What Are Funeral Services? Complete 2025 Guide

When a family goes through the loss of a loved one, they need support, clarity and a process that allows them to say goodbye with dignity. That is why many people look up what funeral services are, what they include and how to choose the right option according to their needs and beliefs.

At La Piedad, we accompany families with professionalism and sensitivity, providing complete funeral services and spaces designed to honor life. This guide summarizes the essentials so you can understand each service and make informed decisions.

If you would like to review the options we offer, you can visit our Funeral Packages page.

What are funeral services?

Funeral services are all the support, arrangements and attentions that a funeral home provides to help the family before, during and after the passing of a loved one.

They include aspects such as:

• organization of the wake
• use of viewing rooms or chapels
• transport of the body
• burial or cremation
• legal paperwork
• emotional support
• complementary services (headstones, flower arrangements, urn, among others)

They are essential so that the family can focus on saying goodbye, not on the logistics.

Funeral services offered by La Piedad

Below is a clear guide to the main funeral services and how they work.

The wake or viewing

It is the ceremony before the funeral, where family and friends gather to say goodbye to their loved one.
At La Piedad we offer spacious, comfortable viewing rooms prepared to accompany this moment with serenity.

We can also hold ceremonies with the body present or with the ashes, according to the family’s decision.

This ceremony takes place before the funeral. Some funeral homes provide viewing rooms where these gatherings can be held, while others take place at the home of the deceased. At La Piedad, funerals can be held with the ashes or with the person’s body in a casket.

The burial

The burial begins with the transport of the body to the place of interment.
At La Piedad we have different spaces where the burial can take place or remains can be laid to rest:

• Cemeteries
• Tree of Life®
• Columbariums
• Ash gardens

To better understand this process, you can also read our guide on what a burial is

Cremation

Many families choose cremation for its modern approach, its speed and the many ways to honor a memory with the ashes.
At La Piedad we have our own crematoriums, state-of-the-art technology and safe options for laying the ashes to rest.

If you would like to learn about all the alternatives, you can read our blog:
???? Places to lay ashes to rest

And if you want to understand the process, you can also read:
???? Advantages of cremation

In some cases funeral homes do not provide burial services, which is why they offer the option of cremation, along with several crematorium alternatives where you can lay the ashes to rest. At La Piedad we have ash gardens, columbariums and trees of life. You can visit our blog and learn about other options for keeping the ashes of a loved one.

Exhumation

Exhumation consists of removing the remains after the regulatory period has elapsed.
There are two types:

Ordinary exhumations

These are carried out to transfer the remains to another cemetery.
They require authorization from a relative and permits from the Ministry of Health.

Extraordinary exhumations

These are carried out by court order or for sanitary reasons.

Headstones

At La Piedad we offer the service of crafting and maintaining headstones, ensuring uniformity and aesthetics in our gardens.
We work with materials such as white marble or gray-veined marble, following all official regulations and placements of the cemetery.

Available funeral packages

To make this process easier, we offer different funeral packages with complete services:

• Diamante
• Piedad
• Esperanza
• Nazareth
• Las Flores
• La Pasión

You can see the details of each one here:
???? La Piedad Funeral Packages

What is an all-inclusive funeral service?

An all-inclusive service is when the funeral home takes care of absolutely every necessary detail:

• preparation of the body
• viewing
• hearse
• ceremony
• burial or cremation
• care for the family
• legal paperwork
• commemorative spaces
• decoration, choir or music if desired

At La Piedad we can personalize every detail according to your needs and family values.

Conclusion: complete support for your family

Funeral services exist so that families do not face such a sensitive moment alone. At La Piedad, we offer professional support, well-tended spaces and packages that include everything needed to say goodbye to your loved one with dignity.

If you would like to learn about the available plans, you can contact us to receive personalized support.

We are here to support you, with respect, clarity and humanity.