When dealing with the death of a loved one, families often choose burial over cremation because of their familiarity with the process and tradition. However, in many aspects, the two options are similar, each offering their own benefits.
In some cases, cremation is a more economical choice. At first glance, many cremation packages are indeed less expensive than comparable burial packages, with the savings in items not needed, such as a burial plot, a vault or outer burial container, a casket, or a graveside service. But as families determine how to handle the cremated remains, they may choose between purchasing a niche in a columbarium, having the remains scattered, or other unique options, almost all of which cost extra.
“I would caution people on trying to find the cheapest,” said Sammy Morgan, owner and operator of Morgan Funeral Chapel and Crematory in Attalla. “If you’re not going to bury the remains, if you’re going to keep them at home, or if you’re going to scatter, you do not have to purchase space or buy a monument. So that is where, from an economic standpoint, cremation is an advantage.”
More than 40 funeral and cremation service providers in Alabama are part of the Dignity Memorial network. These network providers — which include Ridout’s Valley Chapel in Homewood — offer burial and cremation packages.
The top-level burial package consists of — among other standard items and services — visitation, funeral, and graveside services, a choice of casket, the outer burial container and its installation. The comparable cremation package, while offering similar standard items and services, includes a crematory fee, a pre-determined casket for visitation viewing, and a pre-determined urn.
Neither package figures in the cost of burial plots, gravestones and markers, gravesite preparation or niches.
Families pay approximately $4,000 less for the cremation package. These savings increase slightly in lower-level packages, ranging approximately from $5,000 to $6,500 less for the cremation options.
The least expensive route from most any funeral service provider is direct burial or direct cremation. These do not include any type of service or visitation and take advantage of savings from the most basic of caskets or containers.
However, the ceremony surrounding either a burial or cremation can also be as elaborate as a family requires.
Cremation provides flexibility in planning services and disposition, allowing relatives to memorialize the deceased whenever they want and in a manner as traditional or as unique as they’d like.
Almost every aspect of a traditional burial can be mirrored in a cremation.
The deceased can be prepared for viewing and placed in a casket, the family can receive visitors and hold a funeral service, all before the cremation takes place.
At the close of the funeral, an announcement can be made that the body will later be cremated. At least a day later (or much later, if necessary), relatives can hold a typical graveside service, the only difference being the burial of an urn in the cemetery rather than a casket. If the cremation takes place earlier, visitation and a funeral can still be held, with the urn on display.
“We’re finding people want ceremony with the cremation, whether it’s done before or after the cremation,” Morgan said. “People want to have a way to say goodbye.”
Choosing cremation also gives relatives time to make difficult choices.
If family members are in various parts of the country or are having a hard time agreeing on anything beyond the cremation, the remains can be held until decisions are made regarding disposition. However, the survivors do need to agree on the main issue because of the finality of the process.
“I would not cremate if all the family members (involved) were not in agreement,” Morgan said.
The process for arranging a cremation and all the related services is very similar to that of a burial.
In addition to the standard paperwork required for a burial, cremations require an authorization form to be signed by a family member allowing the process to move forward. Crematories also go to lengths to assure relatives that the remains they are receiving are indeed those of their loved one.
In 2002, more than 300 bodies were discovered at the Tri-State Crematory in Georgia. Funeral homes throughout the Southeast had sent clients there to be cremated, but the services had not been performed.
This incident brought more oversight and regulation to the industry, and funeral service providers are now seeking to reassure families.
Morgan had entertained the thought of installing a retort, or cremation chamber, at his funeral chapel several years before the discovery in Georgia.
When the news broke, he moved quickly with his plans in order to give his clients an option they could trust.
Since 2002, many smaller funeral homes in Alabama have begun offering their own crematory services rather than working with a separate, off-site crematory.
When choosing a crematory, Morgan urges families to work with a service provider that is a member of the Cremation Association of North America (CANA). CANA offers members training and research while also providing a code of cremation practice. If the funeral home does not have a crematory, families can ask if they use a third-party crematory that is a member of CANA.
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