Frequently Asked Questions

Transportation includes picking up of the deceased from a hospital, nursing home, or Medical Examiner's Office within our service area, and delivery to our crematory. Additional charges apply for residences. Our transportation services are available 24/7 and we strive to be on site within 2 hours of being notified.

There is a $35 charge for permits with our Basic and Priority packages — this is included at no charge with the Premium package. The permit fee covers a filed Death Certificate, Medical Examiner Letter (Permit), and the Texas State Burial Transit Permit.

There are several steps involved in completing a cremation — obtaining a signed death certificate, requesting a Medical Examiner Cremation Letter, securing a Burial Transit Permit, ordering certified copies, and more. If you select our Priority or Premium Cremation Package, you will receive email and text alerts as we move through the process. This convenient feature keeps you fully informed as our staff works through securing all the necessary authorizations — no need to call us wondering where things stand.

When you select either our Priority or Premium Cremation Package, your loved one's cremation is given precedence over those who have chosen our Basic package. Our staff will process the death certificate, request permits, and handle all required details as the highest priority. Once the necessary permits are secured, your loved one's cremation will take place before any other cremations.

Concierge service is included with our Premium Cremation Package and provides additional assistance above and beyond what's listed in our other packages. Examples include — but are not limited to — military honors scheduling, cemetery scheduling, prison furlough requests, employer death verification, and airline bereavement verification.

Texas is one of the few states that doesn't tax you at death. There is no retail sales tax on cremation services and merchandise used in conjunction with those services. Sales tax is paid at the wholesale level and is already included in the price of our urns and merchandise.

The short answer is four to six weeks from the date of death. Most of this time is required by law — the certifying physician has up to 10 business days to sign the death certificate, after which the Medical Examiner must authorize the cremation and the State of Texas must issue a cremation permit. Certified copies are then ordered from the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Austin. See our full cremation process timeline for a detailed breakdown of each step.

$21 for the first copy and $4 for each additional copy — these are Texas state fees, subject to change. The first certified copy is included at no charge with our Premium package. We recommend ordering more copies than you think you'll need, as they are required for estate settlement, life insurance claims, financial accounts, and Social Security.

No — we take care of this for you. Simply specify the number of certified copies you need when you place your order and we will order them on your behalf from the State of Texas. They will be delivered to you along with the cremated remains once everything is complete.

If you need to reorder death certificates at a later date, you will need to contact the registrar in the county where the death occurred, or order them directly from the Texas State Bureau of Vital Statistics. We are happy to point you in the right direction — just call us at (817) 546-0108.

Yes. When someone passes away, funeral directors are required by law to notify Social Security. We do this when we create the death record using Form SSA-721. This should stop any benefits the deceased was receiving. You will still need to contact Social Security directly if you need to make any adjustments or apply for survivor benefits.

While we wish we could accommodate every payment option, we are unable to accept life insurance as a direct form of payment — and want to be transparent about why.

Life insurance claims involve hundreds of different carriers, each with their own unique requirements and timelines. Additionally, beneficiary sign-offs (known as an assignment of proceeds) are often required — and in many cases, these cannot be completed until after services have been delivered. This creates uncertainty around whether a claim will be paid at all, or whether it will meet the insurer's criteria for reimbursement.

To keep our costs as low as possible for all families we serve, we are unable to take on the administrative burden and financial risk this process entails.

We accept a variety of other payment methods and are happy to work with you. Please don't hesitate to contact us — we're here to help.

In Texas, a cremation can be authorized by the person designated in a written instrument signed by the decedent, or by the legal next-of-kin in order of priority. If you are unsure of your authorization status, call us at (817) 546-0108 and we will walk you through it.

We serve the following Texas counties: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Hood, Johnson, Kaufman, McLennan, Palo Pinto, Parker, Somervell, Rockwall, Tarrant, and Wise. Please note that not all counties are available in all packages — some counties are only covered under our Priority or Premium packages. Call us if you're unsure whether your area is included.

Under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 716, a crematory establishment may refuse to accept remains or perform a cremation if there is an unresolved dispute, a reasonable basis for questioning the authorizing agent's representations, or any other lawful reason. Cremated remains may also be withheld until a dispute is resolved or a valid court order is obtained. We always encourage families to resolve any disagreements before arrangements are finalized — we are happy to help facilitate that conversation.

For the majority of families we serve, the average time to complete the cremation is 7 to 14 days. Most of this time is required by law and involves steps handled by physicians and government agencies — not by us. See our full cremation process timeline for a complete step-by-step breakdown with typical timeframes for each stage.

Here is a general overview of what takes place and when:

If you choose our Priority or Premium package, you will receive automatic text and email updates as your case moves through each stage of the process — no need to call and ask. This is a Lone Star Cremation exclusive feature designed to give families complete peace of mind. With our Basic package, you are welcome to call us at any time at (817) 546-0108 for a status update.

Once everything is complete we will notify you and coordinate the most convenient delivery method. You can either pick up in person at our Mansfield office (we ask that ashes be claimed within 30 days of notification), or we can ship everything to the address provided during arrangements. Shipping typically takes 1–3 business days within the continental U.S. Shipping costs vary by package — Premium families receive a reduced rate.