Three Cremation Services You Should Be Aware Of When Planning Your Funeral
Funeral planning is an essential part of your overall estate planning. It is important that your loved ones not be burdened by the costs of your funeral, nor should they be burdened by the details surrounding what your wishes are for your funeral. One thing to consider is whether you wish to be cremated. There are several services related to cremation that you should be aware of. The following are a few of them.
You can have an open casket for viewing
Often, people misunderstand that cremation does not exclude the viewing portion of a funeral. You can still have an open casket. In fact, when your body is cremated, it must be placed in a combustible container. If you choose to have a casket for your funeral, you will be required to buy one that is compatible with the cremation process. For the most part, this means one that has no metal in it. With an open casket, there will also be the cost of embalming. Altogether, this is the highest cost for a funeral that involves cremation.
You can just have a memorial service
This is a service that creates a place for people to come together in remembrance of you. You will save the cost of a casket and the cost of embalming, along with associated costs of preparing your body by a mortician. The cost of the memorial service will depend upon how many guests will attend the memorial service, as well as flowers and other expenses related to your wishes for the gathering.
You can have a direct cremation
This is the lowest cost service option. Basically, your remains go directly to cremation. However, you will likely want to select an urn for your ashes and specify who will receive them in your will. You may also want to specify what is to be done with your ashes. The urn can simply remain with a loved one, but funeral homes also have storage areas called a columbarium. Although this type of service adds to the cost of direct cremation, loved ones can visit and pay their respects any time they desire.
Generally speaking, cremation is lower cost than burial, but as you can see, it depends upon the services you choose that determines the amount of savings. You will always be saving on the cost of a burial plot, but you can still have an open casket. If you want to save more money, you can simply have a memorial service. A direct cremation will be the lowest cost. If you want to know the comparison of each cremation service option, as well as burial, you can get a quotation from a funeral home that offers each of these services.