The Advantages Of Choosing Cremation

When pre-planning your funeral, selecting cremation over a traditional burial affects many of the other choices you make. Cremation is becoming a popular option with more than 48 percent of people expected to be cremated in 2015. Here is why many people select cremation and how it will affect your funeral pre-planning.

1. Reduced financial impact over traditional burial.

There are several ways in which cremation cuts your overall funeral costs, such as:

• You won't need to purchase a casket for your cremains.
• You won't need a concrete vault for the burial.
• You won't need the expense of embalming your body.
• You won't need a large cemetery plot.

If keeping costs down is not your primary concern, then you still have access to the same options as a traditional burial such as:

• You can be embalmed for a viewing and have your body cremated after the funeral services.
• You can have your cremains buried in a regular sized cemetery plot.

2. More flexibility in the timing of services.

Most states and funeral homes have regulations regarding how long a body can be held before it must be embalmed or buried. Your family will have a short amount of time in which to make the final funeral arrangements after your passing. There may not be enough time for family members to travel long distances to attend your funeral services.

Cremation gives your family more time to notify friends and family and for people to come in from out of town. Once cremated, your cremains can be held indefinitely until the services can be scheduled. Special cremation services can be held for immediate family while the larger memorial service is planned for days or weeks out.

3. Getting you back home is easier.

If you are a frequent traveler and you happen to pass away while out of the country, choosing cremation gives your family an easier option for getting you home. Instead of having your body embalmed and shipped back to your home in a casket, you can be cremated and returned to your family.

4. Less impact on the environment.

Some people choose cremation because it is a more eco-friendly burial option. Some of the ways it reduces the impact on the environment include:

• embalming chemicals won't be needed
• you won't need a hardwood casket
• less space is required to bury the urn
• no space is required if the cremains are scattered

For more information about cremation, visit a funeral home like Holmes Funeral Home.