Importance of Funerals

Be protected and informed as you make final arrangements after a loss

Professional funeral directors at Can-Trust Funeral, based in Richmond, BC recommend that family members or executors responsible for making the arrangements after a loss, turn to Consumer Protection of BC as an important resource to help you.

You may be overwhelmed and vulnerable when you enter a funeral home. Yet in your distressed state, you must deal with multiple documents placed in front of you. One of these will be a funeral contract. On it you will see a fee, currently $30, called the Consumer Protection BC fee.

Consumer Protection BC offers a service families can reach out to if they believe that they have been misled, mistreated or received wrong information from the funeral provider. (Can-Trust upcoming blogs will detail how funeral providers can mislead, mistreat and giving wrong information to bereaved families, please subscribe for an alert to your inbox)

The death care professionals at Can-Trust who provide funeral services throughout the Lower Mainland have these two important messages today, so that families and executors can protect themselves and feel confident in the planning after a loved one passes:

You have access to an independent and trusted source to for research

The Consumer Protection Act serves you with information 24/7 on their website.

Consumer Protection BC regulates the industry and issues licenses for funeral directors and funeral homes.

It is mandatory for funeral professionals to be licensed by Consumer Protection BC. The website can tell you if the person who is serving your family is licensed or not. (Next blogs will explain why it is critical that the person serving your family is licensed)

You will learn about your individual rights on their pages and also see published reports on any infractions of complaints investigated. Available to you are listings of funeral homes that violated regulations and exactly which regulations they violated, so you may think twice about using them. (Most instances of violation are related to Pre-arrangements and about items not listed on pricelist, incorrect information given etc. To learn more in upcoming blogs, subscribe)

You have more time than you think when a loved one passes

You have time to do all you must. Call on the services of a professional and licenced funeral director to help you arrange all you need for burial or cremation and any events you wish to hold to celebrate the life of the person who passed.

Consumer Protection BC can help you screen for a reputable funeral provider.

Before you engage with any funeral homes, please call Can-Trust-Funeral at 604-376-7975 or email to book a free professional consultation.

You are never obligated.

Can-Trust-Funeral’s provides reliable, straightforward and affordable service, and with compassion, always.

Can-Trust’s team of licensed funeral directors, provide funeral services in Burnaby, funeral services in Richmond and in Vancouver as well as throughout the Lower Mainland. 

Phone: 604-376-7975

E-mail: can-trust-funeral@outlook.com

WeChat: Cantrustfuneral

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Gifts of time and care to give at Christmas to someone grieving a loved one who passed

The empty space when a loved one has passed can loom larger when everywhere you look there are happy holiday lights and sounds. It can be tough for people who want to help those they perceive as suffering with loss or memories of a person missing in the fray of the bustling about searching for just the right gifts for family and friends or in gatherings at parties and tables in a holiday season that somehow involves us all.

These times can be extra sensitive for someone grieving a recent loss, or the added intensity of loss through tragic circumstances such as suicide, or fatal accident. At Can-Trust Funerals Inc. a locally owned funeral home and close-knit professional death care team serving Vancouver and funeral homes in Richmond, Burnaby, Surrey and Coquitlam, we have seen the toll-regardless of its timing in the year.

If you are that thoughtful friend trying to comfort someone at such a difficult time, we hope you will find what we share from our experience providing after death care or counselling helpful.

Give the gift of time

Sometimes simply sitting with a person with no rush in listening to what they want to share can mean the world to someone. As caring friends we anticipate the grief and memories that may engulf a person, but we can help others only if they need help. Take time.

Give the gift an open heart

Be with anyone feeling distress, or wanting to talk about it without judgement. Be present, listen actively. Being in company doesn’t always mean doing or finding the solution.

Give permission to seek professional after death care if needed

Part of our service at Can-Trust is to help guide and counsel families and individuals. Yet, there are times where extra support is needed, so our professional team refers people in need to experts we trust. They are dedicated to help and well trained in the techniques of after death care. Sometimes that is what is best.

Know that in this season that leads us to reflection, evaluation and that is full of nostalgia, no one need feel alone with their feelings. Reach out to help or to get help. We are here to support each other.

You are also never alone if you want to discuss or need to prepare a memorial, funeral or arrangements. Feel free to talk to us before engaging with any other funeral homes for service in Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey, Burnaby or Coquitlam.

You are never under any obligation and as a locally owned funeral home or consultant, we are here to help you with options and advice, and with Compassion, Always.

Phone: 604-376-7975

E-mail: can-trust-funeral@outlook.com

WeChat: Cantrustfuneral

Visit us online for more information

Tips to care for yourself as you remember and grieve lost loved ones at the holidays

The bright lights and bustle of the holiday season can bring with it difficult moments for people for different reasons. Grief for a recent, or long lost loved one is one of those challenges. The team at Can-Trust Funerals has some suggestions based on serving families preparing to mark loss in funeral home services in Richmond, Surrey, Burnaby, Coquitlam and greater Vancouver.

Mourners have the opportunity to express anguish and tears of sadness at the time of a funeral or memorial. Mourning is public. It is acceptable and encouraged.

Grief is the silent, private part that endures with no predictable limit. It can be anticipated as a recurring reminder of our loss, recent or long ago, or it can ambush us – brought on as we see holiday decorations going up, or receive invitations for rounds of merrymaking and celebrations for a great new year ahead.

Can-Trust’s Funeral Directors offer this advice on how to care for ourselves and perhaps to ease our feeling alone with the distress and our worry about spoiling the time for family and friends. Two main ideas of feeling and action might be of help.

1. Take time to mark the moment

Choose from any of the rituals to honour those who passed and to mark your personal remembrance of them, even well after their funeral or memorial.

• It is customary in many religions and societal traditions to remember the dead with visits to the physical grave. Christmas like the anniversary of the death is a natural time for family and friends to visit the grave.
• Bring flowers or other objects to remember the deceased. These are sometimes placed on the grave as a sign of respect.  
• Bring candles, a wreath or take comfort by making your own ornaments as a meaningful gesture to decorate the monument.

2.   Look Up and Out, Never Giving Up

Try to be ‘outgoing’ and try to look outside yourself to see the positive moments and people around you.  

• You can be true to your feelings yet join in as you can in activity with others.
• Get outside to enjoy fresh air to restore energy to the body and perspective to the spirit.
• Feel and act at your own comfort level. There’s no need to push beyond what you can do, only to be open to do something and not isolate yourself during this season.  

We have been working closely as a team at Can-Trust-Funerals for years. We know the mix of heartbreak and happiness in memories that flood us at this time of year. That includes you and the care we encourage you to offer yourself.

Should we be able to ease your mind as you consider advance death care arrangements in the Metro Vancouver area or need to talk to us now, please contact us for a consult. You are never under any obligation.

We wish you the best at this time.  To all we extend the guiding principal that helps us help others, Compassion, Always.

Phone: 604-376-7975

E-mail: can-trust-funeral@outlook.com

WeChat: Cantrustfuneral

Visit us online for more information

Some Practical Life Details Your Funeral Director Handles

We don’t often envision the paperwork that accompanies the passing of a loved one in our society.

At Can-Trust-Funerals, bereaved families can focus on their final farewells and be relieved of the complexities of the legal points and logistics as part of the service provided by the team of professional funeral directors.

British Columbia especially has Acts and Regulations with restrictions in addition to what is found in the rest of Canada. Can-Trust reliably and regularly handles these sometimes confusing for clients for Richmond, Coquitlam, Burnaby and Vancouver funeral services.

You will find your Can-Trust funeral director looks after:

Transportation

• A release form must be signed before the body of the recently departed can be relayed to the funeral home’s care. This includes transportation from home or hospital, care of the body and preparation for the funeral service or pre-arranged burial or cremation.
• Transportation plans may include foreign repatriation of the deceased in which case flights and documentation is arranged.

Legal documentation

• This will include reporting to Vital Statistics, creating the death certificates, and disposition permits. The team member caring for the family will also cancel social insurance cards, inform the Credit Bureau to red flag measures against identity theft after a death.

Aftercare

After the burial, or the funeral services and memorials, attention to the people, as well as the necessary paperwork, continues. This may mean counselling, discussion of accessing death benefits, medical services and legal correspondence.

At Can-Trust, all this is handled directly by a funeral director completely familiar with the family and their needs, never a dispassionate sales person. Throughout their comprehensive service, Can-Trust’s professionals believe in Compassion, Always.

Executors and families are invited to benefit from a free consultation before contacting other funeral homes. Simply call us at 604-376-7975 or email to book a free professional consultation.

Experience Can-Trust-Funeral’s approach to real needs for reliable, straightforward and affordable service.

Visit us online for more information or to sign up for latest posts

Phone: 604-376-7975

E-mail: can-trust-funeral@outlook.com

WeChat: Cantrustfuneral

How do you imagine your funeral?

When people ponder their own funeral arrangements, the ideas that come to mind can be quite creative. 

Perhaps you too have given thought to how you would like things arranged at your funeral? Your choice of music, theme or setting to express your life and values?   

The funeral professionals at Can-Trust-Funerals have helped make many ideas happen for families. In their complimentary consultations for Vancouver region funeral home services, they have answered questions about logistics and funeral laws for families and executors.

These are some of the ideas that Can-Trust has helped make happen: 

Graveside burials 

In some traditions, deceased loved ones are ushered along their way by ceremonies at the graveside.  Can-Trust guides families as they arrange for sites, costs and all the legal details that pertain to making final arrangements in Richmond, Coquitlam, Burnaby and Vancouver funeral homes and services. (Lower Mainland)

Celebrations of life 

Celebrations and memorials may occur at the time of the funeral, or they may take place at a later time at the chapel or a special place or at a home wake. 

You may envision a party for your funeral. You may have specific ideas about a themed funeral with décor that will recall your community contribution or highlight your values, your special interests or collections and hobbies important to you in life. 

A professional funeral director has the resources and contacts to help you realize your vision.  Can-Trust Funerals can help you plan that ‘how to’ part to help you carry out the unique personal wishes or to express the personality and presence of a loved one in your life.  

Before you engage with any funeral homes, please call Can-Trust-Funeral at 604-376-7975 or email to book a free professional consultation.

You are never obligated and you’ll be surprised at how much more at ease you will feel as you experience Can-Trust-Funeral’s approach to real needs for reliable, straightforward and affordable service.

Above all, Can-Trust’s team of death care professionals believes in Compassion, Always.

Visit online at for more information or to sign up for latest posts

Phone: 604-376-7975

E-mail: can-trust-funeral@outlook.com

WeChat: Cantrustfuneral

In our next post we look at:  The kinds of services you can expect a professional funeral director to handle for you

How our death taboo affects our lives

Death often surprises us in our Western culture. We may feel alone with its reality and unsure of the practical and emotional next steps, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

A licensed funeral director can help. Can-Trust-Funeral helps people of all faith traditions in our community when a loved one passes, through the preparations and the process with reliable, straightforward and personalized advice. 

Denial of death

Some say a death taboo exists in our culture that makes it is easy for us to ignore and deny death. People are disconnected because they no longer observe the rituals around death and dying when family and community members helped with the care of the ill in their family homes.

When their loved one passed away, they were usually prepared at home for the funeral or a home wake. There may even have been a family cemetery on their property. These options are still available today, unbeknownst to many.

The result of family involvement made the death a reality. Acceptance came. Then, unable to deny death, the beginning of healing followed. 

Today, we don’t even talk about it seriously

After all, death is not a top conversation topic. Unless it’s the passing of a celebrity. Then we take comfort in death that only happens to others, not in our circle.

The natural cycle of life from birth to death, is lost in our interest in life extending scientific discoveries. Our attention to lifestyle regimens of diet, exercise and supplements promise longevity. And fictional immortalization fascinates us.

These are all good, life enhancing practices, until a loved one passes, or we have the insight to consider making our own arrangements.

How a licensed funeral director helps

After a passing, one of the first steps is to call a licenced funeral director to help you make final arrangements for the deceased and for the disposition of the human remains. At Can-Trust-Funeral, experienced funeral directors care for bereaved families in many ways including:

1. Respond to all questions and concerns. Can-Trust welcomes all questions and concerns. There is no taboo when you meet at their Richmond offices.
2. Give direct, clear and personalized options. You will be at ease, confident and comforted in knowing options and choices. You benefit from Can-Trust’s commitment to provide families with clear, complete and professional advice on funerals and funeral goods, in one location.
3. Guidance through the bereavement process. Families in distress over the loss of a loved need to have the confidence that someone with knowledge is looking after all the regulations, rituals and must do’s while also able to witness and support to their emotional process of bereavement and facing the reality and acceptance of death.

Western culture’s story of death usually unfolds, as an example with an ill person passing away in palliative care, hospice or nursing home. Life comes to an end –out of sight and seemingly unexpected.

You don’t have to be alone in the acceptance or the practical steps in your process. Death care professionals now hold the wisdom and practical knowledge, once common in communities.

Consider a free consultation with no obligation before engaging standard funeral services.

Call or email to book a free professional consultation and be the beneficiary of reliable information and, 

Compassion Always.

Phone: 604-376-7975

E-mail: can-trust-funeral@outlook.com

WeChat: Cantrustfuneral                            

For more information visit our website

“I don’t want a funeral!” And why people feel that way

It’s a sentiment the death care professionals at Can-Trust-Funerals Ltd. hear in their office and even in their personal and social settings in our community. 

What leads someone to declare, “I don’t want a funeral”? 

It is often the cost or what they imagine the cost to be, depending on their experience.  In our society, most of us are disconnected from death and dying until a life threatening crisis requires us to attend a funeral or to plan one.   

People’s impressions of the cost and complexity of funerals may be based on:

1. Attending someone else’s funeral and mistakenly thinking, ‘this is how it works and it’s the only way to do it’. At Can-Trust-Funeral Ltd., every family making funeral decisions or asking about pre-arrangement is given personalized and direct service with options and ideas. They’re committed to helping families select what is best for them rather than choose from pre-set packages that carry high administration fees and maximize sales.
2. They feel ‘Funerals are so expensive!’ and think ‘I don’t want to cause financial hardship’. A funeral can seem overwhelming and bring about negative emotions and so lead someone to not even want a service of their own. Affordable choices do exist. Informed guidance exists. For the individual planning ahead or for the loved ones left behind, Can-Trust-Funeral is committed to consultation with heart.
3. Media, movies and TV news impact how we feel about death and our ideas of funerals. Death care professionals understand that people may be limited in their life to the experience of one or two funerals or what we all see on TV. Can-Trust gently shares ideas many of us may not know are possible such as:  a private in home death care service, funeral service, celebration of life, ash releasing or personalized memorial. A ‘funeral’ need not be a negative worry with trusted professionals willing to help with compassion and education freely given.

As Richmond’s only locally owned and operated funeral service provider, Can-Trust-Funeral Ltd. sees families from all faith traditions and in all situations.

Can-Trust is passionate about providing families with clear, complete and professional advice on funerals and funeral goods, in one location.

Before you engage with any funeral homes, please call Can-Trust-Funeral at 604-376-7975or email to book a free professional consultation.

You are never obligated and you’ll be surprised at how easy and good it feels. Experience Can-Trust-Funeral’s approach to real needs for reliable, straightforward and affordable service.

Above all, Can-Trust’s team of death care professionals believes in,

Compassion Always.

Visit online at (https://www.can-trust-funeral.com/ ) for more information

Phone: 604-376-7975
E-mail: can-trust-funeral@outlook.com
WeChat: Cantrustfuneral

In our next post we look at how our Western culture colours our feelings about funerals and death for us.