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"I am leaving soon for the Nightland, where all the ghosts of men and animals yearn to travel. We're called to it. I feel it pulling at me, same as everyone else. It is the last unmapped country..."
CHARLES FRAZIER |
Ten Simple Facts About Cremation
DETAILS ON URNS &
SCATTERING ASHES
CLICK HERE
1. By law, a deceased person must be cremated, buried or entombed. Details.
2. Cremation reduces
a body to its basic elements, the cremated remains or 'ashes'. Details
3. Virtually all cremations are performed by a licenced funeral provider. Details.
4. The funeral provider transfers the deceased from the place of death, shelters the body, and delivers it to the crematorium. Once the funeral provider transfers the body, there is no further legal requirement for you to view or otherwise confirm the identity of the deceased. Details.
5. By law,
embalming is not required. (There
are exceptions. If the body is to be shipped and is not expected at its
destination within 72 hours, embalming is legally required. If you request
a viewing, most funeral providers insist on embalming or, at a minimum,
disinfecting the body for reasons of hygiene.)
6. Prices for cremation and other funeral services are not regulated and vary. Details. The least expensive choice of cremation is called 'Immediate Disposition'. It is cremation without a service.
Funeral providers are required by law to display a current price list of services and cremation fees. They also are required to have a brochure illustrating all products for sale. (It is expected that you will inquire about price and find a comfort zone about the costs and other details.)
8. More than 70% of British Columbians choose cremation. About half of them choose cremation without a funeral or memorial service. About 30% choose a traditional funeral or personally created ceremony with burial.
British Columbia and California lead North America in the choice of cremations. Not including the West Coast, it's estimated about one third of North Americans choose cremations.
WHAT
TO WATCH FOR WHEN PRE-PLANNING A CREMATION, CLICK HERE.
9. You have several choices about the 'ashes', including the purchase of an urn, memorializing the cremated remains in a columbarium (an urn wall), burying the ashes in a cemetery, scattering the ashes in a designated scattering garden, or scattering the remains in a private location (with permission). Details.
10. As a consumer in B.C., if you have a complaint, you can seek redress with the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority of British Columbia http://www.bpcpa.ca/. Under certain conditions, you also have 24 hours in which to cancel the contract with your funeral provider without penalty (subject to payment for services provided before cancellation, such as the transfer of the body and whatever documentation or other services have been completed.) Details
