Authorizing agent

Definition

The relative whose signed form and legal priority a crematory must hold before it proceeds.

Why It Matters

Crematory ownership asks whether the home owns the retort or rents it. This asks what has to be in the file before the retort may be switched on, and owning it buys nothing on a case where the form is unsigned. Ohio bars a cremation until at least twenty-four hours have passed since the death on a complete death certificate, and the authorization carries a statement that the signer has the right to authorize and knows of nobody with a superior priority. Bodies held eight hours or longer go into refrigeration until near the start. So a cremation-heavy home needs refrigerated positions for a full day of cases: count them against the daily case count before agreeing the equipment value, and read a sample of forms for the priority statement.