FAQs

Direct cremation means the body of your loved one is cremated in the days immediately following the death, without a viewing or funeral service that the funeral home is involved in beforehand. Direct cremations provide an affordable and timely alternative to traditional burials.

For further details on direct cremation and the process, click here

The overall cremation process takes between seven and ten days. This includes taking your loved one into our care, gathering all required authorizations, the cremation and the return of remains (either via mail or in-person delivery). It is important to note that the receipt of death certificates may take longer due to timing to receive certification from doctors and processing by the county.

Requesting our services can be done entirely online. To request Solace’s services, click here. You can also request our services 24/7 through our toll-free number, 1-844-385-9589.  

We ask about weight to ensure that we have the appropriate number of staff for transport. Our priority is to safely bring your loved one into our care. Your best guess is sufficient and an over-estimation is preferred to an under-estimation. 

Embalming is not required by law, nor is it advisable or necessary for direct cremation.

• Unless your loved one is on hospice care, at a hospital or other care facility with licensed staff, call 911.
• We hope you have some support at this time. Take a moment and breathe. If you have chosen Solace Cremation as your provider and you are ready to request our services, click here.
• After you have requested and paid for our services, we will contact you regarding what to expect next.
• If your loved one passed at home or at a care facility, our care team will contact you with an estimated time of arrival.
• If your loved one has passed in a hospital or is at a Medical Examiner’s office, please let the institution know that you have chosen Solace as your provider.
• We will then contact you when we have your loved one in our care.
• For more information on Solace’s services and process, click here.

Laws and regulations can vary from state to state, so please contact us if you need specific information for your area.
In general, this is dependent on where your loved one has passed away and the wishes of your family. Most care facilities will request that the person be transported as soon as possible after a family has given consent. Hospitals, medical examiner’s and coroner’s offices appreciate decedents being picked up in a timely manner but are generally gracious if families need time to make decisions or contact next of kin.
If your loved one has passed at home you will want to notify your hospice provider or call 911, then you can take the time you need and contact us when you are ready for your loved one to be brought into our care.

A member of the Solace team will bring your loved one into our care and transport them to our care center. Our staff is dependable, highly trained and compassionate.

No, our staff will arrive in a discreet van and will be dressed in professional or business casual attire.

If your loved one passes away at a residence or care facility, a member of the Solace Team will contact you directly and give you an estimated time of arrival. Our goal is to arrive in approximately 60-90 minutes from the time of your request. However, arrival times can vary depending on time of day, traffic and your location. Once our staff has arrived, it typically takes about half an hour to bring your loved one into our care, but our staff will spend whatever time is necessary or desired by you and your family.

If your loved one passes away at a hospital, or is in the care of a state or county medical examiner or coroner facility, we will bring your loved one into our care as soon as the facility contacts Solace and authorizes release.

Please note, states differ in how the process works. Solace will work the family directly to get the required authorizations to take your loved one into our care.

When you request simple, direct cremation services from Solace, through our website or by phone, we gather the most pressing information we need to bring your loved one into our care: name of loved one, address of their current location, your name, relationship to loved one and phone number and the estimated weight of the loved one. If family is present when our care team arrives to bring your loved one into our care, we will verify the information already received about your loved one, confirm next of kin and a few additional details or any special requests.

Your loved one will be transported to our care center where they will be safely held until the cremation takes place. We will always communicate next steps, timing and additional information required to proceed with the cremation process.

Witness cremation is viewing the placement of the alternative container or casket into the cremation chamber. At this time, we do not offer this service. However, we do allow for any desired time with your loved one before we bring them into our care.

Yes, a simple Solace urn is included in our direct cremation service. With Solace, the cost of cremation is one inclusive price and includes everything a family needs for a simple, direct cremation service. 

At this time, we do not offer this service. However, upon receipt of remains, there are a number of options that you have to bring your loved one to a final resting place. All states allow for the scattering of ashes. Note that some states do require permits to scatter ashes, particularly in state and national parks. Ashes may also be scattered at sea three or more nautical miles from land. Scattering on private property is permissible with the consent of the property owner.

When you see a low-cost direct cremation advertised, what you’re actually seeing is often just the starting price of that provider’s services. Families are often charged for services beyond their control. For example, a pacemaker removal or the shipment of remains outside the provider’s service area. Sometimes, families can be charged for small but emotionally critical requests, like receiving a lock of their loved one’s hair. Solace does not treat circumstances and wishes like transactions. Instead, we treat them all as a sacred service to the family.

Solace’s direct cremation service price is structured to be one inclusive price, not a starting price. What’s the difference? Our direct cremation price includes everything from beginning to end. There are no surprises or hidden costs because we don’t add fees or do any upselling. It’s one price, for everything, for real.

 

We do not offer this service at this time. However, it is a relatively easy process to transfer the remains into multiple urns or vessels at your discretion, once remains are returned. It can be helpful to ask someone more removed from the death to do this for you as it can be emotionally difficult.

Solace includes an alternative container in lieu of a casket. The alternative container is an enclosed cardboard receptacle that the decedent is placed in for the cremation process. An alternative container is included in Solace’s price.

At this time, we do not offer this service. However, we do allow for any desired time with your loved one before we bring them into our care.

Pacemakers need to be removed prior to the cremation process as they are combustible and potentially dangerous to machinery and operators, alike. There is no additional charge for pacemaker removal.

Implants that are still present after the cremation process (e.g. hip replacements) are sent to a medical recycling facility or disposed of as required by industry regulations and requirements.

We provide in-person delivery of remains by our staff within our service area or via mail for U.S. locations through the United States Postal Service (USPS). Both options require a signature from an adult aged 18 or over at time of delivery.

Depending on the state where the death occurred, certificates can take between 2-4 weeks before arriving to the family. It is generally what people need the soonest, but it can often take the longest. Here’s why — the process starts with the family furnishing personal information about their loved one on a provided vital statistics form. A funeral director takes the vital statistic information and creates the death certificate. The certificate then goes to the appropriate doctor for medical certification. From the doctors, the certificate is sent to the county vital statistics office in which the death occurred. After being registered by the county, certified copies are made and sent to the family. We do everything we can to expedite this process and are happy to help families calculate how many death certificates they need. Read more.

A death certificate is a legal document, containing vital statistics, disposition and final medical information pertaining to your loved one. A death certificate registers the death with the state and is used for transactions requiring proof of death.

Some information needed to complete the death certificate may seem unusual, but the information is used to improve public health information and public health services.

We serve Portland and surrounding areas. Visit our locations page for a full list of service areas.

• Surviving spouse over the age of 60, or over 50 if living with a disability
• Surviving divorced spouse, under certain circumstances
• Unmarried child of the deceased younger than 18 or older than age 18 if living with a disability that began before age 22
• A surviving spouse who is caring for the deceased’s child who is under age 16 or living with a disability
• Dependent parents over the age of 62

Learn more about Social Security eligibility and benefits: https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/ifyou.html

What is included in Solace’s affordable and inclusive direct cremation cost of $995?

Solace’s direct cremation service price includes:

• Transportation of your loved one to our facility
• Direct cremation
• All necessary permits & fees
• Return of remains in a Solace urn (either in-person delivery in our service area or via USPS Priority Mail within the U.S.)
• Death certificates are an additional purchase and you are able to select the desired number at the time of requesting our services

How does Solace’s direct cremation price compare to other providers’ costs?

• Solace’s cremation service cost is more than $1,500 less than the national average of $2,550 for a direct cremation (per the NFDA – National Funeral Directors Association)
• Unlike the majority of funeral industry providers, we do not have a starting price and surcharge model. Items such as implant removal, in-person hand delivery of remains will not have a surcharge. We never upsell families in their time of need.

Please reach out to one of our Solace Care Team members at 844-385-9589 and we will assist you in this process.

The Solace Care Team is ready to assist you via phone, email and chat with concierge-level service. 24/7 support is available by calling 1-844-385-9589. We are here for you.