Cremation is a process of reducing the body to bone fragments by applying intense heat for a period of two to three hours, after which the cremated remains, which are commonly referred to as “ashes”, are removed from the cremation chamber. They are then processed into finer fragments and placed into an urn or temporary container. The cremated remains typically weigh three and six pounds.

Your loved one will be taken to our sister facility that has the refrigeration facilities. The same location then performs the cremation once we have all necessary permits. So, your loved one never leaves our care. A painstaking process is followed by highly trained staff to make sure that identification procedures are in place and followed. Visual identification is made of the decedent by identification provided by the family or responsible party as well as verifying unique identification placed on the decedent at the place of death by our care team. A stainless-steel tag accompanies the decedent through the cremation process with an identifying number that can be traced and verified at any time, now or in the future. 

We directly cover most of the State of Florida. Our licensed staff have years of experience handling the complex arrangements required when a death occurs out of state or out of the county. One call to us is all that is needed. As detailed list of counties we serve is located at the bottom of our homepage with our interactive map. We are happy to assist within all counties.  Call us at 941.312.6371 or 888.768.6035 for further assistance. The main counties we currently serve:

Sarasota
Manatee
Desoto
Pinellas
Hillsborough
Charlotte

Our funeral directors are available 24/7, 365 at 941.312.6371 or 888.768.6035.

Our normal office hours are Monday to Friday 8am – 4:30pm….

When a death occurs, there are so many things to consider and decisions to make. These lists can help you navigate through them.

• When a death occurs at Home: If the deceased was under hospice care, notify the hospice nurse. The nurse will contact the funeral home on your behalf. If the deceased was not under hospice or another at-home medical care provider, call 911.

• When a death occurs at a hospital: Notify the hospital which funeral home you have selected. If the hospital doesn’t require a signed release the hospital will contact the funeral home. If a signed release is required form the hospital the family are to contact Sound Choice Cremation directly.

• When death occurs at a Hospice Facility: Notify the hospice facility which funeral home you have selected. The hospice staff will notify the funeral home on your behalf.

• When death occurs at a Nursing/Long Term Care Facility: Notify the staff as to which funeral home you have selected; they will notify the funeral home on your behalf.

• When death occurs out of State/Out of the Country: Should you have Travel Protection if a death occurs away from home, you need to call your Travel Protection company first. If you plan to have the deceased casketed and brought home, or if you plan to have services in your hometown, your local funeral home can help facilitate transportation and coordination with a funeral home where the death occurred.

Please select your cremation package on our homepage and complete the necessary steps. One of our funeral directors will be in touch by telephone if it is necessary. If the death occurs after regular business hours, please call us at 941.312.6371 or 888.768.6035 these lines are monitored 24/7.

No, at Sound Choice Cremation all arrangements are done 100% online. For immediate assistance, please call 941.312.6371 or 888.768.6035.

Yes, below are the viewing services we offer:

• * Witness Cremation $300 – no embalming for immediate family, only for up to 10 members. View loved ones and say a few words before watching loved ones be placed in a cremation chamber. Total time is 15 minutes. It will be scheduled to take place M-F at 9 am. *Dressing and casketing for an extra fee of $155

• *Private Family Moment $700 – no embalming, for immediate family only up to 10 family members. Total time: 30 minutes. It will be scheduled to take place M-F at 10 am.  *Dressing and casketing for an extra fee of $155

• Public Visitation M-F 9 am – 4 pm $500 per hr., plus embalming fee $1045 – Typically held an hour before the services, the visitation also called a viewing provides a way for friends and acquaintances to pay their respects and offer condolences to your family. As with the funeral service, you may want to decide if you want an open or closed casket, should one be present? If you are wanting services after 4pm or on the weekend our fee is $700 per hour.

• Memorial Or Celebration of Life Service starting at $995
  At a memorial or celebration of life service, a casket or urn is usually not present. Otherwise, like a funeral or visitation, a memorial service gives family and friends a time to come together in your memory and celebrate your life. There’s no one, right way to plan a funeral service. We believe that each funeral should be as unique and memorable as the life it honors.

Embalming is not required by law, except under certain circumstances. If you prefer an open casket with visitation prior to the service, embalming may be required.

Yes absolutely! Planning ahead provides you peace of mind that your personal wishes are known and protects your family from having to make tough decisions during a time of extreme stress and grief. Please visit our pre-planning page or call us at 941.312.6371 or 888.768.6035.

Yes, we are owned by Service Corporation International an American provider of funeral goods and services. SCI owns and operates more than 1500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries. So, your services can be provided by one of our sister funeral homes.

Yes, when you travel, know we have your back. For an extra fee, we offer The Guaranteed Travel Assurance Plan, the industry’s leading Repatriation Membership Plan, which provides members with worldwide, lifetime coverage in the event of an unexpected death more than 75 miles from home.

• No out-of-pocket costs
• No Language Barrier
• No Diplomatic issues
• No stress

Freedom to Go with Confidence. Whether your grandparents visiting family, young adults attending college or families embarking on bucket-list adventures, we provide the peace of mind that loved ones will be cared for if the unexpected occurs. Guaranteed Travel Assurance eliminates all repatriation costs and mobilizes an extensive support network to cover logistics.

• Extensive Network
• • 24/7365 Services, anywhere
• *No additional costs
• Emotional Support
• *Guaranteed Coverage
• *Lifetime Coverage

*If member meets eligibility requirements

An urn is a container designed to hold cremated remains. An urn may be constructed from a variety of materials such as wood, bronze, porcelain, or even glass.

We have a large selection of urns available designed to reflect the lifestyle and personality of an individual. Urns may be personalized by engraving and come in a variety of sizes, which allows for more than one member of the family to have a portion of the cremated remains.

Absolutely. Personal items may be placed in the alternative container or casket and cremated with your loved one. Keep in mind that some items that are not easily combustible (batteries, electronics, heavy plastics, etc.) must be removed prior to cremation.

We do not cremate jewelry or noncombustible items, and these items may be placed in the urn after the cremation is complete. All items left in the casket will be destroyed during the cremation. Your funeral director can advise you on what items may stay and what items must be removed.

• Receiving necessary form reviewed and signed by legal next of kin
• Doctors delay in signing the death certificate
• Not receiving approval from the Medical Examiner’s office to cremate
• Hand delivering an urn vs. Certified mailing – mailing can add 1 – 4 days. 

Due to the HIPPA law in Florida, there are two types of death certificates; we have WITH CAUSE of passing as legal life insurance and pensions and annuities need to know this information everyone else will get WITHOUT CAUSE of passing.

The total number of how many death certificates that are needed varies with every family. However, a good rule to use is to get 1 certified death certificate with the cause of death for each Life insurance policy that exists. Then, you can get a handful (3-5) of death certificates without the cause of death.

WITH CAUSE (Long Certificate)
Life Insurance
Pensions/Annuities
Veterans Life Insurance

WITHOUT CAUSE (Short Certificate)
Property/Land/Home
Automobiles/Boats/Trailers
Attorney/Probate
Stock and Bonds
Checking/Savings Accounts
IRA’s and CD’S
IRS

Once Sound Choice Cremation has secured all necessary forms and permits, then at that time, the death certificates may be ordered. On requesting cause of death information, by law, death certificates with “Cause of Death” information can only be issued to:

• The decedent’s spouse
• A parent
• A child of the decedent (if of legal age)
• A grandchild of the decedent
• A sibling
• Any person who provides a Will, insurance policy, or other document demonstrating their interest in the estate of the decedent
• Any person who provides documentation that he or she is acting on behalf of any of the before-named persons
• By court order directing Vital Statistics to issue a death record to a specific individual

WITH CAUSE (Long Certificate)
Life Insurance ___
Pensions/Annuities ___
Veterans Life Insurance ___
Extra ___
Totals: _____

WITHOUT CAUSE (Short Certificate)
Property/Land/Home ___
Automobiles/Boats/Trailers ___
Attorney/Probate ___
Stock and Bonds ___
Checking/Savings Accounts ___
IRA’s and CD’S___
IRS ___
Extra ___
Totals: _____

Your funeral director will go over the death certificate options with you during the at need arrangements process. Otherwise, other options for ordering death certificates are:

Order Online
Go to www.VitalChek.com select “Death Certificates” and follow the instructions. Online orders are shipped in approximately 2 to 3 days (shipping & handling may apply).

Order by Phone
Call the phone numbers for the appropriate County’s Public Health/Vital Statics Office and listen to the prompts to order by phone. (Shipping & Handling may apply).

Order in Person
If personally picking up your own Death Certificates from your local health department, please wait to be informed by the funeral director that we have received the necessary permit for cremation so at this time death certificates may be ordered. A legal photo ID is required. Fees are payable in cash; by money order or cashier’s check (made payable to Florida Department of Health – County where death occurred; or by Visa or MasterCard.

Yes, Sound Choice will notify Social, Medicare, and Medicaid of your loved ones passing.

If you need to contact their office, feel free to use their toll-free number, 800.772.1213, or SSA.gov (Monday through Friday, 7 AM to 7 PM). There is a $255.00 lump sum death benefit for the surviving spouse only. The family must file an application to receive this death benefit; the application is taken over the phone.

If a correction must be made after submission of the death certificate review signed by the family, we charge a $50 amendment fee plus the state amendment fees. The family will be responsible for those charges. In addition, the amendment process can take up to 6-12 weeks.

Yes, for an extra fee of $100, we will send the death certificates via USPS Priority Mail Express.

• Robert Toale & Sons Celebration of Life Center at Lakewood Ranch
• Robert Toale & Sons at Siesta Key
• Robert Toale & Sons at Palms Memorial Park  

• Palms Memorial Park
• Manasota Memorial Park
• Groover Memorial Park
• Gulf Pines Memorial Park

Many people overlook the importance of a cemetery property for those who choose cremation, but the permanent placement of the ashes or “cremated remains” is an important part of the final arrangements. Just consider:

• A permanent site gives loved ones a physical place for visitation and reflection.
• The ceremony accompanying the placement of an urn in a cremation niche or a cremation garden in a cemetery provides family and friends with closure after their loss.
• When cremated remains of a loved one are kept with relatives, they can easily become misplaced or discarded through the years. A permanent placement provides future generations with a location to visit.

Some common placement options for cremated remains are:

Columbarium: located within a mausoleum or chapel constructed of numerous niches designed to hold urns.

Cremation Garden: a dedicated section of a cemetery designed for the burial, scattering or other permanent placement of cremated remains.

Memorial Benches: benches that either simply memorialize a loved one scattered or buried in a cremation garden or contain the remains within.

Neptune Reef: The Neptune memorial Reef is an artificial reef located 3 miles of the coast of the bay of Biscayne, not far from Miami, FL, built as an artistic interpretation of the Lost city of Atlantis, the Neptune Memorial Reef is a resting place for those who choose cremation and want to be memorialized in a unique underwater setting. www.NeptuneMemorialReef.com.

Yes, we have a selection of different catering options, please see our catering menu under Resource tab on our website. Packages start from $295.

Mailing of ashes $250.

You may allocate a local family or friend to pick up ashes. The legal next of kin would need to give us written authority to release to certain individual/s. We would need to be notified of the name, relationship and telephone number of whom we are to contact to collect ashes.

Local ashes delivery is $195 within 30 miles of the funeral home.

Ossuaries are communal and hold bone, albeit bone fragments produced as the result of the cremation process. Ossuaries are found in a growing number of cemeteries. They provide a dignified final resting place for those who prefer to be cremated but are not comfortable with the impermanence of scattering. The ossuary space has a low environmental impact, costs less than burial, and gives the family the added benefit of knowing the one they loved rests in a place that will remain intact. Ossuaries provide a dignified final resting place for those who prefer cremation. 

Many of our SCI affiliated cemeteries have areas on the grounds designed for placements or scattering of cremated remains. 

Scatter at Sea without family present $295. Once this service has taken place, we will mail you the certificate of scatter so you will have the coordinates and date of the scatter at sea in the Gulf of America.

Yes, notify your allocated funeral director.

Yes, we offer the placement of a complimentary obituary on our website. The next of kin is to email the obituary information along with a JPEG image of the loved one to the funeral director handling the loved one’s arrangements. Once the obituary is placed on our website, we will email the next of kin the direct link to the obituary so that they may forward the link to family and friends. The following information is customarily included in an obituary:

Yes, we are happy to assist with Life Insurance claims, and we charge a processing fee of $300.

• Scheduling of services and military honors $95
• Scheduling of services, military honors and delivery of ashes to local national cemetery $150