Frequently asked questions.

Stay calm. If the death happens at home, a doctor is called to confirm the death and issue the medical death certificate. In hospitals and care homes, staff handle this step. Only afterwards do you inform relatives and contact a funeral director.

Usually the family doctor or the medical on-call service. In unclear or emergency cases, dial the local emergency number. The funeral director is contacted after the medical confirmation.

The medical certificate is the basis for all further steps. With it the funeral director can collect the deceased and apply for the official death certificate at the registry office.

No. You may take time to say goodbye. The funeral director is contacted once you are ready and the medical confirmation is available.

Only the medical confirmation is urgent. Decisions about funeral type, ceremony or grave can be discussed calmly afterwards.

Medical on-call services and emergency numbers are available around the clock. Many funeral directors are also reachable 24 hours a day for dignified collection.

The medical certificate is issued by a doctor immediately. The official death certificate is issued later by the registry office at the place of death and is needed for authorities, insurers and inheritance matters.

Usually the next of kin or an authorised person. If a written funeral directive exists, the persons named there take priority.

ID of the deceased, birth certificate, family record or marriage certificate, the medical death certificate and any existing funeral directive or pre-arrangement contract.

Typically: ID, birth certificate, family record or marriage certificate, the medical death certificate and, where applicable, a funeral directive and insurance papers. Additional documents may be required case by case.

It is used by the registry office to issue the official death certificate and to document personal status.

For married or widowed persons, a marriage certificate or family record is usually needed to prove marital status.

Alongside the marriage certificate, a legally binding divorce decree is usually required.

Marriage certificate plus the death certificate of the deceased spouse to prove the current personal status.

Missing certificates can be requested from the responsible registry office. The funeral director helps to obtain them.

It is issued by the registry office at the place of death. Funeral directors usually take care of the application on behalf of the family.

Registry office, health insurance, pension insurance, possibly the social welfare office and the probate court. Insurers, employer and banks should be informed in due course.

Often an international death certificate, a transit permit (Laissez-passer mortuaire), a medical certificate on the cause of death and the consular approval. Requirements vary by country.

Common forms include burial, cremation with urn interment, natural burials (for example in a memorial forest), sea burial and anonymous forms. Availability depends on the region and cemetery rules.

In a burial, the deceased is laid to rest in a casket on a cemetery. The grave type (row, optional or family grave) is chosen in advance.

In a cremation, the deceased is cremated after a ceremony. The ashes are then interred in an urn.

The urn is placed, for example, in an urn grave, an urn wall (columbarium), a communal grave, a memorial forest or in a sea burial.

In an anonymous funeral, the grave is not marked with a name. Relatives usually do not learn the exact burial spot.

In a natural (forest or meadow) burial, the urn is interred in nature, often near a tree. Special rules of the site apply.

The ashes are interred at sea in a water-soluble urn. Relatives can usually accompany the burial trip.

Yes. Funeral directors support religious, secular and cultural wishes and cooperate with clergy, speakers and congregations.

If the deceased recorded their wishes in writing, those are binding. Otherwise the next of kin decide together.

A transfer is the transport of a deceased person from the place of death to another location — cemetery, crematorium or the home country.

Whenever the place of death and the place of funeral are not identical, for example after a death while travelling, abroad or far from home.

Yes. Domestic transfers are common. State-specific rules apply and are handled by the funeral director.

International transfers require special documents (international death certificate, transit permit), consular approvals and a prescribed transport casket.

Usually international death certificate, medical certificate of cause of death, transit permit and the approval of the responsible consulate.

Consulates check documents and grant approval for the transfer to the home country. They link local and foreign authorities.

Domestic transfers usually take a few days. International transfers depend on country, documents and consular processing.

Yes. Over long distances and overseas, air transport is common. Special packaging and documentation rules of the airline apply.

First contacts are local authorities, the local doctor, travel insurance and the home country's consulate. An experienced funeral director coordinates the rest.

Type of funeral, cemetery fees, casket or urn, ceremony, transfer, documents, flowers, printed notices and personal wishes. Every funeral is arranged individually.

Different local cemetery fees, the chosen type of funeral, the scope of the ceremony and personal wishes lead to clearly different overall costs.

Funeral director services, cemetery and possibly crematorium fees, religious or secular ceremony, speaker, music, flowers, printed notices and, where applicable, headstone.

Cemetery fees are charged by the local authority or cemetery administration and depend strongly on the chosen grave and location.

Yes. Transfer costs are usually billed separately, often by distance. International transfers add document and consular fees.

Burial and cremation differ in grave types, cemetery fees and the scope of the ceremony. A blanket statement on which is cheaper is not possible.

Usually the next of kin or the heirs (legal obligation depending on jurisdiction). Funds from the estate are used first.

An application for cost coverage may be possible at the local social welfare office. Exact requirements are explained there.

A reliable estimate requires a personal conversation that considers wishes, type of funeral and local conditions.

Ceremonies can be religious or secular, held in a church, at the grave or in a funeral hall. Music, texts, images and personal memories can be chosen freely.

Yes. Religious ceremonies are arranged with clergy; secular ceremonies with a free speaker.

Music and memories give a ceremony its individual character. Funeral directors carefully integrate the wishes of the deceased and the family.

Absolutely. Personal words, letters or poems can be read aloud or integrated by the speaker.

Yes. A quiet farewell at the funeral home or at the open casket can be arranged in close circle and a calm atmosphere.

The ceremony can take place before or after the cremation. Beforehand the casket is at the centre; afterwards the urn.

Yes. Ceremonies can deliberately be arranged in the closest family circle, without a public notice.

Flowers are a traditional expression of sympathy and esteem. Floral decoration is matched to wishes and type of funeral.

Recording during your lifetime how your own funeral should be arranged — organisationally and financially.

It relieves relatives in an already difficult situation, provides clarity and ensures that personal wishes are respected.

Type of funeral, ceremony, music, texts, flowers, grave type, contact persons and any special wishes — all can be documented in writing.

Yes. In a written funeral directive the chosen type can be set out bindingly.

Funeral directive, possibly a trust contract or funeral insurance, a list of important contacts and notes on where to find key documents.

Yes. Advance planning wishes can be adjusted or updated at any time.

It is advisable to inform at least one trusted person so the documents can be found when needed.

Organisational planning records wishes and procedures; financial planning secures the costs — for example via a trust account or funeral insurance.

Yes. Funeral services touch very personal matters. Data is used solely to process your request and within legal obligations.

Usually name, contact details and the concern described. Further personal data is only requested where strictly necessary.

For funerals, transfers and official matters, certain personal status details are legally required. They are treated confidentially.

Only within statutory reporting requirements (e.g. registry office) or with explicit consent of the family.

No. Data from enquiries or funeral cases is not used for advertising.

The full privacy policy is linked in the footer of this website and describes all processing in detail.

Yes. You always have the right to information, correction and — within legal limits — erasure of your data.

Data from the contact form is used to process your request, stored confidentially and not shared without cause.

Typically a multilingual international death certificate, a medical certificate stating the cause of death, a transit permit (Laissez-passer mortuaire), the consular approval of the receiving country and an official transport permit. Depending on the destination, apostilles, certified translations and ecclesiastical certificates may be added. We check all paperwork, request what is missing and coordinate directly with the responsible offices.

In Germany the transit permit is issued by the registry office or the responsible public health authority at the place of death. The funeral director usually handles the entire application on behalf of the family, including obtaining all preliminary documents such as the death certificate and the medical certificate.

An apostille is an international authentication regulated by the Hague Convention. It makes German documents legally valid in member states without further legalisation and is often required for death certificates when the funeral or estate is handled abroad. We coordinate the apostille with the responsible authority.

Once the medical confirmation of death is in place, we take care of collection, hygienic care and – where required for transport – embalming. In parallel we apply for the death certificate, the transit permit and the consular approval of the Romanian consulate. The transfer is carried out in the prescribed metal inner casket, primarily by road. In Romania we hand over to our long-standing partner firm, which accompanies the family until the burial.

Within Europe a road transfer usually takes between two and five days – depending on the destination, consular processing times and the availability of all documents. For air transports the airline's booking window is added. After reviewing the documents we give you a realistic time frame.

We regularly organise transfers and repatriations between Germany and, among others, Romania, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through our European network further countries are possible at short notice.

Yes. Urn transports are generally simpler than casket transfers but still follow clear rules of the receiving country and airlines. Required are in particular the death certificate, the cremation certificate and, if applicable, an approval of the responsible consulate. We handle the entire process – by vehicle, as air freight or as accompanied transport.

Embalming (thanatopraxy) is not mandatory in every case but is required by many countries and airlines for international transfers – especially for long distances or air transport. We check the requirements of the destination state and, if needed, carry out the hygienic care or embalming professionally.

All communication with the registry office, health authority, consulates, embassies, airlines and foreign partner companies is handled by us – multilingually and in direct coordination. Families receive a single dedicated contact who accompanies the case from the start until handover in the home country.