How to Decide Whether to Cremate or Bury

Video Transcript

"Our topic today, is how to decide whether to cremate, or whether to be buried. The decision is basically a personal decision, made by each family, whether you want your loved one, or yourself to be cremated, or whether you want your loved one or yourself to be buried. Many families I think make that decision, based on thinking that it is so much more economical, or much less expensive for the cremation. This can be true, if you're comparing a cremation, direct cremation, with no visitation, no funeral service, to a funeral service, which it can be quite a bit more costly, but if you're comparing direct cremation to direct burial, if you'll check with most funeral homes, you'll find that the price is somewhat comparable. True, direct cremation will be a little bit less inexpensive, but not anything drastic, so that your decision on cremation, or your decision on burial, is basically a personal preference, made by the individual. The cremation will require meeting with the funeral director, so will the funeral service. It will require securing necessary papers, and doing the death certificate on the cremation, and the burial, so it's a matter of your choice, and it's a matter of which is more cost effective for you. Then, once the cremation is finished, then you have more options on the cremation, as what will I do with the ashes? What will I do with the remains? Will I keep them at home? Will I place them in an urn? or will they be buried in a cemetery, or scattered? You have those options that are available for you, on the cremation, so when you compare the two, their price range is about the same, a little more expensive for the burial, a little less expensive for the cremation, but it is not dramatic."