Whether people are planning funerals at funeral homes in Washington Township, MI or they are simply trying to get their final affairs in order, one of the things that they will need to do is find a cemetery for burial. Since finding a cemetery for your loved one or yourself isn’t something you do every day, you may not know how to go about finding one. Here are some tips you can use to help.
Before you do anything, find out if you are eligible for a free cemetery plot that you haven’t considered or don’t know about. There are three possibilities that you can investigate.
The first is burial in a family graveyard. While some family graveyards in the United States have been forgotten or are no longer used, there are still a lot of family graveyards that are open and have room for burials. If your extended family is buried in a graveyard near you or in your hometown, then you can check to see if there is room and if the cemetery plot is free.
The second possibility for a free cemetery plot is a church graveyard. If you are a member of a church and they have a graveyard, you should be eligible for a free plot if there are any available. You can check with your pastor or the graveyard’s caretaker to see if any plots are available and whether they are free to members of the church.
The third possibility for a free cemetery plot is if you are a military veteran (with a discharge other than dishonorable). One of the funeral benefits available to military veterans is a free cemetery plot in a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national or state cemetery.
If none of these options are available to you, you can do some homework to research local cemeteries online before you talk with the funeral home. The funeral home will be a great resource for information on cemeteries in your area because they work with them on a regular basis. They can give you advice about which cemeteries might best fit your needs or the needs of your loved one.
Location is always crucial to picking a cemetery plot. You want to pick a location for yourself or your loved one that is easily accessible for friends and family members to visit as often as they wish. If the cemetery you choose is hard to get to or is quite a distance from other family members, visits will be less frequent.
Before you choose a cemetery plot, you need to find out if the cemetery has any restrictions or requirements that might influence your decision. For example, some cemeteries don’t allow upright gravestones, which may be a deal breaker for a cemetery plot for you or your loved one.
Other cemeteries might only allow certain styles of headstones, which means you cannot create a custom gravestone for you or your loved one. In addition, some cemeteries have caretakers who are responsible for the upkeep of the cemetery, while other cemeteries leave maintenance of the grave site to family members.
Once you’ve got a list of a few cemeteries that meet your criteria, you should visit them in person. You will get a better idea of what the cemetery plots look like and what the atmospheres of the cemeteries are, which will make it much easier to pick the one you like best.
For more information about finding cemeteries at funeral homes in Washington Township, MI, our compassionate and experienced staff at Lee-Ellena Funeral Home can help.