How to Decide Whether to Cremate or Bury

Cremation allows for more options and can be less expensive than a burial, but if the family wants a viewing and a traditional funeral, burial may be the wisest choice.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• General Price Lists
• Grave Sites
• Urns
• Caskets

1. Explore your options. If you are cremated, you can have your ashes buried at a cemetery, placed in a mausoleum in an urn or scattered in an appropriate location. If you are buried, your only option is a cemetery.

2. Think about cost. With cremation, you can avoid purchasing one of the most expensive items needed for burial: a casket. You'll also avoid funeral home charges for embalming and cosmetology, and you won't need to purchase a cemetery plot or pay opening and closing charges assessed by the cemetery.

3. Consider your religious beliefs and your family's feelings. If either of these are issues, you need to clear them up before making your decision.

4. Shop around. No matter what your needs - casket, urn, cemetery plot or grave marker - you can search the Internet, the neighborhood and the newspaper for the best prices. You are not obligated to buy everything from the funeral home that handles your arrangements, and the home may not charge you a "handling fee" for items you purchase from another source.

5. Be sure to convey your wishes clearly to family members if you have prearranged the disposition of your body.

Tips & Warnings

• Even if you choose to have ashes buried, you will not need to buy a full-sized plot at the cemetery, thereby saving money over the cost of the plot you'll need if you are buried in a casket.

• An immediate cremation is less expensive than having a casket viewing prior to cremation, because you'll have to pay for the casket or casket rental for a viewing. Caskets are not required for cremation; all you need is an inexpensive cremation container, which is specially made of cardboard for this purpose.

• Consider holding a memorial service at your home or at a park, saving money over the cost of a formal funeral.

• Before working with any funeral home, request a copy of the "general price list," which should list all the goods and services the funeral home offers - with prices. If the funeral home doesn't supply this information - either in person or over the phone - it is in violation of the law.