DIY (Family-Directed) Home Funeral Consultation/Education

You or other family members can legally act as licensed funeral director in the state of Washington, and you do not need to engage a funeral home at all if you prefer to act on your own behalf. Making this choice means you are legally responsible for the care of the body, and all tasks related to the death certificate, permits, and transportation of your loved one. It also means you will be doing many more tasks yourselves, at an already stressful time, so a strong support system is essential.

We support families who make this choice, but highly recommend that you engage our consultanting services before attempting to navigate the system on your own. Getting the death certificate signed by the doctor, and filed with the county and obtaining the permits for transportation takes time and focused attention. Not many people today know that families have these legal rights, so it can be challenging at times. Don’t be daunted, though. It can be done!

Our consultations support your family to have a good experience, and also help insure that family-directed home funerals will always be legally possible here in Washington state. Please don’t hesitate to ask how we can assist you.

We recommend a preliminary consultation to get you started (two-hour minimum). We can consult via phone (425-316-8290) or video call. If you wish us to come to your home, our hourly rate is higher.

Because planning ahead is essential to creating a good home funeral experience, our consultation rates are lower for pre-need consultation before a death has occurred. We do offer at-need consultations, after a death has occurred, but that is more challenging for everyone concerned, so we charge accordingly.

EDUCATION and TRAINING

The best support for DIY (Family-Directed) Home Funeral families is a combination of education and training beforehand, combined with consultation when the home funeral vigil occurs. Plan your home funeral far enough in the future to take advantage of our workshops/ trainings and webinars. Families and communities can organize their own workshops and have us come and train them in the most important aspects of creating a successful home funeral. (See our offerings under Help & Resources/Education & Trainings.)