Regardless of whether you use a Dignity Memorial cemetery provider, it’s important to select cemetery property that is right for you and your loved ones. Whether your choice is burial or cremation, permanent memorialization of your life and legacy is a lasting heritage for your descendants.  
 
A common misconception that people often have when they purchase the right of interment in a cemetery is that they have purchased the land itself, when in fact what they have really purchased is the right to be interred (also referred to as buried, entombed, enniched or placed) on or in that particular piece of property.

Burial
Most people are familiar with the concept of burial, or “interment,” but may not be aware of the variety of options that are often available. Many cemeteries offer one or more of the following:

• Ground Burial: burial of the casket below ground. A “vault” or “outer burial container” is required at many cemeteries.
  
• Mausoleum, or Community Mausoleum: a large building that provides above-ground entombments
  
• Private Family Mausoleum: a small structure that provides above-ground entombment of, on average, two to 12 decedents
• Companion Crypt: permits two interments or entombments side-by-side
• Private Family Estate: a small section of a cemetery, usually bordered by gates, shrubbery, or other dividers, that allow for ground burial of several members of the same family

Cremation
Many people overlook the importance of cemetery property for those who choose cremation, but permanent placement, or “final disposition,” of the ashes  or “cremated remains” is an important part of final arrangements. Just consider:

• A permanent site gives loved ones a physical place for visitation and reflection.
• The ceremony accompanying the placement of an urn in a cremation niche or a cremation garden in a cemetery provides family and friends with closure after the loss of a loved one
• When ashes of a loved one are kept with relatives, they can easily become misplaced or discarded through the years, as future generations may not feel a connection to the deceased
• A permanent placement provides future generations with a location to visit when researching heritage

Some common methods of final disposition of cremated remains are:

• Cremation Niche: an above-ground space to accommodate a cremation urn
• Columbarium: Often located within a mausoleum or chapel and constructed of numerous niches designed to hold urns
• Cremation Garden: a dedicated section of a cemetery designed for the burial, scattering or other permanent placement of ashes
• Memorial Benches: benches that either simply memorialize a loved one scattered or buried in a cremation garden, or actually contain the remains within

Headstones
Some cemeteries allow upright headstones, called “monuments,” to be used with ground burials. Headstones that are flat against the ground are called “markers.” In some cemeteries, or sections of cemeteries, only flat markers are used to preserve the natural appearance of the landscape.

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