advice service of most of our member stores is always available.
Burial and memorial service
The burial takes place in accordance with the deceased’s religion or outlook on life and the wishes of the relatives. The deceased was also able to give instructions for his burial during his lifetime. You can find more information about preplanning the burial here.
If the relatives so wish, the funeral home will contact the parish and reserve a chapel or church for the blessing ceremony, arrange a blessing time with the priest, reserve a grave site and arrange other details related to the burial and funeral.
The deceased is buried or cremated in a coffin. The ashes of the deceased are usually buried in an urn in a cemetery or sprinkled in a memorial grove. With the permission of the owner of the land or water area, the ashes can be buried or scattered in nature. The coffin and, if necessary, the urn are obtained from the funeral home. The funeral home also obtains the necessary permits. The funeral home takes care of dressing the deceased, placing them in the coffin and transporting them. Relatives can participate in the transport of the deceased if they wish. In connection with the transport, a short memorial service can be held.
You can get advice from the funeral home on planning a blessing ceremony or a farewell moment and memorial ceremony program. Before the blessing, the relatives talk with the priest performing the blessing, and then they also agree on the hymns to be sung on the occasion. The other music of the blessing ceremony will be discussed with the cantor.
From the funeral home, you can also order floral decorations for the coffin and flower greetings for the relatives, as well as decoration of the chapel and place of memorial service, as well as catering for the memorial service.
After the funeral
Funeral homes also help with the design and purchase of a memorial for the grave or take care of the engraving of the existing headstone.
Funeral homes make estate inventories and advise on this. In the inventory, a deed is drawn up, which shows the state of the estate on the date of death of the deceased. Information to be clarified is e.g. estate partners, personal and contact information of the inheritor, widow, heirs and beneficiaries of the will, assets and liabilities of the estate and an uninterrupted genealogy of the deceased since the age of 15. The registration must be done within three months of the date of death. You can apply for an extension from the Tax Administration for a justified reason. The deed is submitted to the Tax Administration.
