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After the Cremation Has Been Completed

by The Cremation Association of North America

The information in this article is intended to help you more fully understand what occurs in the cremation process. The steps are detailed and should be carefully considered.

Please note that this article has been prepared on a general informational basis. Because of variations in state/provincial and local laws, there may be some difference in legal requirements.

The urn or the container containing the cremated remains will be returned to you or the individual cemetery or funeral home you have designated on the cremation authorization form.

If you and/or other family members have not already decided on the final resting place for the cremated remains, you may wish to consult the professional who assisted you on the many options available. These options include:

• placement of the urn containing the cremated remains in an indoor or outdoor mausoleum or columbarium

• interment of the urn containing the cremated remains in a family burial plot or in a special urn garden that many cemeteries provide for cremated remains

• scattering of the cremated remains in a cemetery garden especially created and dedicated for this purpose

• scattering the remains at sea or on land in accordance with state/provincial or local laws

• the urn may, of course, also be taken to the home of a loved one, but plans should be made for an eventual permanent resting place.

If scattering is done, you may wish to choose a site for a permanent memorial, such as placing the name of the deceased in a Book of Remembrance or on a plaque for a special location, or planting a tree in remembrance. Any of these will provide a place of pilgrimage for those who want to remember and celebrate the life of the loved one.

This information was updated September, 2000.