Planning Ahead: Talking with a Director About Funeral Plans

From what you will wear for the big event to what type of music you wish to be played at the service, it is easy to disregard one of the most important aspects of the funeral-planning process: where you would like to be buried. Even though you may already have a specific cemetery in mind, picking a spot to be laid to rest may not be a process which will be as cut and dry as you assume. Cemeteries all have their specific rules in place regarding the use of their property.  here are a few possible cemetery regulations you should be aware could come up as you are making your own plans.  

Some cemeteries regulate the type of headstones customers can have placed on the property.

The owner of the cemetery where you plan to be buried does have a say so over what type of monuments are allowed to be erected on the premises. While the majority of cemetery directors have no qualms about erecting whatever type of monument a customer chooses, there are some that do have regulations. for example, a cemetery may only allow low-profile head stones that lay on the ground and nothing that stands upright.

It is not uncommon for cemetery owners to require individuals to be embalmed before burial.

If you have an idea to go all natural with your burial arrangements and skip the embalming, you should know that some cemeteries will not allow you to be buried on-site. Therefore, if you plan to skip this part of the process, it is a good idea to find out if this is something that will be acceptable where you plan to be buried. Keep in mind there are also designated "green cemeteries" in some states which allow customers to be buried without embalming, and even without a casket or vault if someone prefers.

You may not be allowed to alter the landscape in any way in some cemeteries.

As a pre-planner, you may desire to have a tree planted near your grave or live flowers situated around your headstone. While this is a nice idea, not all cemeteries will allow their patrons to change the landscape, even if it is just something small. To prevent causing maintenance issues for the landscapers in charge of tending the property, a cemetery may restrict landscape changes at all, so this is something you should find out if you have something associated in mind. Contact a business, such as Memorial Mortuaries, for more information.