Source: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/montana-home-funeral-laws.html
Timestamp: 2019-02-16 16:31:34
Document Index: 446834003

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 50', '§ 37', '§ 37', '§ 37', '§ 50', '§ 37', '§ 50', '§ 37']

Montana Home Funeral Laws | Nolo.com
Montana Home Funeral Laws
Learn the rules that govern home funerals in Montana.
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 Montana.
Do You Need a Funeral Director in Montana?
In all states, it is legal to have your loved one’s body at home after they die. Montana does not require you to involve a licensed funeral director in making or carrying out final arrangements. (See, for example, Montana Code § 50-15-403 (2018), which requires “the person in charge of disposition of the dead body” to file the death certificate.)
Montana law determines who has the right to make final decisions about a person’s body and funeral services. This right goes first to the deceased person, if they wrote down instructions before their death, 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 Montana.
Embalming is almost never required. In Montana, a body must be embalmed or refrigerated only if:
The body will be transported by common carrier (such as an airplane or train) and either (1) the body will be en route for more than eight hours, or (2) the transport will end more than 36 hours after the death.
The body will be transported in a private vehicle and cannot reach its destination within 48 hours after the death.
(Administrative Rules of Montana § 37.116.103 (2018).)
If you will not be using a funeral director to carry out final arrangements, you must complete and file the death certificate yourself. Montana law requires you to file the death certificate with the local registrar of vital records within ten days of the death. (Administrative Rules of Montana § 37.8.801 (2018).)
Montana now uses an electronic death registration system, but you can still obtain a paper death certificate from the local registrar of vital records or the clerk and recorder’s office. You must present the death certificate to the deceased person’s doctor, advanced practice registered nurse, or the coroner within three working days after the death. The medical provider will fill in the medical portion of the death certificate, which contains such information as date, time, and cause of death, and return it to you within 48 hours for completion and filing. (See Administrative Rules of Montana § 37.8.801 (2018).)
Montana law allows you to move a body from the place of death if you obtain a signed “dead body removal authorization” form from a doctor, “physician’s designee,” advanced practice nurse, or coroner within 24 hours. (See Montana Code § 50-15-405 (2018) and Administrative Rules of Montana § 37.8.808 (2018).) For example, if someone dies outside the home, this authorization would be necessary to bring the body home for care. Or, if someone dies at home, you’ll need the form to move the body to a location away from home for burial or cremation.
There are no state laws in Montana prohibiting home burial, but local governments may have rules governing private burials. Before burying a body on private land or establishing a family cemetery, you should check with the county or town clerk for any zoning laws you must follow.
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. In Montana, a dead body removal authorization form that has been signed by the coroner also authorizes cremation -- no additional permit is necessary. (Montana Code § 50-15-405 (2018).) There is a required waiting period of 24 hours before cremation may occur. (Montana Code § 37-19-705 (2018).)
For more information about cremation, including information on scattering ashes, see Burial and Cremation Laws in Montana.