Worry-Free Cremation Process

1. We will make arrangements to pick-up your loved one from the place of death. No matter the hour, we will transfer them into our care.
2. Your loved one’s identity is verified at the place of death and an identification bracelet is placed on them. They will then be transported to our crematory facility, located at 2411 Kline Avenue, Nashville, TN.
3. Upon arrival at our facility, your loved one’s identity is verified again, and the exact time and date of arrival is documented.
4. Your loved one is then placed in our refrigerated holding vault until the time of cremation.
5. After our staff meets with the family and we have received the necessary information, our staff will start the process of filing the death certificate and applying for a cremation permit.
6. The death certificate is then provided to the appropriate physician or medical examiner for their signature. (Please note that we have no control over the length of time this step can take. The availability of the physician or medical examiner will ultimately determine the length of time before your loved one is cremated. It may take several days for the physician or medical examiner to properly execute the death certificate.)
7. Upon receiving the signed death certificate from the physician or medical examiner, we will begin two processes.

• We will request certified copies of the death certificate with the health department serving the county where death occurred. In certain cases where death occurs a considerable distance from our facility, delays can occur due to the necessity of mailing the death certificate and the return mailing of certified copies of the death certificate from the health department.
• We will also provide the signed death certificate to the medical examiner for the county in which the death occurred. Once the medical examiner has signed the cremation permit, it will be provided to the Registrar for the local health department for completion. (In most cases, we can obtain the cremation permit without delay. However, this is also a step in the process that we have no control over and delays may occur. Please note that health departments are not open on the weekends.)

8. Once the cremation permit and a copy of the signed death certificate are received at our facility, a member of our staff verifies that all of the required documents and permits have been properly executed. At this point, the cremation is scheduled.

9. At the time of cremation, two of our staff members (with at least one being a licensed funeral director) review the paperwork and the identity of your loved one is once again verified. This step is documented along with the exact time that the cremation process starts and ends. A metal identification disc that is numbered is placed in the cremation chamber with your loved one for identification and verification purposes.

10. Following the completion of the cremation process, the cremated remains and identification disc are removed. The cremated remains are then processed and placed into the container selected by the family. The family is notified that the process is complete and arrangements are made to return their loved one to them.