Melbourne & Brevard County, Florida
Funeral & Cremation Help in Melbourne, Florida
Clear, compassionate guidance for families planning funerals, cremation, memorial services and final arrangements in Melbourne and Brevard County.
MelbourneFuneralServices.com is an independent information resource. We explain your options; licensed funeral homes provide the services.
Has Someone Just Passed Away?
You do not have to make every decision right now. In most situations the first steps are simple: make sure the right people are notified, choose a funeral home, and let the funeral home take your loved one into its care. Decisions about burial or cremation, services and costs can be talked through over the next day or two.
What happens first depends on where the death occurred. Choose the situation that fits:
Death at a hospital
Hospital staff will ask which funeral home to call.
Death in hospice
Hospice staff guide the next steps.
Death in a nursing facility
The facility notifies the physician and family.
Expected death at home
Call hospice first, usually not 911.
Unexpected death at home
Call 911. The medical examiner may be involved.
Death outside Florida
Two funeral homes often work together.
Understand your options
Straight answers about the decisions families in Brevard County face most often, with Florida law and federal consumer rights explained in plain language.
Funeral planning
What happens after a death, who can make arrangements, death certificates and what to bring to the funeral home.
Funeral planning guideCremation
Direct cremation, cremation with a service, Florida’s 48-hour rule, authorization, urns and scattering.
Cremation guideBurial
Traditional funerals, graveside services, caskets, vaults, cemetery choices and green burial.
Burial guideFuneral costs
What drives the price, the General Price List, cash advance items and how to compare.
Funeral costsVeterans
VA burial benefits, military funeral honors, burial flags, Cape Canaveral National Cemetery and the DD-214.
Veterans funeral benefitsPlanning ahead
How to record your wishes and what to ask a licensed funeral professional about preplanning.
Funeral preplanningFree planning tools
No sign-up needed. Nothing you enter is sent to us.
Funeral Cost Planner
Build a planning range for burial, cremation or a memorial service.
Estimate costsOur featured funeral home partner
Buggs Funeral Home & Crematory has served families from its location on South Harbor City Boulevard since 1990. According to the funeral home, it owns and operates its own crematory, so cremations take place on its premises, and it also owns Buggs Street Community Cemetery in Melbourne. Its funeral directors are available by phone 24 hours a day.
Quick answers about Florida funeral rules
Do I have to embalm a body in Florida?
No state law requires embalming in every case. Florida law says a body held more than 24 hours after death, or pending final disposition, must be refrigerated at 40°F or below or embalmed (Fla. Stat. 497.386). Many funeral homes require embalming for a public viewing, but you can choose direct cremation or immediate burial without it. More about embalming
How soon can cremation take place in Florida?
Not earlier than 48 hours after death (Fla. Stat. 872.03). The medical examiner must also review the death before cremation (Fla. Stat. 406.11), and a legally authorized person must sign a written authorization. In practice cremation often happens several days to a week or more after death. Florida cremation requirements
Who has the right to make funeral arrangements?
Florida law lists a priority order: written directions left by the person who died come first, then the surviving spouse, then adult children, parents, adult siblings, adult grandchildren, grandparents and more distant relatives (Fla. Stat. 497.005). Who can make arrangements
How many death certificates should I order?
Many families order five to ten. Each bank, insurer, pension or brokerage that needs proof of death may want its own certified copy. How to decide and how to order more later
Does Social Security pay a death benefit?
Social Security can pay a one-time $255 lump-sum death payment to a qualifying surviving spouse or child, and monthly survivors benefits may also be available. In most cases the funeral home reports the death to Social Security. What to do about Social Security
Melbourne & Brevard County resources
Hospitals, hospice programs, the medical examiner, cemeteries, veterans offices, death certificate offices, probate and grief support, all in one place. Browse local funeral resources.