Cremation service is a popular alternative to burial in a coffin. It may only take place based on signed declarations of intent by the deceased. The ashes are buried in the urn grave, columbarium, natural area, or sea, depending on the preference of the family. The process after the cremation and the total costs can be flexibly designed. However, you can get affordable cremation services at the Chelsea funeral home. This article discusses all you need to know about cremation and its cost.
Cremation: background
Cremation is an alternative to traditional burial. The term hides several types of burial. The burial takes place after the body has been cremated and depends on the previously expressed and specified wishes of the person concerned or their relatives. The United States allows various types of cremation services: from the usual burial of the urn in a cemetery to natural buial in the forest or on the high seas.
What is cremation?
Cremation is the burial of the ashes after the deceased has been cremated. In cremation, the body is burned completely – the process of burning the body is also called cremation, and the ashes obtained weigh around five percent of the original body weight.
Afterward, there are several options for burying the ashes: in the classic urn grave, in a columbarium or the urn wall, in a tree grave, or in the sea. However, there must be a so-called cremation order – a written assurance that the cremation corresponds to the deceased’s wishes. The declaration can also be made in the form of a burial provision or by a burial agent person.
What are the advantages and disadvantages?
A big advantage is the numerous options for burial – this makes cremation the most versatile type of burial. While regular burials only take place in the cemetery in random and row graves, the deceased person can find their final resting place after cremation in various ways in this country.
Many people also rate the lower follow-up costs very positively. On the other hand, there are additional costs due to the mandatory cremation. In addition, every cremation involves a second post-mortem examination, during which the body is opened – a practice that is not always desirable.
Unlike a regular burial, cremation usually takes a long time from the time of death to burial – this is a big difference between burial and cremation. Relatives often have to reckon with several weeks between the death and the urn burial because due to the mandatory cremation of the deceased person and the associated legally prescribed second post-mortem examination, the period before the urn burial can be significantly longer.
There is a further delay if the second post-mortem indicates a non-natural cause of death. In order to investigate a possible suicide, homicide, or accident, the crematorium immediately informs the police and the public prosecutor’s office usually also becomes aware of the case.
Cremation: procedure and costs
The process depends, to a large extent, on the personal provision. Anyone who wishes to have their last rest in cremation can make a cremation directive during their lifetime. A handwritten document on which the person concerned confirms by signature that cremation is their last wish is sufficient. No notarization is required.
An important tip to ensure the cremation process since the costs are often one of the decisive reasons: The funeral wishes should not be in the will because it is often only opened weeks after the burial. If there is no cremation order, the relatives can confirm their express wish for cremation in good time. On our webpage, you can find out more about the affordable cremation services at the Chelsea funeral home.