Throughout the history of the human race we have chosen to bury our dead. There have been wide variations of this due to different religious beliefs but generally, the deceased is placed in a coffin or casket then buried in a grave within a cemetery plot and finally furnished with a monument of some kind. Conventionally the monument is inscribed with the names of persons buried the grave can be visited regularly if desired and if the need should arise re-opened to allow other members of the family to be laid to rest there. Modern graves are dug to hold between one or four persons. Remember that while you may hold a deed for the grave, you DO NOT own it. You only purchase the right to inter deceased persons within it for a set period of years each time the grave is opened a fee will be charged by the cemetery. You will pay a set fee for a new grave then an internment fee on each occasion it is opened, you will also incur extra fees for a headstone and the inscriptions upon it. New grave prices vary considerably in different parts of the country but on average total burial fees for a new grave will exceed £1200.00 If your family already has a grave and can produce the title deed, the grave owner or next of kin if it is the grave owner who has died must sign all relevant forms necessary for this to take place. Costs will be significantly lower as you will only pay for re-opening of the grave and an inscription if desired afterwards. The other important factor to consider here is where will the funeral service take place?

Cremation has become the preferred option largely because it is cheaper than burial but also because it is simple, hygenic and generally there are few implications to be had at a future date. With cremation, some people cannot decide on what will be done with the deceased ashes afterwards. It is not uncommon to find accumalated boxes of ashes on shelves in funeral directors premises that have never been collected. The bonuses of cremation are being able to have the funeral service and the commital in one place then also having the option to have the ashes scattered on a garden of rememberance, most crematoriums allow for plaques or rose bushes to be planted in memory of the deceased afterwards, but, these are usually subject to a renewal fee once every five years or so. The cost of cremation does not normally exceed £350-£400.00 The choice you make is vitally important as you are the one who will look back on your decision hopefully you will know you made the right one. In the years that follow the funeral, you can usually sit in the crematorium garden in peace and just reflect on your memories the drawback here is not being able to leave flowers as with a grave. You have the opportunity to enter the deceased name in a book of rememberance then as each year passes you can then view the entry on the anniversary of the death and feel comfort seeing their name endorsed within its pages.