Home Funerals in Michigan
Are home funerals legal? Forty-two states allow families to direct and complete the disposition of their own dead.
Unfortunately, Michigan funeral law prevents families from caring for their own dead without the assistance of a licensed funeral director.
The following laws force Michigan families to purchase the services of a commercial funeral home, regardless of whether we want to or can afford to:
- A licensed funeral director must be involved in every single death in this state, including body donation:
“The handling, disposition, or disinterment of a body shall be under the supervision of a person licensed to practice mortuary science in this state.” Estates and Protected Individuals Code, 700.3206
- Michigan, to the best of our knowledge, is the only state that requires a funeral director to "certify" a death certificate:
"A death record shall be certified by a funeral director licensed to practice mortuary science in this state." Public Health Code 333.2843(3)
Other unnecessary obstacles the family must deal with include:
- Hospitals, nursing homes, and other agencies typically will not release the dead into the direct physical custody of family. As a matter of policy, they will only release the dead to licensed funeral directors or their agents.
- To avoid embalming, Michigan families have only 48 hours to hold visitation and funeral ceremonies, which is very restrictive.
So where does that leave Michigan families? The good news is that we can take a hand-on role in the care of our own dead. However, we cannot totally remove a funeral director from the process. This means we must find a funeral director that will complete and file the necessary paperwork and permits.
Now, this is not as easy as it may sound. No law obligates a funeral director to perform these tasks for a family. As one might imagine, this movement is often mistakenly viewed as a threat. But there are some home-funeral-friendly funeral directors in Michigan.
Referral to Home-Funeral-Friendly funeral directors. You may contact us via e-mail for a referal to a funeral director. The feasibility of your home funeral plans will have to be determined on a case-by-case basis, of course. Location is a major limitation.
