What Is Direct Cremation?

If a close relative dies unexpectedly and left wishes to be cremated, you will need to contact a funeral home that offers cremation services. When you do this, they may ask you if you would like direct cremation. If you are not sure what this is, here are several important things you should understand before you agree to it.

The cremation happens right away

With direct cremation, the funeral home or crematory that is handling the cremation will typically pick up the body and will then cremate it. The family of this person will generally not get to see the body or pay their last respects to him or her. The body is instantly cremated, and the family receives the ashes in an urn.

There is usually no service

In most cases of direct cremation, there are no services held for the person who passed away. If there are, though, it will often happen at a later point in time. If you want funeral services for your loved one after direct cremation, you could choose to have a service, but you will not be able to have the body there for people to see.

If you want to plan a service or a memorial event for your loved one, you are free to do so, but you should not feel rushed to host it right away. After the cremation occurs, you could plan it for anytime in the future. This is actually a great way to handle a death in the family when most of the family members live far away. You could simply wait a few weeks to host the memorial service, and this would eliminate the need for everyone to have to rush to get to your town.

This is the most affordable type of cremation

A lot of people that choose direct cremation do so because it is affordable. With direct cremation, you do not need to host a service at a funeral home and you do not need to pay for the body to be prepared for the showing. You can also eliminate costs of a casket and a lot of other funeral-related costs. People who choose this type of cremation generally do so to save money, but people also choose this type of cremation to fulfill the wishes of their loved one that passed away.

If you need more information about the types of cremation you can choose, contact a funeral home that offers cremation services, such as Morris Nilsen Funeral Chapel.

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