What is Final Disposition?

What is final disposition, and what does it have to do with funeral homes in Lewisburg, PA?

Final disposition is a legal term referring to what happens to a body after death. The most common disposition methods are burial, cremation, and interment, but there are many other ways of “disposing” of remains after death, such as:

• Lawn Crypt Entombment – A lawn crypt is a vault that is partially underground and holds one or more caskets, usually a family or husband and wife pair. They generally have a few steps down to enter and can often be completely covered with grass.
• Cremation With Inurnment – You can place cremated remains inside cremation urns and then house the urn inside a, above-ground permanent resting place called a columbarium. The columbarium houses urns in niches that are either in a freestanding structure on the cemetery grounds or an outdoor wall with niches that you can visit anytime.
• Ground Burial at a Cemetery – Ground burial at a cemetery is the most traditional disposition method in the United States. In this method, the body is kept intact, generally embalmed, placed in a casket, and then buried in a cemetery. While there are many options available for cemetery burial, cemeteries are becoming crowded.
• Alternative Methods – There are many nontraditional final disposition methods available, from water cremation and body donation to body preservation and more.
• Cremation And Keeping the Ashes at Home – As the name suggests, this final disposition method is quite simple: housing the cremated remains in an urn in your home, whether on display or somewhere private.
• Natural Burial – A natural burial is similar to ground burial except that the body is not embalmed or placed in a traditional casket. Instead, the body is placed in the earth with a few simple wrappings to ease natural biodegradation. The whole point of natural burial is to return the body to the earth in a simple, clean way.
• Cremation With Ash Burial – In a cremation with ash burial, the body is cremated and the cremated remains, or ashes, are placed in a cremation urn. The cremation urn is then buried in a cemetery plot inside a cremation urn vault to protect the cemetery grounds.
• Above-Ground Burial in a Mausoleum – Above-ground burial in a mausoleum is when the body is entombed above the ground in some kind of crypt or sarcophagus. These above-ground burial types are rarer than most other final disposition options, due to limited space and far greater cost.
• Cremation With Scattering – If you don’t want to bury or house cremated remains, you can also scatter them. The most traditional scattering method is scattering the ashes in a body of water such as a river, lake, or ocean. You can also scatter the ashes in a location special to you or the deceased, such as a favorite park or landmark. Planning a funeral. Services vary in cost depending on location.

We are here to help if you want to learn more about final disposition or Lewisburg, PA funeral homes. Call or visit us today for more information on our services or what we can do for you in your time of loss or preplanning.