Funeral and cremation guides
- What to Do When a Loved One Passes Away: The First 24 Hours
A calm, step-by-step guide for the first hours and days after a death at home, in hospice, or in a hospital.
- How Much Does a Funeral Cost in the US?
National median funeral costs, what is and is not included, and practical ways to keep costs in check.
- How Much Does Cremation Cost? Direct Cremation vs Full Service
Price ranges for direct cremation and cremation with a service, plus what drives the difference.
- What Is Direct Cremation and Is It Right for You?
How direct cremation works, what it includes, timeline, and the questions to ask providers.
- Funeral Pre-Planning: Should You Plan Ahead or Prepay?
Pre-planning and prepaying are different. What each means, the risks, and a short planning checklist.
- Veterans Funeral and Burial Benefits
Burial in a VA national cemetery, headstones, flags, and honors available to eligible veterans and some family members.
- Help Paying for a Funeral: Assistance Options
Insurance, Social Security, veterans benefits, county programs and other ways to cover funeral costs.
- Cremation vs Burial: Cost, Timing and Meaning
A side-by-side comparison to help families choose between cremation and burial.
- How to Choose a Funeral Home or Cremation Provider
Questions to ask, red flags to avoid, and your rights under the FTC Funeral Rule.
- How to Write an Obituary (With a Simple Template)
A clear structure for writing an obituary, with what to include and what to leave out.
- What to Do With Cremation Ashes: Options and Rules
Keeping, scattering, burying or memorializing ashes, and what permission you may need.
- Green Burial and Water Cremation Explained
What green burial and alkaline hydrolysis (water cremation) are, and how to find out if they are available near you.
- Body Donation: How Whole-Body Donation Works
What whole-body donation involves, why acceptance is not guaranteed, and what to plan as a backup.
- What to Say at a Funeral or to Someone Who Is Grieving
Simple, sincere words for sympathy cards, funerals and follow-up, plus what to avoid.