Frequently Asked Questions

If your loved one is under hospice care, you would call the hospice nurse back to return to the house. The nurse would then call Compassionate Cremations and Funeral Home to come out and bring your loved one into their care. If your loved one is not under hospice care, you must call 911 immediately. The police and fire rescue will come out and assess the situation. The police may call the local medical examiner to further assist. If the medical examiner takes jurisdiction, they will remove the body from the residence. If the medical examiner does not take jurisdiction, they will allow the family to call us. The police must give the removal information to the funeral director. The family is not allowed to give removal information to the funeral director.

When someone dies in a hospital, the next of kin would simply give the administrators our full name, Compassionate Cremations and Funeral Home, and give them our phone number, 813-946-8820. The hospital must call us to release your loved one. When we get the call to release your loved one, we will bring them into our care and call the next of kin to start the funeral arrangements.

When you call our funeral home after a death occurs, you will immediately be connected to a funeral director from Compassionate Cremations and Funeral Home. We will then be able to answer your questions and proceed with your funeral arrangements.

Cremation can take place when the doctor signs the death certificate and the medical examiner and the state approve the cremation and assign an approval number. There is a state mandate minimum of a 48-hour hold on cremation from the time of death.

We will need information such as social security numbers, parents’ names and maiden names, place of birth, occupation, address, and military status. Although we do not require you to give us official documents, they are helpful to us to complete the death certificate information. The military DD-214 separation papers will be needed for national cemetery burial or military honors.

There are two kinds of death certificates in Florida. One has the cause of death on the certificate, and the other does not. Certificates with the cause of death may be used for entities that will pay out money such as insurance, pensions, and annuities. Local banks, division of motor vehicles, and credit card companies may require a death certificate without cause of death. All the death certificates that come from the funeral directors and vital statistics are certified copies of the death certificate.

At Compassionate Cremations and Funeral Home, the family can arrange simple cremation online or in person. The family can also choose cremation with a viewing and a full service, or they may choose a simple ID private viewing. Please call the funeral director, and they will guide you in the right direction.

Choosing an urn depends on your wants and needs for the urn. We offer wood urns, metal urns, eco urns, scatter urns, and keepsake urns and jewelry.

We offer urns that are TSA compliant in the United States. TSA compliant urns must be x-ray compatible. They need to be made of wood, cardboard, or plastic. TSA is not allowed to look inside of the urn itself; therefore, the cremation certificate will have all the information needed. Check with your airline to make sure they will allow you to bring an urn onboard the cabin. The death certificate is not needed to bring an urn on a plane in the US.

Compassionate Cremations and Funeral Home directors will arrange for national cemetery interment, military honors, and a veteran flag for the next of kin. The DD-214 separation papers will be required for the arrangements. We will do anything from a simple cremation to a full-service burial for our beloved veterans.

Direct or simple cremation is cremation only. There is no service or viewing of your loved one.

The family can have a funeral before the cremation. Compassionate Cremations and funeral home offer a full-service funeral with a viewing. The cremation to follow the funeral service. We include a cremation casket in the price of the funeral. We also offer a memorial service with an urn or a picture present at the service.

There are two options that you can view your loved one before cremation. First, we have a private ID view and cremation. This option is for up to ten people for thirty minutes at our crematory. Second, we have a full service at our chapel for two hours. The cremation will take place after the funeral service. The cremation casket is included in the price of the funeral.

Yes, you can. We can put you in touch with our pre-need agent. She will make an appointment at our office with you. We use Homesteaders burial insurance. It is guaranteed by the state of Florida. It can be paid in full, or you can make payments.

You can arrange a cremation on the Compassionate Cremations and Funeral Home website.

Compassionate Cremations and Funeral Home offers three burial packages. We offer a graveside burial package, direct burial (the family is not present at the burial), and a full service with a viewing burial package.

Compassionate Cremations and Funeral Home handles the funeral home side of the arrangements. However, we will be happy to refer you to a cemetery based on cost and your needs. Once you choose a cemetery, we will work with the cemetery to arrange the burial date and time.