All That You Need to Know About the Cremation Laws in Texas

Each and every state has its own laws and guidelines concerning cremation and funeral services. Therefore, you must go through the rules and laws that the state has before pre-planning your cremation or funeral ceremony. Here is all you need to know before planning a cremation Dallas TX.

Laws in Texas for Cremation Process

Texas cremation laws ensure a cremation with proper documentation, permission, and observance of guidelines. Everything starting from obtaining a cremation allowance to filing the death certificate is required by the laws of Texas. Let us have a look at them:

Side By Side Cremation

A cremation provider is not allowed to incremate the remains of more than one dead person in the same space without proper permission in writing by the certifying member of each of the demised persons' families.

Holding On Before Cremation

Before cremation proceeds, there are processes that ought to be checked out. In Texas cremation laws, before the cremation permit is signed, there is a waiting period of 48 hours after the death. This 48-hour time span is based on the time on the death certificate.

Medical Examiner Authorization

If the cause of death falls under the jurisdiction of a medical examiner or a coroner, their authorization is required before the cremation can proceed.

Timeframe

exas law requires a waiting period of at least 48 hours from the time of death until the cremation can take place, excluding weekends and holidays, unless the body has been embalmed or refrigerated.

Death Certificate

Mostly, the death certificate is signed by an authorized funeral director. He/she gathers personal data from the family for the paperwork. There is a compulsion for a medical certificate from a physician or medical examiner, that states the cause of death. The body can't be incremated unless the reason for death is established.

Identification and Tracking

Texas law mandates that each body to be cremated is assigned a unique identification number, and proper documentation and records must be maintained throughout the entire process.

Caskets

You can use any container other than caskets, such as pressed or unfinished wood, fiberboard, or cardboard for cremation processes.

Also, the casket or the container is not required to be purchased from the cremation provider.

Texas Laws on Scattering Ashes

1. Texas laws allow scattering the demised ashes on land over uninhabited public land. Over private land, a permit is required by the land owner.

2. Federal Clean Water Act permits to scatter off the ashes but requires scattering them at a minimum of three coastal miles from the land. After scattering, you must notify the organization within 30 days.

3. Scattering of ashes by air is permitted, as long as you don't throw the urn along with the remains.

Storage of the Remained Ashes

Any laws in Texas do not avert you from storing the remaining ashes of your demised loved ones on your own property.

Laws on the Disposition of the Remains

There is always confusion about which immediate family member can make the decisions of who will control the funeral arrangements after the demise. The priority order is:

1. Any name that the demised person has specified

2. The surviving spouse of the deceased

3. Any one of the surviving adult children

4. Any one of the parents

5. Either of the siblings

Final Wordings

Here in this article, we have listed the rules and laws to consider before planning a cremation Dallas TX. We hope this would help you in keeping the basic laws in mind.