Your funeral director can guide you through the wide range of decisions that have to be made. Those decisions include choosing a casket, a vault and or an urn; choosing the type of service and who will preside, as well as choosing a method for people to express their sympathy, such as flowers or donations the deceased's favorite charities.

Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing the body to bone fragments through the application of intense heat. This usually takes from two to three hours and occurs in a special type of furnace, known as a cremation chamber or retort. The remaining fragments are then processed into a finer substance and placed in a temporary container. Before the remains are returned to the family, they are usually transferred to an urn for permanent containment. Many people believe that at the time of death only two basic choices exist: immediate cremation of the body or a complete funeral including viewing, followed by burial. In fact, several options are available in between for those who prefer cremation. Cremation and burial are both defined as methods of caring for the body and, as such, are just one part of a funeral.

Just like burial, cremation can occur after a funeral where the casket is present at one's place of worship or a funeral chapel. Likewise, cremation can occur after a memorial service. The urn may be present for the memorial service, depending on the family's wishes.

As with burials, the funeral may be preceded by a period of visitation or a reception at the funeral home or mortuary. During this time and before the service, the casket may be open or closed, according to the preferences of the survivors. Instead of a public visitation, some families opt to receive friends at their residence or other location, which is another matter of personal choice. After cremation, a public or private service may be arranged for the final placement of the cremated remains.