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The death of a loved one is one of the most traumatic experiences any of us will ever have. By asking the right questions, comparing prices and services, and making informed decisions, you can make arrangements that are meaningful to your family and control the costs for yourself and your survivors. The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau licenses, regulates, and investigates complaints against California funeral establishments, funeral directors, embalmers, apprentice embalmers, cemetery brokers, cemetery salespersons, cemetery managers, cremated remains disposers, crematories, crematory managers, and the nearly 200 fraternal and private cemeteries in the state.

Legal Requirements

Disposition Arrangements

California law lists those who have the right, duty, and responsibility to make decisions about disposition arrangements after a person's death. They are, in order:

A person, prior to his or her death.An agent under a power of attorney for health care.The surviving competent spouse, or the registered domestic partner.The surviving competent adult child or the majority of the surviving competent adult children.The surviving competent parent or parents.The surviving competent adult sibling or the majority of the surviving competent adult siblings.The surviving competent adult person or the majority of the surviving competent adult persons, in the next degree of kinship. Details:

A person may direct in writing the disposition of his or her remains and specify the funeral goods and services desired. Unless there is a written statement to the contrary that is signed and dated by the person, these directions may not be changed in any material way except as required by law.

The law protects a person after death providing that:

The written directions are clear and complete; andArrangement for payment of final services via trusts, insurance, commitments by others, or any other means have been made which precludes the payment of money by the survivors(s) who might otherwise have the right to control disposition. Instead of giving written instructions, a person may give the right and duty of disposition to an agent under a power of attorney for health care or an advance health care directive. This agent will have the full right to act and control the decedent's disposition unless the power of attorney or an advance health care directive limits or removes that right.In the absence of a written directive or power of attorney for health care, the right and duty of disposition next moves to a surviving competent spouse or registered domestic partner or written instructions have been given pursuant to the preceding paragraph.To be considered a registered domestic partner in California, a person must have filed a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the Secretary of State under Family Law Code Section 297.In the absence of the above documents and people, the right and duty of disposition would fall to the surviving competent adult child or the majority of the surviving competent adult children, then the competent parent or parents, then the competent adult sibling or the majority of the surviving competent adult siblings and then the competent adult person or the majority of the surviving competent adult persons, in the next degree of kinship.

Home Death Care

The law does not prohibit consumers from preparing a body for disposition themselves. If you choose to do this, you must:

File a properly completed Certificate of Death, signed by the attending physician or coroner, with the local registrar of births and deaths.Obtain a Permit for Disposition from the local registrar of births and deaths.Provide a casket or suitable container.Make arrangements directly with the cemetery or crematory.  For the complete guide Click here  to download

source http://www.cfb.ca.gov/