Losing a loved one is one of the most painful experiences anyone can endure. But having to handle their arrangements while you are grieving is overwhelming. There are a lot of decisions that need to be made quickly when laying a loved one to rest.
Among the options is cremation, which has become popular in recent years. The cremation rate in America is expected to reach 64.1 percent by 2025. But if you choose to cremate a loved one, there are still several tough decisions to make.
How do you go about burying the ashes if you choose to do so? What burial options are available?
This article will discuss burying ashes. Learn more about the process, so you can feel confident in the decisions you are making for your loved one.
Cremation has become more popular in recent years because many Americans are moving around, instead of staying in one location. It is only natural that family members would like to remain close to their deceased loved ones. By choosing cremation, family members are not bound to one final resting location.
But many are unaware that you can bury an urn of ashes in a burial ground or cemetery, in the same way one would bury a body. This has also gained popularity because it requires less space in a burial plot than a coffin does.
If you decide to bury cremated remains, there are several burial options.
Should you choose to bury an urn in a public burial ground you can do so. You will need to make sure that the urn meets the requirements of the burial ground you select.
Public burial grounds prefer burying ashes in a burial container or an urn vault. These containers are liners designed to protect the inner container or urn from the weight of the ground. It will also protect the cremated remains from any heavy machinery that makes its way through the cemetery.
Because cremated remains require far less space, it is easier for loved ones to secure a family burial plot. Some burial grounds even allow for multiple urns in one plot.
While permission’s required to bury cremated remains on public property, ashes can be buried on private property at any time. All that’s required is permission from the property owner.
Burying ashes on private property can be an intimate experience for you and your loved ones. The property may have had significance to the life you are celebrating, which can make the burial experience more poignant.
In these situations, families often choose a meaningful headstone or grave marker that signifies the resting place. It makes the burial location feel more personal and sentimental.
You may also choose to bury an urn in a designated urn garden. Cemeteries often have designated garden areas devoted to the burial of urns.
These gardens are typically well-manicured areas, which makes them a great location to spend time if you are visiting your loved one’s resting place.
Amongst the burial options is the community memorial garden, or a scattering garden. Scattering gardens hold cremated remains, much like an urn garden.
Scattering gardens are for scattering ashes of a loved one. This well-tended-to, serene locations are a beautiful place for a final resting spot.
A columbarium is an above-ground structure that stores cremated remains. Columariums are in or outdoors, and have designated storage areas called a niche. The niche stores an urn of ashes.
Columbariums have been around for thousands of years. While they are above-ground structures, they provide an affordable burial option.
If you desire, there are options to purchase family niches that hold multiple urns in one space.
Columbariums are typically located in cemeteries. They are easily accessible to loved ones.
In rare cases, families opt for cremation after burial. While this is possible, it is highly discouraged.
This involves exhuming the body from its resting place, which is a complex and emotional process. In extreme cases where a body already needs to be exhumed, some families have opted for cremated remains.
There are several options available if you are considering cremation or burying ashes. Cremation packages offer a variety of rates, with different services and options.
A basic package should offer at least one certified death certificate, an online obituary, additional permits, a temporary urn for ashes, and transportation and cremation for under 275lbs.
More expensive packages include features like additional death certificates, priority service, the splitting of ashes, a commemorative thumbprint, hair or photo, phone support and communication, and a newspaper obituary or arrangements.
From there, there are add on’s families can select to customize their cremation package. These add on’s include pricing for 275-500lbs., embalming before cremation, correcting an erroneous death certificate, or supplying your urn.
A temporary urn is exactly as it sounds, temporary. Provided after cremation, temporary urns are a means to store the ashes until families secure a more permanent container.
Typically a temporary urn is made from plastic or cardboard. Families looking to bury an urn will need to purchase an urn vault or a container that meets the requirements of the burial ground.
For an additional fee, families can have the ashes of their loved ones divided. The price is typically an additional lump sum for every additional split.
This is a popular option if you are planning to scatter ashes or bury ashes in multiple locations, or if the family has decided to keep some of the ashes in a keepsake urn in multiple households.
Loved ones looking to spend a bit more time with their loved one’s physical body before their burial, can choose to embalm the body before cremation. An embalmed body is still cremated.
This is an option for those who may want an open casket at their loved one’s celebration of life.
Whether you are burying ashes in a public burial location or on private property, it is important to make appropriate arrangements. Loved ones will likely have a private ceremony where they may share parting words, recite a poem or lay flowers down.
Families will typically purchase a headstone or a marker to mark the location of the burial. This may also be an opportunity to secure additional burial plots for the future for anyone looking for a dual plot or family plot.
Even if your family has chosen to bury an urn containing the ashes of a loved one, there are ways to preserve some of the ashes for sentimental purposes. Many families opt for creative ways to hold ashes as a way to keep a part of the departed with them.
There are a variety of ways to do this. Here are some of the ways to memorialize a loved one after their cremation.
While the majority of the ashes get buried in an urn vault, many families choose to split ashes for keepsake urns. Keepsake urns hold a fraction of what a full-sized urn or urn vault holds.
These urns are often created in a meaningful way that is visually appealing and offers sentimental value. It becomes a fixture that family members can display in their homes.
Keepsake urns are often purchased through cremation services at an additional cost. But you can also purchase your unique keepsake urn.
Many believe that ashes are a way to capture a loved one’s energy, and cremation art glass is a great way to display that.
These custom-made pieces of art combine ashes with paint to create gorgeous hand-painted glass decor. Cremation art glass is a gorgeous, creative and subtle way to memorialize a loved one in your home.
Cremation Jewelry is a way to store a small amount of a loved one’s ashes on you and carry them with you wherever you go.
Cremation jewelry comes in a wide variety of styles and designs. It can be purchased from several online stores or directly through some cremation services.
Fingerprint jewelry is a great option if you would prefer to strictly bury ashes and carry your loved one with you in a different way. By immortalizing your loved one’s fingerprint on unique jewelry, you will feel you have a piece of them with you.
Fingerprint jewelry can also be purchased with a cremation package.
If you are looking to cremate a loved one’s remains but would prefer to bury them in a permanent location, burying ashes is the best option. There are several personalized burial options to choose from for cremated remains.
By understanding the various options available, you can rest easy knowing you are making the right decisions about your loved one’s final resting place.
If you want to find out more about cremation, our team can help you build a package that works for you and your family. Contact us today, and let us help you through this difficult time.
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