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Funeral Arrangement Conference
To assure that one of our funeral directors is immediately available and can devote the time and attention needed to make quality arrangements, we request that you call to schedule a mutually convenient arrangement time. Although the majority of arrangement conferences take place at one of our funeral homes during normal business hours, we will upon request come to your residence or meet during evenings and weekends. Our staff is available to respond to your need 24 hours a day during every day of the year.
In preparation for making funeral arrangements, we request that you bring the following items, some of which may not be applicable for your situation:
- Vital Statistic Information
- Full Legal Name
- Mother's First and Maiden Name
- Date of Birth
- Years of Education
- Social Security Number
- Immediate Family
- Occupation and details
- Marriage Information
- Military Discharge Papers (Form DD214)
- Recent photograph
- Clothing including all normal items
- Jewelry and personal items if desired
- Insurance Papers (if used to pay for the funeral)
- Cemetery Deed
At the funeral arrangement conference, and providing you have not already made a prearrangement with us, our funeral director will request vital statistics information for use in completing the death certificate. With this information, we will administrate obtaining signature from the certifier (physician or medical examiner) after which it will be filed with the State of Iowa. During the arrangements process, we will ask whether you wish to purchase certified copies of the death certificate that are available from the State at a nominal fee. As a normal part of our service, we will also file necessary papers with the Social Security Administration and with the Department of Veterans Affairs (if applicable).
Celebrating the Life of the Deceased
We believe a funeral service should be special and personalized to honor the life of the deceased, and to create a positive long lasting memory for surviving family. Towards that end, we strive to provide many options regarding how a family can say good-bye to their loved one. Regardless of which option a family selects, two important considerations translate to meaningful funeral service. First and foremost, funeral services, which incorporate significant personalization celebrating the life of the deceased, provide significant meaning and comfort to families. Second, funeral ceremonies benefit the needs of the living, not the deceased. As such, the design of the funeral service should balance the needs of the living with any wishes expressed by the deceased. You can expect our funeral director and support staff to assist you with accomplishing this goal. If you would like more information on how to create meaningful funeral service, click on Creating Meaningful Funerals. By having a funeral that celebrates and reflects on a life well lived, you allow the opportunity for everyone your loved one ever knew to have a chance to say good bye!
Payment Policy
Not only will we seek to create a personalized meaningful funeral suitable for your needs, we also will work with you to control how much you spend for this service. Towards this end, we will strive to carry out your wishes within your budget.
Upon the conclusion of making funeral arrangements, we will ask a representative of the family to sign a purchase contract associated with what has been selected. At this time, we will ask you to review and select which provision for payment you wish to select. Please know by contract and by your election, we will expect payment by your choice. Acceptable payment alternatives are as follows:
- Payment in full by cash or check within thirty days of receiving our statement of final charges (invoice).
- Payment via Visa or MasterCard is acceptable if made within seven days following completion of the funeral service.
- Assignment of an in-force and verifiable insurance policy. Please know that most group life insurance available through employment cannot be assigned to us.
- Payment by the estate is acceptable provided that adequate estate assets can be verified sufficient to pay expected funeral expenses. Many times, the estate disburses funds only after a significant delay to accommodate the legal work necessary. If payment is significantly delayed due to this circumstance, please know that we may request to add late payment penalties to the contract balance.
- Request for alternative payment means. By request and requiring prior approval, we may consider reducing our normal funeral pricing to accommodate financial distress cases. Since we desire to be a good corporate citizen and work to make our community better, we believe that acting charitable under certain circumstances can be helpful. Our consideration of acting charitably is secondary to the responsibility and ability for any and all immediate family members to bear financial burden if needed.
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