Frequently Asked Questions

We hope that this website has assisted you in deciding whether a burial service is the appropriate choice given your circumstances. We want you to have the background information required to prepare you to discuss with us your desires in terms of final disposition. We are always available to answer questions and address concerns. If you have any questions about burial services generally or the specific burial services we provide that remain unresolved, please call us at 708-532-5400.

1. What costs are involved when interring someone in a cemetery?
 
2. Must my loved one be embalmed in order to be buried?
 
3. What is the cost of a casket?
 
4. What is a burial vault and why must I purchase one?
 
5. What does a cemetery burial involve?
 
6. Must I purchase a headstone or grave marker?
 
7. Where can I purchase a headstone or grave marker?
 
8. What is "direct burial"?
 
9. Is direct burial appropriate for our circumstances?
 
10. What services do you provide if I choose direct burial?
 
11. What is a graveside service?
 
12. What “extra” fees or charges can I expect?
 
13. When is payment due?
 
14. Who writes my loved one’s obituary?
 
15. Should we ask for memorial donations rather than request flowers?
 

Question #1What costs are involved when interring someone in a cemetery?
Answer:First you must pay for the “right to use” the burial plot. In contrast to buying real estate, where you own the land and its existing structures, when purchasing cemetery property you only receive interment rights to the land. Additionally, there are cemetery fees to open and close the grave, to get the required permits and to upkeep cemetery records and files. Also, you will be charged for the utilization of any special equipment, such as the use of a device that lowers the casket. There is the expense of headstone or marker installation, and a single payment for “perpetual care,” also known as “endowment care,” to provide for the maintenance of your deceased’s burial site. There are costs for any added merchandise or services.

Question #2Must my loved one be embalmed in order to be buried?  
Answer:Frequently a funeral home will suggest, and in some cases insist, that your departed be embalmed if a visitation or viewing is to be held. The reasoning behind this is that they want to ensure the best possible experience for attendees and a properly executed embalming can greatly improve the presentation of the deceased. Generally, however, embalming is unnecessary and not legally required if the loved one is tended to in a relatively short period of time. Please get in touch with us to learn about specific local and state requirements.

Question #3What is the cost of a casket?
Answer:The average cost of a casket is approximately $2, 000, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Please discuss any concerns about casket costs with your funeral director. He or she can give you advice as to the best casket for your budget and circumstances.

Question #4What is a burial vault and why must I purchase one?
Answer:Contemporary cemeteries have grounds that are well-maintained with enormous areas of green grass. This idyllic view is protected by the use of burial vaults, which avoids any signs of the burial plots settling. The vault also works to protect the casket, but primarily it serves to preserve the scenic value of the cemetery.

Question #5What does a cemetery burial involve?
Answer:Unless your loved one already made plans for their burial, you will need to pick a cemetery and burial plot. You will also need to choose the most appropriate casket and burial vault, and give us the clothing that you want your loved one to wear along with any special objects or mementos you want placed in the casket. After you make the payment, the date and time of the burial is decided. At that point, the grounds keepers of the cemetery will open and close the grave, seeing to the correct placement of the casket in the burial vault.

Question #6Must I purchase a headstone or grave marker?
Answer:Until a permanent headstone or marker is installed, the cemetery will place a temporary identification marker on your loved one’s grave. If you do not arrange for the placement of a permanent headstone or marker, the temporary marker will likely become impossible to read or will be removed somehow, causing the burial site to appear unmarked.

Question #7Where can I purchase a headstone or grave marker?
Answer:Both our firm and the cemetery you select have strong professional relationships with respectable monument companies. When you are prepared to order a granite headstone or a bronze grave marker, we will work together to oversee its selection, creation and installation. Your funeral director can provide you with further details.

Question #8What is "direct burial"?
Answer:Having a direct burial accelerates the timeframe in which your loved one is interred. This service excludes a funeral, memorial ceremony or celebration-of-life. We care for the remains, including dressing and casketing, and possibly embalming, then transport the casket to the cemetery to be buried immediately.

Question #9Is direct burial appropriate for our circumstances?
Answer:It is difficult to respond to that question without speaking to you first. If there are few mourners or if your deceased wished for a simple interment, direct burial will serve you well. It is accomplished quickly and in a professional manner, without any ceremony. Please speak with one of our funeral professionals to decide if a direct burial is the right choice for you.

Question #10What services do you provide if I choose direct burial?
Answer:The funeral director will fill out and file the death certificate, get signatures on all necessary permits or authorizations, assist you in choosing a cemetery to use for the interment and help you to pick a casket and burial vault. Your funeral director will also manage the physical care of the deceased’s remains: he or she will dress your loved one in the clothes you provide or buy from us, your departed will be casketed and then taken to the cemetery for immediate burial. Your funeral director witnesses the burial and furnishes you with duplicates of all needed documents.

Question #11What is a graveside service?
Answer:Some families decide to come together only at the cemetery instead of having a service in the funeral home chapel or a place of religious worship. At the burial site, a clergy person or celebrant leads them through a ceremony and they witness the committal of their loved one’s casket to the earth. Please consult with one of our funeral directors if you are interested in a graveside service.

Question #12What “extra” fees or charges can I expect?
Answer:There are purchases needed from outside vendors. These will be discussed and paid for during the arrangement conference with your funeral director. A common fee that is assessed is the one charged by a newspaper to publish your deceased’s obituary. Other cash advance items and services include clergy fees, money paid to compensate musicians, funeral flowers and repast necessities such as food and the rental of facilities. Your funeral director will give you an itemized billing for all cash advance items.

Question #13When is payment due?
Answer:This is mostly dependent on the merchandise, services and cemetery that you choose. Your funeral director will inform you of all your payment options.

Question #14Who writes my loved one’s obituary?
Answer:It can be written by the person of your choice. This can be a family member, friend or yourself. Your funeral director has experience writing obituaries, so perhaps you will ask him or her to compose one about your departed.

Question #15Should we ask for memorial donations rather than request flowers?
Answer:The answer depends on your desires and your loved one’s wishes. You may ask for mourners to make donations, send flowers or to do both.