A caring solution to help you plan for the future and settle affairs after a loss.
Burial
There are four main burial options:
1) Full-service funeral with burial
This may include a viewing or visitation, formal service, use of a hearse to transport the body to the funeral and cemetery, burial, entombment, and embalming.
You can have a burial with or without embalming. Embalming preserves the body if you are having an open casket with a viewing. You can also ask for the body to be kept cool if you are having an open casket. Embalming is expensive.
You also have the option of buying your own casket from CostCo, Walmart, or Amazon. You can buy Amazon caskets, which will generally save you several thousand dollars compared to a funeral home.
You can decide whether you want the body to be placed in the ground or above ground in a community mausoleum, lawn crypt, or private mausoleum.
You can find a list of funeral homes in your area here.
2) Direct burial
A burial that does not include viewing, visitation, or embalming.
It usually costs significantly less than a full-service funeral.
The minimum charges include a basic service fee and transport of the body. There may be an additional fee if you choose to have a graveside service.
You still have the option of buying your own casket from CostCo, Walmart, or Amazon. You can buy Amazon caskets, which will generally save you several thousand dollars compared to the funeral home.
3) Green, natural, or "neo-traditional" burial
Burial with degradable materials outside of a vault.
You can be buried in a shroud, a degradable casket made out of wicker, bamboo, soft wood, or even in a mushroom suit that aids in decomposition.
This is where the family takes care of everything on their own without hiring a funeral director. Families take care of the body, transport it, and fill out the legal paperwork themselves.
It is legal in most states.
This was the most common practice in the US until the Civil War.
You can learn more about how to conduct a home funeral here