Burial or Cremation?

It’s your choice.  That is, if you make the decision before your death, and record it somewhere accessible to those who will be responsible for carrying out your wishes after.  Because this is a significant decision, it is important to consider all the factors involved.  First, we will describe the requirements, list the benefits and finally the detriments for either choice.

Requirements

Burial  Requires the services of a funeral home and cemetery.  Choices to be made with the funeral home include casket type, the outer container—either a grave box or a vault, embalming and funeral service arrangements.  Decisions for the cemetery include plot or mausoleum selection, interment (and endowment care, opening and closing of grave, memorial marker inscription and setting.)  If the deceased is to be buried in another city or state, additional arrangements need to be made in regard to transportation.

Cremation An authorization form must be signed in order to cremate. An individual should sign this as part of a preplanning process. Otherwise, a spouse of the deceased may authorize.  If there is no spouse, then all children or both living parents or all siblings must sign on your behalf.  Ashes will be released to the person assigned to receive them.  They may be placed in a container, scattered in a suitable place, placed in a niche, crypt or buried.  They also may be personally transported to another location or sent through USPS standard shipping.

Benefits

Burial Traditionally, burial has been the standard practice. Families have the benefit of placing their loved ones in a designated area near other family members’ remains in a particular cemetery.  A grave marks a point of connection between the deceased and his survivors.  Some religions espouse burial as the appropriate choice. 

Cremation Gaining in popularity due to cost factors, ease of transportation of remains and the visible neglect of older cemeteries, cremations are expected to make up 50% of services by 2020. 

Detriments

Burial Our mobile society makes it less likely that a person will die in the same city they were born in.  Cemetery plots, if not already owned, are becoming harder to come by. The costs associated with a traditional burial have sky rocketed.  The average funeral costs over $8000. 

Cremation The necessity to have signed documents in place in order for cremation to occur may delay cremation.  State laws require the refrigeration of a body until cremation can occur which means additional expense for the family if signatures need to be gathered.  Because there is no cemetery plot to visit, it can be important to provide someplace where friends and family can remember their loved one, i.e. an online memorial, a tree planted in their honor or a park bench at a favorite spot are all possibilities.In addition, some religious groups are opposed to cremation.*

*http://www.religioustolerance.org/crematio1.htm

MyGoodbye.com allows you to register your preferences in the privacy of your own home, providing a guide for your end of life needs.