Iwan Gabovitch via Flickr on Earth Day

For those seniors who are a little more in tune with the environment there is an emerging ‘green burial’ movement. The interesting thing about the green burial movement is the variety of options offered. Most can be classified into two major categories: cremation and whole-body burial. From there many of the choices have to do with where your remains will be placed. Whatever your senior decides, or you decide for yourself, make sure that your wishes are known. Be sure to document your desires on paper, and so that it is legally binding, consider consulting an attorney.

Cremation

Surprisingly, when all things are considered, cremation is one of the greenest options available. Cremation is a process that quickly reduces the body to its elements. The energy needed for a cremation is largely offset by the equipment and labor that is needed for a grave, or a mausoleum. Shipping cremated remains has a smaller carbon footprint than does shipping a body. And modern cremation is done with scrubbers to keep air pollution to a minimum. Check with the crematorium about their equipment. Also, an ‘immediate cremation’, one without a casket or viewing, is generally the most affordable method of preparing the deceased.

Cremation is considered final disposition in just about every state, and thus a cemetery plot is not necessary. Ashes can be shared among friends and family, and scattered in a place that was important to the deceased, or put in ‘scattering gardens’ at your church. Eternal Reefs provides an alternative resting place for someone’s ashes. They mix the ashes with an eco-friendly concrete, forming a ‘reef ball.’ The balls are placed on the seabed, creating structures that attract marine species.

Whole-Body Burial

There are also a number of options for whole-body burial as well. Much of the focus for green burial is avoiding the chemicals that embalming puts in the body and thus the ground. Where toxic formaldehyde and mercuric chloride are used in the typical burial process, with green burial the body is refrigerated, or kept in dry ice, prior to the funeral. Then the body is placed in a cotton or hemp shroud before placing it into the grave. Biodegradable pine, cardboard, or wicker box, is used without a concrete burial vault.

As with cremation, location plays a factor here too. Funeral homes and cemeteries are offering green options. The Green Burial Council has a regional locator to help you find someone near you that offers these services. Some burial services have conservation areas where remains can be buried within land that is cared for in an environmentally friendly way.

If you’re truly serious about going out as green as possible, consider the rest of the arrangements surrounding your funeral. Some recommend that you ask that friends and relatives limit their travel for the funeral. Grist recommends, “Everything from using recycled paper plates to insisting on local wines and microbrews…”, and, “Just be sure to stress simple ideas and make sure to spell out how important it is to you.”

Helpful Links

There are a lot of Green Burial resources. Here are some of the better ones:

• How to green your funeral
• Environmentally Friendly Death and Funeral Choices
• Green Burial Council
• Natural Burial Company
• The Green Funeral Site
• Memorial Ecosystems
• Forever Fernwood

Related SHF Links

• Pre Paid Funerals: Weigh Your Options Carefully
• Arlington National Cemetery Eligibility Requirements
• Plan a Funeral for $800 or Less
• Funeral Resources: Whether You Need Them Now, or Not

Flickr by markhillary

A USA Today article by Christine Dugas reports, “to many people, the idea of prepaying for a funeral makes a lot of sense. It can remove a big financial burden from your loved ones, make a stressful time easier for them, and ensure that you will get the kind of funeral you want.”

However, there is a considerable amount of research out there that points out the many pros and cons of prepaying for your funeral.  It is imperative that you weigh these items carefully.  Every situation is unique.  It may also make sense to speak to a certified financial planner and/or elder law attorney in your state to determine whether it makes sense for you to do so. They will be able to take state laws, your financial picture, and a host of other factors into consideration.

The USA Today article by Dugas provides consumers with a list of factors to take into consideration when determining whether they want to go ahead and prepay their funeral. Some are as follows:

1. Consider prearranging your funeral without paying for it in advance.
2. Check state regulations on prepaid funerals. The federal government does not regulate prepaid funerals.
3. Make sure you know exactly what you are buying and the terms of the agreement(s). (e.g., What is included in the plan? Can you get a refund if you change your mind? Is the plan portable if you move?)

Visit the USA Today website for the complete article and a thorough analysis of the tips outlined above.

The State of New York provides readers with a great document, entitled, “Before Prepaying Your Funeral, Know Your Rights.“  This document will also likely address many questions/issues that you had not anticipated.  Please keep in mind that any regulatory information found in the article may differ if you live in a state other than New York.

In honor of my father’s birthday, I thought it would be a nice idea to share the eligibility requirements with you for burial at Arlington.  The requirements I list here are very high-level.  Please visit the official Arlington National Cemetery website for a complete list of the detailed eligibility requirements for burial there.   

High-level requirements are as follows: 

Active duty members of the Armed Forces (except if serving on active duty for training only.)

A veteran retired from active military service with the Armed Forces

A veteran retired from the Reserves, drawing retired pay, and who served on active duty (60 years of age or over)

Former members of the Armed Forces who were separated for medical reasons prior to October 1, 1949 (30% or greater disability)

A member of the Armed Forces who was rewarded any of the following: the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Flying Cross (Navy Cross or Air Force Cross), the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star or Purple Heart

President of the United States or a former President of the United States.

Former member of the Armed Forces on active duty who held:  Elective office of the U.S. Government,  Chief Just of the U.S. or of an Assoc. Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, an office listed in 5 USC 5313 or 5313, the chief of a mission classified under provisions of Section 411, Act of 13 August 1946

Prisoner of war who served honorably in active military, naval or air service and who died on or after November 30, 1993.

The spouse, widow, or widower, minor child, or permanently dependent child and certain unmarried adult children of any of the above eligible veterans.

A widow or widower of: a member of the Armed Forces lost/buried at see or missing in action, member of the Armed Forces interred in an overseas US military cemetery maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission.

Surviving spouse, minor child or permanently dependent child of any person already buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Parents of a minor child or permanently disabled dependent child of a person already buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Former member of the Armed Forces may be buried in the same grave as a close relative already buried and is the primary eligible

Robert Lawton via Wikimedia Commons

Perhaps I’m not particularly sentimental, but after the medical community is done with my body, I want to be cremated and have my ashes thrown in the eyes of my enemy. And like so many others, my end-of-life plans remain incomplete. I still have yet to write the list of enemies.

If you, or your loved ones, won’t do without a ceremony, it’s not necessary that they spend thousands for it, though that’s what could happen if you leave it up to the funeral industry.

According to an article on MSN Money:

The average funeral in the United States costs $6,500, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. The true sum can easily reach $10,000 once a burial plot, flowers and other costs are included, the AARP says.

Some suggestions that they give include considering direct cremation (without a funeral service or viewing), or selecting a simple casket, or even direct burial–the deceased person is interred quickly, without a public viewing or any of embalming, cosmetology, or funeral services.

For more on a Funeral for $800 or Less

I can assure you that, while death and dying may be routine for some, it’s the last thing on most of our minds. For that reason, funeral arrangements are a last minute affair. Advice often comes from funeral directors–those who are most likely to benefit from your money. While most directors are likely honest members of the community, it’s good to have an objective perspective to consider.

It may be tempting to liken the Funeral Consumers Alliance as a Consumer Reports of the Funerals, but we won’t. We’ll leave the analogies up to you. What they are is an organization that is focused on encouraging ethical behavior in the funeral business and informing the public on the available end-of-life options.

There are a lot of great resources on their site, like a page on common funeral myths like, “embalming is required by law” and “it is a good idea to prepay for a funeral, to lock in prices”.

They have a good number of PDF documents that you can download and print. There are areas on legal rights, links to web resources and one of our favorites, local FCA chapters.

Since it’s probably safe to assume that you’re reading this because someone who was close to you has just died, (I suppose that you could have subscribed to our email list) then you should check out their site. If you’re fortunate enough to not have had a recent death in the family, you should still visit their site long enough to absorb some good facts about funerals for when you need it.