Posts Tagged ‘burial’

What to Do When a Funeral Home Goes out of Business

One of the biggest warnings against pre-paying for a funeral is what happens if the funeral home goes out of business. The entire point of pre-arrangement is that you can solidify your funeral plans ahead of time, leaving you worry-free and able to spend your money however you wish. So, the idea that a funeral home might someday terminate services and leave you holding a useless contract is one that may be understandably frightening. (more…)

Five Fun and Interesting Epitaphs

When someone famous or beloved dies, it is common to have a special phrase or quote carved into the headstone. These engravings (or epitaphs) are a kind of parting gift to the world; more public than your last words and more permanent than a note written on paper, these messages are what people who visit your gravesite carry with them for years to come. (more…)

Importance of Pre-Planning and End-of-Life Discussions with Family

Conversations about death are never easy – and conversations about your own death are even more complicated. Not only are there financial issues to bring up (a tricky subject in many families), but there is no way to talk about your end-of-life plans without emotions getting in the way. (more…)

What to Bring to a Prearrangement Meeting

We all know that one of the best ways to save money on burial costs and ensure that your wishes are carried out is to preplan a funeral. However, the act of preplanning a funeral can be pretty stressful. After all, you might be setting up huge financial payments, confronting your own feelings regarding death, and making important decisions all at the same time. (more…)

Popular Tourist Cemeteries in the United States

Although few people associate cemeteries and death with their ideal vacation plans, visiting local cemeteries is actually a popular tourist practice. Fusing history and nature, cemeteries have a way of capturing a city’s culture in ways that more traditional tourist sites do not—and because they are almost always free to the public, they provide a low-cost alternative to many kinds of national monuments, museums, and theme parks. (more…)

How to Plan a Funeral Quickly

There are times when planning a funeral is something that needs to happen quickly and with a minimal hassle. Whether you are dealing with a busy schedule of your own, you have family coming in from out of town and can’t commit to a lengthy funeral planning process, or you simply cannot handle the idea of lingering over the details, there are ways to cut back on the time required—and to still enjoy a beautiful, memorable goodbye. (more…)

What to Expect When You Come to the Funeral Home

After you’ve decided on a funeral home and are ready to begin the process of planning a funeral, your funeral director will ask you to come into the facilities for a visit. This personal contact with the people in charge of your loved one’s remains is an important step in the grieving process. Not only will you get to benefit from face-to-face interaction, but you’ll also be walked through each decision ahead of you. (more…)

What is a Perpetual Care Cemetery?

When you search for a cemetery as a final resting ground for you and your family, you are likely to come across the phrase “perpetual care,” “permanent care,” or “endowed care.” Often included as a charge above and beyond the typical cemetery costs, these are included as a way to ensure that the cemetery grounds remain in good care for decades (or even centuries) to come. (more…)

Different Types of Cemeteries

Most of us assume that all cemeteries are virtually the same—after all, a piece of land where a body is laid to rest is a piece of land where a body is laid to rest, right?

While it’s true that most cemeteries perform the same general purpose to society, they tend to take different approaches to how this is accomplished. Some are religious, some are secular, some are run by the government, and some are closed to all but families with previously purchased burial plots. Depending on what type of cemetery you’re looking at, you could encounter any of the following types. (more…)

Before you sit down with a funeral director to go over all your options for a loved one’s funeral plans, it’s a good idea to figure out how much money you’re willing to spend. Although the average funeral can go as high as $10,000, you aren’t required to spend this much—nor will you have to. With the right planning, you should be able to find a budget you’re comfortable with and buy a respectful, beautiful service to go with it. (more…)