Everything You Need to Know about Burial Liners
Everything You Need to Know about Burial Liners
There are few things worse than feeling you are being taken advantage of when going through the process of burying a loved one. In the midst of all the funeral planning and preparation, you may feel that several purchases are unnecessary or designed to put an even higher price tag on your already mounting funeral costs—and burial liners tend to stick out the strongest.
If you are already paying for a burial plot, a casket, a grave opening and closing, and a headstone, you might be wondering what the purpose of this added expense actually is.
- Grave liners, burial vaults, and lawn crypts are not necessarily the same thing—but they do provide the same function. Most cemeteries and funeral homes use the terms “liner,” “vault,” and “crypt” interchangeably. These terms refer to a concrete barrier that goes around the casket to prevent the ground from sinking in around it.
- Grave liners will cost less than a full burial vault or lawn crypt. Grave liners tend to be the most cost-effective solution, as they only go above and on the sides of a casket to provide protection. Burial vaults surround the entire casket, and lawn crypts are more like buried mausoleums that can be re-opened and used to house more than one casket.
- These types of protective barriers will not change the decomposition process. Liners and vaults exist for aesthetic purposes only, and should never be purchased as a way to “preserve” the body. Even a sealed underground crypt will not prevent natural and eventual decay.
- You will have little to no contact with the burial liner. Most people do not know that burial liners exist, and that’s okay. They are not meant to do more than provide a necessary function in burial, and they are not all that beautiful to look at, so you probably won’t find pictures or display models. In most cases, you will choose the option, make the purchase, and never actually see the liner being put to use.
- Liners, vaults, or crypts can be required by the cemetery—and you have to purchase one in order to have a burial there. Because cemeteries are almost always private property, cemetery owners can require this type of barrier in order to maintain and preserve the aesthetics of their facility. If you do not wish to incur this added expense, you may need to search for a cemetery with more relaxed regulations.
- The Funeral Rule holds true for burial vessels like liners. According to federal regulations, cemeteries can require you have a burial liner, but they cannot force you to purchase it from them. If you choose to buy one from a third-party and it meets their specifications, they are required by law to accept it.
Burial liners, like many other funeral details, are a necessary part of the body disposal process. Because many funeral homes provide package deals that include this type of item, you may be unaware of the additional costs and function—but chances are, they are present all the same.
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