Source: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/colorado-home-funeral-laws.html
Timestamp: 2018-07-23 13:52:25
Document Index: 100815835

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 25', '§ 12', '§ 12', '§ 12', '§ 25', '§ 25', '§ 25', '§ 25']

Colorado Home Funeral Laws | Nolo.com
Colorado Home Funeral Laws
Learn the rules that govern home funerals in Colorado.
If you are interested in holding a home funeral for a loved one who has died, you’ll need to be aware of the laws that apply. Here is an overview of the rules that govern home funerals in Colorado.
In all states, it is legal to have your loved one’s body at home after they die. Colorado has no law requiring that a licensed funeral director be involved in making or carrying out final arrangements.
State law allows a “funeral director or person acting as such” to file the death certificate. (Colorado Revised Statutes § 25-2-110(3) (2018).) In addition, the law is clear that the funeral profession may not interfere with the rights of religious communities to “care for, prepare, and bury” the bodies of their own dead. (Colorado Revised Statutes § 12-54-108 (2018).)
Colorado law determines who has the right to make final decisions about a person’s body and funeral services. This right goes first to a person appointed by the deceased before death, then to the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate, and after that to family members in an established order.
To learn the rules and the exact order of priority, see Making Funeral Arrangements in Colorado.
Colorado law requires a body to be embalmed or refrigerated if final disposition does not occur within 24 hours. (Colorado Revised Statutes § 12-54-105.) Additionally, if the body will be transported out of state by common carrier it must be either embalmed or shipped in a hermetically sealed container. (Colorado Revised Statutes § 12-54-104 (2018).)
If the person died of a contagious disease, you must consult a local or state health official before arranging for the disposition of the body.
If you will not be using a funeral director, you must complete and file the death certificate yourself. Colorado law requires you to file the death certificate with the state registrar of births and deaths within five calendar days of the death and before you dispose of the remains. (Colorado Revised Statutes § 25-2-110(1)(a) (2018).)
The doctor who last attended the deceased person must complete the medical portion of the death certificate within 48 hours. (Colorado Revised Statutes § 25-2-110(4) (2018).) The medical certification contains such information as the date, time, and cause of death.
Colorado is instituting an electronic system for registering deaths. Once this system is in place, you will go to the local registrar or health department to initiate the death certificate process.
You will need certified copies of the death certificate to carry out other tasks after the death, such as getting a permit to transport the body to the place of burial or cremation. You may be able to file the death certificate and get certified copies on the same day. If not, you will have to make a return trip to pick up the copies. Be prepared to pay a small fee for each copy.
You will need a disposition permit before transporting the body to have it buried or cremated. You can request the disposition permit from the county registrar or coroner. (Colorado Revised Statutes § 25-2-111 (2018).) You will need a copy of the death certificate to obtain the disposition permit. After you have the permit, you may transport the body yourself.
In Colorado, burials on private property must be recorded with the county clerk within thirty days. Be prepared to supply the following information:
the dead person’s name as it appears on the death certificate
the dead person’s date of birth
the dead person’s age at the time of death
the name of the owners of the property where the body is buried
the legal description of the property where the body is buried, if the burial occurred on private property
the reception number for the death certificate if recorded by the county clerk, and
the latitude and longitude coordinates of the burial site, verified by two witnesses or the county coroner, sheriff, or a representative of the county coroner or sheriff.
(Colorado Revised Statutes § 25-2-111 (2018).)
The county recorder or coroner should be able to supply you with a form you can use for this purpose.
Some crematories require that you use a funeral director to arrange cremation. If you don’t want to use a funeral director, make sure the crematory is willing to accept the body directly from the family. The disposition permit, discussed above, allows you to have the body cremated.
For more information about cremation, including information on scattering ashes, see Burial & Cremation Laws in Colorado.