Have you lost a loved one and wondering what to do next? Planning for a respectful send-off to your loved one doesn’t mean that you need to break the bank.
Having a direct cremation can help as it offers the best flexible and affordable memorial service option compared to traditional burial. This article will take you through direct cremation – which is one of the low cost cremation processes.
Understanding the direct cremation process
The process is becoming popular as most families are looking for a cost-effective, simple, and environmentally-friendly funeral service. The process involves your loved one being cremated shortly after their death without any viewing or any traditional service.
The process cuts the costs of a funeral director, a memorial site, a funeral home, and some other costs. In addition, the costs that are usually incurred from holding the body before it is taken to the industrial furnace are minimised as the entire process is done quickly after death.
Features of the direct cremation
The entire process does not include any formal funeral, and many of the costs of traditional funerals are reduced. Below are some of its features:
- Body cremated immediately after the death – engage with the services of a crematory and not the funeral home, which helps you save some money.
- The body is cremated in a simple container, not an expensive casket.
- The memorial service may be held at a later date, hence eliminating the need for an expensive casket and funeral arrangements.
- No viewing or visiting before the cremation, hence eliminating the need for somebody’s preparations.
How to arrange for a direct cremation
Do you want to involve your loved one in the direct cremation process? Mostly, the staff in the crematory will handle the entire process, which includes the completion of the death certificate and the transporting of the body at a nominal fee.
The crematory will always charge a fraction of the price that the funeral home will charge for the same services. However, you may also work with a funeral home to plan the entire process, and the home can plan for the cremation process and complete the death certificate for an additional small fee.
Making plans for the cremated ashes
The low-cost cremation process may be straightforward, but it is also possible to include some personal and meaningful details that surround the cremation and funeral service of the family member. After the cremation process, the remains can be sealed in a container, and there are different ways that the ashes can be used.
It gives room for the deceased family to plan a meaningful service without any constraints or prices of the traditional burial facilitated by the funeral home. However, the family of the deceased can scatter the ashes of the deceased on the same day or wait to do it after some time; the family has some time to decide.
If you decide the cremated ashes to remain at home, you can choose to put them in a special urn. Choosing specific designs can be one way to represent the identity of the deceased in their final resting place plans.
You can even choose to maintain an environmental focus with some biodegradable urns, which can allow you to bury the ashes without causing harm to the environment. However, such may be less important if the urn is just a representation of a temporary container.
Benefits of the direct cremation process
Cost-direct cremations avoid some extra costs of funeral services, such as the need to pay a funeral director. The process aims at reducing some costs without cutting some corners on giving the deceased a respectful sendoff.
Environmental impact: The process avoids the need to purchase an expensive casket to hold the deceased body. The green cremation can be meaningful as it honors the sustainability values of the deceased’s life.
Flexibility: the entire process can be flexible to the deceased’s family as it allows them to make further arrangements using their timeline and gives them further time to remember the deceased.
Efficient and simple to return remains: – the staff are respectful, and just because of a lack of delays in the chamber, the cremated remains can be returned for the family quicker than they thought.
Direct cremation is one of the best ways to send off your deceased in a more respectful way. However, there are some other small considerations that you need to consider.
Technology – To ensure that all the family members and friends have the chance to honor the deceased during the process, there can be a need for a virtual memorial attendance that can make it sensible to those who cannot attend.
Cremation communication to your loved ones – If you are planning your low cost cremation, it is important to communicate your wishes to your family members. In addition, for the deceased, how the person will be cremated and how the ashes of the deceased can be used can be a topic with lots of emotions. Discussing such in advance can honour everyone’s wishes, and you can avoid future disputes.
