I have been told that if you choose to be cremated, that you must still purchase a casket to be cremated in?

Does anyone know if this is true or not?

If it's true, does anyone know the reason why?

Yes it's true, my niece and granfather were cremated. I think they do it so the family can have a showing and besides i'm sure it would make a mess in the crematorium if the body wasn't contained.

two words...living will...if you get it in writing and it is signed by a notary, you can have your ashes interred in a bemon.

your actual mileage may vary, subject to the ordinances of your city, county, state, or province...but at least you have a say.

This is not true. My Dad is an undertaker, and his Dad was as well. You only have to purchase a casket if you choose to have a viewing before you are cremated. Although, it's becoming more popular to "rent" the casket for the viewing only and then be cremated. You do have to purchase an urn for the ashes.

There's some interesting burial rules that happens in New Orleans... because the city is basically below sea level, bodies must be "buried" above ground in crypts. But because surface area is at a premium, they shove a casket into a crypt for a year and one day... after that, they re-open the crypt, and shake out the remains from the casket onto the floor (due to the heat in Louisiana, the crypt acts like a crematorium over the course of the year), and they put in the next casket.

On my last visit there, we saw a dumpster with a ton of old caskets in it to be hauled away...

I think you're right Hank.

Not sure if the policies change per state but in Washington you're right and this was the case. My grandfather was cremated and my grandmother and parents were concerned about how the ashes were to be presented. They didn't have to buy a casket because he chose not to be buried and didn't care about any ceremony or viewing.

So they ended up purchasing and engraved golden box as his remains.

My father, for example, wants to be cremated but also wants to purchase a casket and be buried. So that we can visit him after he dies.

Yeah I know policies change a little state by state but I'm almost 100% sure this is the case for every state. I know there are PLENTY of dishonest funeral parlors that take advantage of families. It's really sickening to see that happen but I'm always hearing stories about it since my dad is in the business.

My dad was cremated but we didn't need to buy a casket. I think only if you want a showing you have to, I didn't know they rented them.

Since my dad was a war vet, though, it ended up being REALLY cheap and also the casket we bought was later donated to the body of a vet w/o a family. But we never HAD to buy one, only if we wanted a showing.

I wish you could have anything you wanted done with your body after you died. I'd have my skin made into a leather suit and if I had kids one of the stipulations of their inheritance would be that they have to wear it every year on my birthday, it would be my birthday suit. I'd also want to donate my meaty parts to some exotic culinary club, they'd be stoked.

I like the Bemon idea to Scotty, I told my girlfriend to put my ashes in my HP Bemon if I died. We put my girlfriend's cat's ashes into a lucky cat that PK painted to look like her, it's pretty awesome.

PAGING CHAD HENSLEY! MR HENSLEY PLEASE GET A PHOTO OF THIS!

+1

Not true everywhere. A friend of mine came back in a cardboard box; he was then lovingly transferred into his final resting container that was made of of Lego blocks. (Glued together for permanence.)

I can't say either way about the length of time the dead are left in the crypts, but I certainly can agree with the last part of seeing a slew of caskets in dumpsters while I was there, pre-hurricane. I took some snaps of it, but I would really have to look for them. Saw no remains, but A LOT of caskets. Or what was left of them.

Glad I'm not the only one who wants his ashes in a Bemon.

Adding another to the 'Not true' group. My father was cremated and I did not buy a casket.