Category Archives: Cremation

What To Know About A Veteran Funeral

Veterans planning a funeral or the loved ones of a veteran may not have to pay for all costs at funeral homes in Washington Township, MI. They can access benefits that are occupational in nature and are only available for veterans that were not dishonorably discharged. But the family of the dead veteran still has to pay for some of the funeral costs. Here are things to know about a veteran funeral.

A Veteran Funeral Ceremony

A veteran funeral often includes a basic Military Funeral Honors (MFH) ceremony. There is folding and presentation of the United States flag to the family of the deceased veteran during this ceremony. The ceremony is different depending on the status of the deceased in the military. Two or more members of the Armed Forces render the funeral honors. There is also the playing of taps by a bugler, or when there is no bugler, a clear recorded version of a bugler playing may be used.

Requirements For Funeral Honors

Active military members or in the Selected Reserve are eligible for military funeral honors. Retired military members are also eligible but only if they didn’t go through a dishonorable discharge. Another group that is eligible is former military members that completed at least one term of enlistment or period of initial obligated service in the Selected Reserve. They must not have been separated from the military under dishonorable conditions. You are also eligible if you were discharged from the Selected Reserve because of a disability that occurred while on active duty.

What Funeral Costs Are Covered By Veteran Affairs

Veteran affairs provides multiple benefits to a deceased veteran that may be financial in nature or may include certain unique funerary goods and services. If the deceased is eligible, VA may pay up to $2,000 to cover burial expenses but on a reimbursement basis and only for service-related deaths. That means that the family of the deceased has to provide receipts and the VA will pay the maximum amount permitted by law. Non-service-connected deaths result in a $300 reimbursement for funeral and burial expenses.

You May Not Have To Buy A Casket

Free caskets are only for personnel who died on active duty. You may also receive a free urn if there is cremation. The casket provided is of high quality. For veterans that received an honorable discharge, only a free flag for draping the casket is provided. But they have to pay for other funeral goods and services they incurred from funeral homes or mortuaries. Military personnel that died on active duty and those that received an honorable discharge all get a hero’s tribute in the form of military funeral honors.

Our funeral home offers services specifically targeted at military families. We have the information you need and can work with you to arrange the whole funeral. Our staff can answer all your questions about veteran funerals when you come to us for funeral and cremation services in Washington Township, MI.

Why You May Need A Burial Vault

A burial vault is a solution most funeral homes in Shelby Charter Township, MI may suggest if you are concerned about the integrity of the casket of your loved one after burial. The extra weight of the earth above the casket and water leakage may cause the casket to cave in after a period of time. This will incur extra costs because the cemetery will have to do something after the grave collapses. Here are reasons you may need a burial vault.

Grave Liners Do Not Protect The Casket

Many people confuse grave liners with vaults but grave liners are basically concrete boxes that prevent the grave from collapsing or caskets from caving in. They have multiple names such as grave receptacles, rough boxes, or concrete boxes. But since they are made of concrete, they cannot efficiently protect the casket from water and dust leakage. This can cause the structure of the grave liner to weaken and also deteriorate the casket. You can prevent all this by using a burial vault.

Burial Vaults Are Built To Provide Security

Burial vaults are made of concrete but they are also lined with plastic on the inside and are sealed securely. The seal prevents the cover from sliding from its position so that it can continue protecting the casket space. They perform the function of grave liners but they also protect the casket from the elements. That means that there is no intrusion of water or dust into the vault. So, the main difference they have with grave liners is that burial vaults offer more security for the casket. Vault manufacturers are serious about the durability of their vaults which is why they offer warranties.

You Can Customize A Burial Vault

You can have a photo of your loved one or an emblem added to the burial vault to personalize it. There is a standard quality for burial vaults but you can choose to get one that offers premium protection. That means it could be made with other materials that enhance the integrity of its structure and seal it more securely.

Where To Purchase Burial Vaults

The funeral home you are working with should have burial vaults that you can buy. But if you want a wider selection of burial vaults you may have to contact a retailer that specializes in selling burial vaults. But the cemetery is likely to charge you a fee for using a burial vault that you purchased from other retailers. The price for a standard burial vault is somewhere between $900 and $7,000, but it’s not unusual to find vaults that cost as much as $13,000.

Buying Vaults Online Is Not Recommended

Purchasing burial vaults online is not a good idea because the retailer will probably charge you high shipping fees. This is obvious because burial vaults are really heavy and difficult to ship.

We help customers seeking funeral and cremation services in Shelby Charter Township, MI find the right burial vault for their loved one. Our main focus is to lighten your burden and provide the highest quality care and service in your time of need.

What Type Of Urn Is Best For Ashes

All funeral homes in Washington Township, MI offer a variety of urns for cremation ashes. Not all urn options are appropriate for keeping ashes for a long time. Urns are also made using various materials meaning that they vary in price. The best urn for you is the urn that catches your eye and is within your budget. Here are some tips for getting the best urn.

What You Want To Do With The Ashes Is Important

It doesn’t make sense to buy an expensive urn when all you want to do is scatter or bury the ashes. There are affordable urns that you can use to keep the ashes before you scatter them or you can put them in any container that can securely hold the ashes. Biodegradable urns that easily break down in water or while buried in the earth are a great choice if you are considering water burial or natural burial for the ashes. If you want to keep the ashes, buy a durable urn that you can display in a room in your house. You will need more than one urn if you want family members to share the ashes.

Material Used To Make The Urn

Consider the material used to make the urn, but base your decision not only on your budget but also on how you want to use the urn. Urns made of harder more durable materials such as wood, metal, ceramic, and glass are a better option if you want to keep the ashes for a long time. Frequently people choose the type of material that they prefer rather than considering how they want to use the urn. In case you want to bury the urn, consult the cemetery staff to confirm if they may require a concrete vault for the urn.

Consider Size And Shape Of The Urn

Urns come in different sizes and shapes. Fortunately, retailers add the amount in cubic meters each urn can hold in the label. They may make it simpler for you to tell the appropriate size of an urn by the weight of the person who was cremated. The shape of the urn varies from vase-shaped urns to simple wooden boxes. If an urn has a simple box shape, it may be intended for holding the ash temporarily as you search for a suitable urn for the ashes of your loved one.

Custom Urns For Your Garden

If your loved one used to love the outdoors or gardening, you should consider custom garden urns. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are made to look like huge tear drops while others are curved into the shape of the Buddha. They are normally designed not to look out of place in the garden. But they are more expensive than traditional urns you may find at your local funeral home.

We provide funeral and cremation services in Washington Township, MI, and can help you find the right urn for your loved one’s ashes. Our professional staff has years of experience helping families to organize funerals and will support and guide you through the loss of a loved one.

Direct Cremation Comes With Benefits

When someone in your family passes on, there are a lot of decisions to make to take care of their needs. You will have to figure out if you want to have a funeral and burial for them or if you want to go with cremation services in Washington Township, MI. There are also different kinds of cremation to consider, like full or direct cremation. As you make decisions, it can help you to know the benefits of each option so you can move forward in the right direction. Here are the benefits that come along with direct cremation services.

Low Costs

Every final service is going to have a cost attached to it, but direct cremation is the lowest cost method available. There are far fewer products and services associated with direct cremation than with any other service. You don’t need a burial plot, a casket, funeral services, or many other things that cost. All you have to have is a cremation package and that will cover everything your loved one has to have. These packages come with the cremation service, transportation, and a simple container for your loved one’s remains.

A Versatile Timeline

Your loved one has needs that have to be met and that is what the cremation process will do. But after that, you can do whatever you want on any timeline you want. You can have a memorial service right away or wait a week, a month, or even longer. You can decide on a final resting place immediately or you can put that off until you are more ready for that process. The only thing that is on a timeline is the cremation itself. After that, you do whatever you want at any time.

Memorial Service Types Can Vary

For a funeral, things generally happen one way. If you are going to have a memorial service, you can make it into anything you want for your loved one. You can do something somber that feels like a funeral or you can do something celebratory in nature. You can have something small or something that involves the whole community. It’s nice to know that you can do whatever you want at any time. It can make the whole things unique and special as well as memorable for your whole family.

Making decisions for someone who passed on is always going to be hard. You are going to want to cover their needs, but also think about what they would have wanted. It’s good to know that every service a funeral home carries is honorable, even cremation services in Washington Township, MI. To that end, you can’t go wrong with what you choose. But there are advantages to going a direct route with cremation and it can help you to decide if you know what all of those are. You get to make the final decisions and you want to be certain about them before you move forward. The professionals can answer any questions you have to help you decide with confidence.

Trusting A Cremation Provider

Making your own plans for cremation services in Chesterfield Township, MI in advance isn’t exactly easy, but it’s something that can be important to your own peace of mind and, in the future, to your family. When you start to think about what you want, if you land on cremation, you are going to want to find a provider you can trust. Not only are you putting your future plans into their hands, but they are going to be there to care for your family when you no longer can. You need to be able to trust them. Watch for certain things when you look into the providers to ensure that trust is something you can have in them.

Their Experience

Cremation is a meticulous process that should only be done by the proper professionals. You want those experts to have years of experience in their background so you know they know just what they are doing. They can take you through the cremation procedure on a step by step basis and describe everything to you. They have identification steps in place and there are never mistakes with something this important. That experience level can help you to trust they know the ins and outs of cremation and will process yours well.

They Have Positive Reviews

Provider websites can tell you a lot, but they won’t say anything negative about their services, so if you want a full picture, look at reviews on the funeral home outside of their website. People are honest about their experiences, perhaps even more so when they have negative things to say. If you only find glowing reports and positive details, that means you can trust that funeral home with your plans.

Pricing Is Affordable And Fair

Funeral home providers should be completely upfront about their pricing and costs. They will give you a price list whenever you ask and describe things to you when you ask. Once you have those prices, it’s easy to compare them to other funeral homes and see who is offering middle of the line, fair, affordable prices and who might be under or overcharging. You can trust a funeral home with fair prices.

Prompt Service

Even if you are planning things in advance and you aren’t on a set timeline, the cremation provider should give you prompt service. When you call and leave a message, they should get back to you in short order. When you email a question, they should reply. That will show you what kind of customer service they have and when it’s good, you can trust that it will be good for your family in the future, too.

When you arrange your own cremation services in Chesterfield Township, MI, you have time on your side to go through the options and choose a provider you can trust. This is an important decision that takes research and effort, but it’s worth it to leave your plans in good hands. You have peace of mind that your family will be cared for nicely as well.

Memorial Services After Cremation—Are They Important?

When you decide on cremation services in Shelby Charter Township, MI for a loved one who passed on, all you have to do is get a cremation package for them with the funeral home and that’s all they have to have. They will get transportation, the cremation service, and a simple container for their remains with any package you choose. It’s a nice way to meet their needs in a simple manner. However, many families like to honor their loved one with memorial services. Is that something you are interested in doing? It can be an important, special thing for your family and here’s why.

People Often Get Closure

While anyone who is grieving is going to have a unique experience, there’s one thing that is common for everyone that grieves—they need closure. People can get closure in a variety of ways, but you might feel as if having a memorial service could help you, or other family members as well as friends. Everyone needs to recognize that your loved one is gone and they are not coming back in order to move on. You might easily be able to provide that feeling with a memorial service of some kind. People understand when they attend a memorial, the person really is gone.

That Final Goodbye

It can also be nice to have a memorial in order for your family and other friends to have the chance to say goodbye to your loved one. Those goodbyes can be said in a variety of ways and in any location, but the memorial service offers a certain pinpoint that allows people to say the goodbye they might feel as if they need to say so they can move forward.

Family Is Together

Having a memorial service is a good excuse for getting your family together in one location. You can support one another, enjoy time together, and share stories about your loved one. Family becomes very important when someone passes away and having a memorial can really help to gather everyone together.

Honor The Person Who Died

You might want to have a memorial service for a simple reason, too—just to honor your loved one. While they got what they needed through the cremation, there’s nothing wrong with having a memorial to honor their life well lived in whatever way you see fit.

The package you get for cremation services in Shelby Charter Township, MI is going to cover your loved one’s needs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have some kind of a memorial service for them afterwards. Some people like to have something right away as it can be nice to honor someone immediately and allow the family to move forward. Others like to take time to plan something special, allow family warning in their travels, and give themselves time to grieve. There’s no timeline on the process and you can do whatever kind of memorial you want at any time you want to do it.

Some Of The Questions To Ask Cremation Providers

When you need to use one of the cremation providers in Chesterfield Township, MI, you should research them, call them, and even visit them in person. You want the right people for the job and it’s best to ask questions to ensure they have the answers you want to hear. Don’t be embarrassed to ask questions, even if some of them feel basic to you and as if you should already know the answer. The providers will never judge you and, rather, want you to have what you need to move forward with the right services for your loved one. Here are some of the things you might want to ask.

How Long Has The Business Been Doing Cremation Services?

Cremation has only become popular in the last few decades and some funeral homes were just funeral homes before. Today, they run cremation services as well because it is in a higher demand, but how long have they been doing that service? If cremation interests you, you want to make sure you have experienced professionals on your hand before you move forward with them. If their business has been around for a long time, but cremation processes are more recent, that might not be what you want to hear.

What Service Options Are Available?

There’s an nearly endless list of service options on the market and you want to make sure the provider you choose has a long list themselves, especially if you don’t know what you want. If you know what you want, just make sure their list includes it. IF you aren’t sure yet, you want to see many options so they can help you decide and so that when you do decide, they will most likely have what you want and need.

How Did You Determine Your Prices?

You want to get fair, affordable prices from any funeral home and cremation provider. Ask them how they came to their prices and they might tell you they went with market averages or that they based them on experience as to what costs for running things are. You can look up and compare prices yourself, and you should, to ensure they are fair, but it’s nice to hear the funeral home tell you exactly how they came about the prices they charge to hear the background on those items.

Can I Take A Tour?

The answer to this should always be yes and it shouldn’t be hard to set up a time that works within your schedule. You want to be able to see the facilities yourself, especially if you are thinking of having a memorial service within their building. But even if you aren’t doing that, you want to see organization, cleanliness, and other signs that the providers know what they are doing and care about each person that passes through their services.

When you are working on cremation in Chesterfield Township, MI for a loved one, ask as many questions as you have and move forward from there.

Choosing Cremation Providers For Your Final Services

Final services are very important to families. Anyone would want to care for their loved one in the right ways after they pass on. And, if you plan ahead of time and put your own cremation services in Washington Township, MI into place, you also want to ensure that your family is well cared for when that time comes. Here are a few tips that can help you to choose the cremation providers that are a good fit for you, your family, and the final services you want, either for yourself or a loved one who has passed on.

Read Through The Reviews

While everyone will look at company websites, you are also going to want to read through online reviews so you can figure out what others are saying about the provider’s services. You want to read happy reviews about these providers before you trust them with your services or those of a loved one. It can help you feel comfortable using them and placing your loved one (or your own plans) into their hands.

Look At Experience On Websites

When you do look at the cremation provider’s website, you will want to read through the About Us section to see more about their history and experience. It can make you feel right about them when you read that they have been around for decades and have processed cremations just as long. You might be able to read testimonials and other details that can help you make a good decision either way.

Compare Price Lists For Affordability

Any funeral home or cremation provider should be completely open to telling you their prices. You should get a price list up front so you can check things out and be completely prepared with what they charge. When you see what they charge, you can compare those prices to other companies, which can help you notice who is affordable and who is fair. If you see someone overcharging the averages, you know they are making money from your grief and that’s not okay.

Visit The Providers Facilities

Once the cremation providers pass a few initial tests, you are going to want to talk to them on the phone and visit their facilities. When you visit, you can see that things are organized and clean and that they perhaps have space for final services, if you want to have them there at some point. Meeting the staff in person can also give you a level of comfort with them that you might not have had otherwise. You want to have that gut reaction to them that has you feeling good about moving forward with their services.

When you need cremation services in Washington Township, MI, either for a loved one who has passed on, or yourself in the future, you want the right providers for the job. Take a little time to research the options and find one you feel you can trust. Move forward with them and that will give you the confidence you need.

Money Saving Tips For Final Services

When a loved one passes on, you are going to need to arrange final services for them to meet their needs. That might mean a funeral service, or perhaps cremation services in Shelby Carter Township, MI, both of which are completely honorable and respectful. However, if you have a smaller budget for the process, or you want to save money so you can have a permanent memorial, a celebration of life, or something else, then you will want to save money along the way. Here are some ways you can do just that.

Compare Price Lists Among Providers

The first thing you are going to want to do is to figure out which providers charge fair, affordable prices. Different providers are going to have different charges and if you get the price lists, you can then figure out who has fair affordable prices. You want median prices that run along with the averages. You can research what the averages are in your area and then compare the prices among the cremation providers. You don’t want prices that are too high or too low, but rather those that are in the middle of the road.

Consider Direct Cremation Services

One way to save quite a bit of money on final services is to consider direct cremation services. You can get a direct cremation package and that can help you to avoid the cost of services that can go before the cremation. That cuts out a lot of the prices you would have to pay otherwise. You can look at the cremation packages and everything you have to have would be included. You wouldn’t need anything more and you can see the final cost up front.

Use Memorial Funds For Costs

If you don’t have a very large budget, you can use some of the memorial funds that people are likely going to send to you to supplement what you are putting into it yourself. Friends and community members may very well reach out to you in sympathy when they hear that your loved one has died. They might want to send something to you for the cause, and that is often going to be money within a card. You can use those funds to get more cremation service options for your loved one.

Keep Services Small And Simple

If you decide to have a memorial service, you can save money by keeping the services on the small, simple side. They can be something you have in a park, in a family home, or in other locations. The larger the services are, the more they will likely cost. Having something smaller can help you to honor your loved one while saving money.

Utilize Free Resting Places

There are lots of different resting place options for people who are cremated and many of them are going to be free. You can have cremation services in Shelby Carter Township, MI done and then scatter the ashes. You can bury your loved ones in your own garden or you can keep them at home at no cost.

Direct Cremation Services – Pros And Cons

When you think about cremation services in Chesterfield Township, MI, you might think about a certain type of cremation, either full or direct cremation. Full cremation includes a visitation and funeral service before the cremation takes place. Direct cremation, on the other hand, happens within a few days of death without any services beforehand. If you are considering direct cremation, either for your own pre-plans or for a loved one who has passed on, you should think about the pros and cons of the option to ensure it is right for you.

Pro: It’s The Lowest Cost Option

Cremation of any kind will cost less than a traditional funeral and burial service, but direct cremation is going to cost less than full cremation. Direct cremation includes far fewer products and services as necessities and that puts a low-price tag on the process from the start. If budget is a concern, it’s nice to know that there are options within the cremation window that can help you to meet needs while satisfying the budget range you have in mind.

Con: Not Everyone Can Say Goodbye In Person

It can help family members, and even friends, to feel as if they had a chance to say goodbye to their loved one before they are able to move on. With a visitation service and even a funeral, that opportunity is presented to those who attend. If you go with direct cremation, some people might feel as if they didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to the person in question. You can have a memorial service after the cremation occurs, of course, but that might feel different than a traditional visitation.

Pro: Plentiful Options Later

Direct cremation gives families as many options as they want after the cremation process is complete. Once the cremation is behind them, there’s no timeline on anything. Families can have a memorial service right away, or they can have one, later on, months down the road. They can also have any kind of memorial style they want. It’s also nice to have final resting place options. With a funeral, burial in a cemetery is the only option. With cremation, the options are open-ended and, again, there’s no timeline for deciding.

Con: Can Feel Too Fast

Direct cremation will occur a few days after a person dies and it might feel like a fast thing for family and friends. You shouldn’t move forward with cremation if you aren’t sure about the process, but when you are certain, things will move quickly to take care of your loved one’s needs.

There are pros and cons for both full and direct cremation services in Chesterfield Township, MI and you will want to consider them both when you are trying to decide between them. If you aren’t sure what you want for your loved one, or for yourself as part of your own final services, the professionals can show you the packages and go over the options until you are able to make a decision that feels right.

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