Cremation
Planning a funeral service and cremation can be a difficult process for families who have just lost a loved one. A common misconception is that there cannot be a traditional funeral service or visitation when choosing cremation. This is not the case and we encourage you to consider holding a funeral service that will help with the grieving process and celebrate the life of your loved one. We offer a variety of cremation services to meet each individual’s unique needs, from a simple cremation to a beautifully personalized funeral service.
What is Cremation?
Cremation dates back to ancient times and remains a popular choice of final disposition for a variety of personal, religious and environmental reasons.
Cremation offers great flexibility with regard to planning a service. There are many options for customizing a service for family members. There are also many options with regard to personalization of cremation urns, memorial or cremation jewelry, and thumbprint keepsakes.
The cremation process requires a casket or an alternative cremation container. Cremated remains are then placed in the chosen urn and made available for you to keep, have placed in a niche or columbarium, scatter or bury.
Traditional Service with Cremation
A choice can be made of a traditional funeral service with cremation as the final disposition, rather than ground burial. This option allows the family to blend both traditional and special wishes together to provide an even more personalized celebration of life. For example, there may be a traditional visitation with a viewing, and during the funeral, a purchased or rental casket may be present at the service. Following the funeral, your loved one is cremated with the casket or special cremation container. Then arrangements for final placement of the cremated remains are determined by you.
Cremation with Memorial Service
A memorial service can be held before or after the cremation occurs. This type of service allows family and friends to gather at places of worship, cemeteries, homes, and other locations. If your family wishes to have either a private viewing or a formal visitation with your loved one present, we will assist you with these arrangements before the cremation takes place.
Cremation Disposition
After the cremation and funeral service, there are many choices for your loved one’s final disposition:
- Interment means that you'll bury or entomb your loved one's cremated remains. This can be in a family plot, a memorial site, a cremation niche or urn garden, or in a variety of other indoor and outdoor locations.
- Graveside services are similar to those celebrated alongside a traditional ground burial, in which loved ones are present at the burial of the cremated remains and honor the deceased through memorial prayers or other meaningful tributes.
- Scattering allows you to spread your loved one's cremated remains in a memorial garden, a cemetery, over water, or across any other meaningful site. You also can choose to scatter some of the cremated remains and retain the rest in an urn for interment or another form of disposition.
- Placing cremated remains in multiple urns allows family members who are separated by distance to each feel the comfort of having their loved one's final resting place in a nearby location. Our assistance with this process is available to you.
Laws Regarding Cremation Authorization
You may sign a pre-authorization form for your own cremation during advanced planning. We will be glad to provide you with the necessary form.
Please note: A person designated as a “Power of Attorney” is not authorized to sign for cremation of another. Power of Attorney is null and void upon death.
(A) In the following order of priority these persons may serve as a decedent's agent and in the absence of a preneed cremation authorization may authorize cremation of the decedent:
(1) the person designated as agent for this purpose by the decedent in a will or other verified and attested document, or a person named in the decedent's United States Department of Defense Record of Emergency Data Form (DD Form 93), or its successor form, if the decedent died while serving in any branch of the United States Armed Services, as defined in 10 U.S.C. Section 1481, and there is no known designation in a will or other verified and attested document of the decedent;
(2) the spouse of the decedent, unless the spouse and the decedent are separated pursuant to one of the following:
(a) entry of a pendente lite order in a divorce or separate maintenance action;
(b) formal signing of a written property or marital settlement agreement;
(c) entry of a permanent order of separate maintenance and support or of a permanent order approving a property or marital settlement agreement between the spouse and the decedent;
(3) the decedent's surviving adult children;
(4) the decedent's surviving parents;
(5) adult siblings of the decedent;
(6) the adult grandchildren of the decedent;
(7) the grandparents of the decedent
(8) the person appointed by the probate court as the guardian; and
(9) any other person authorized or under obligation by law.
(B) If there is more than one member of a class listed in subsection (A)(1), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), or (9) entitled to authorize the cremation of the decedent, the authorization to cremate may be made by a member of the class unless the member knows of an objection by another member within the class. If an objection is known, the authorization to cremate only may be made by a majority of the members of the class who are reasonably available.
(C) A person may not execute an authorization to cremate if a person in a prior class is reasonably available to make or object to the execution of the authorization to cremate the decedent.
(D) In the absence of a person serving as a decedent's agent pursuant to subsection (A), the following may serve as an agent and may authorize a decedent's cremation:
(1) a person serving as executor or legal representative of the decedent's estate;
(2) a public administrator, medical examiner, coroner, state appointed guardian, or other public official charged with arranging the final disposition of the decedent if the decedent is indigent or if the final disposition is the responsibility of the State or an instrumentality of the State; or
(3) the adult who exhibited special care and concern for the decedent.
(E) If a dispute arises among persons of equal priority, as provided for in subsection (A), concerning the cremation of a decedent, the matter must be resolved by order of the probate court.
We will gladly assist you in making sure your decisions and the selected services are handled efficiently and effectively. Contact us at 843-756-7001 to plan your customized service in advance.
Payment Options
We offer multiple payment options to help lessen the financial burden on your family during this difficult time. Talk to a member of our staff if you have any questions or need more information.
- We accept payments via most major credit cards — Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
- We offer crowdfunding for funeral services, memorial funds, and more. With all the features of other major crowdfunding sites and less fees, crowdfunding on our website is a great option for your family. Talk to a member of our staff to start a crowdfunding campaign today.
- If your loved one has a life insurance policy you want to use for funeral expenses, talk to us. We will assist you with the paperwork.
