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Green funerals – Make your last act a “green” one.

Just as people have become more environmentally conscious and have focused on living “green”, many are thinking about a last green act – a green funeral. This is one where the end-of-life ritual does as little harm to the environment as possible.

It can include such simple things as reducing carbon emissions by carpooling to the funeral, encouraging charitable donations instead of cut flowers and selecting a funeral home that has energy efficient methods, recycles and is energy conscious.

Burial can be in a traditional or a green cemetery. If you choose to have a greener burial in a conventional cemetery, you can do so by opting to use a shroud and a simple, biodegradable casket. An eco-friendly casket is usually made of bamboo, sea grass or willow. It can also be made of heavy cardboard or a soft wood such as pine.

May conventional cemeteries require either a vault or a grave liner but there are some conventional cemeteries that are beginning to allow vault-less burial. A compromise is the liner with no bottom, which allows the body or casket to rest directly in the earth.

In a green cemetery, trees or shrubbery is often planted in place of headstones or other traditional markers. This creates a living memorial instead of a “dead” one. A green cemetery is basically a nature preserve that has trails to walk through. There used to be very few of these green cemeteries but the number is growing.

If burial is in a conventional cemetery, choose the smallest headstone allowed and try to find a monument builder who uses indigenous stone to reduce the carbon footprint of production and transportation.

Full body sea burial can also be made greener by not embalming it but merely wrapping the body in a shroud.

If you prefer cremation, there are biodegradable urns that can be used for ground or water burial. They are often made from sustainable, recyclable materials such as Himalayan rock salt and handmade paper. These urns degrade in a matter of days once they are placed in the earth or the sea.

For more information about green funerals, there’s a video from KQED that might be of interest. You can also check out the information from the Green Burial Council.

Have you planned your funeral in advance so your wishes can be followed?

Some famous people have had unusual wishes but, because others knew what they wanted, they were carried out.

Hunter S. Thompson, an American journalist who died in 2005, wanted to be cremated and then shot out of a canon. A 150 foot high canon was constructed and his ashes were blasted out of it while friends sipped bourbon and watched.

Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, died in 1991. He requested that his ashes be placed on a shuttle and sent into space. Some of his ashes circled the earth 160 times on the shuttle Columbia in 1992. Earlier this year his wife Majel died and plans were made to send her ashes into space along with more of his.

Liberace was very flamboyant in life and was the same when he died in 1987. Per his request, he was buried in a gold coffin, wearing wig, a white tuxedo and full makeup.

What you want to happen to your body after you die and the kind of rites you want may be very important to you. If they are, make sure you document them and discuss them with close family members. Your wishes may not be as bizarre as Hunter Thompson’s, Gene Roddenberry’s or Liberace’s but, whatever they are, they need to be clarified before you die or you may not have the send off you want.

For more information about planning a funeral, go to www.diesmart.com.

Don’t Pay an Inheritance Tax on Your Own Money!

If you live in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey or Pennsylvania beware. These states tax your inheritance, no matter what the amount is.

Barry and Susan Brown of Philadelphia, PA learned this the hard way. Because they were getting older, they decided to add their son’s name to their bank accounts. They decided this would be the easiest way to enable him to access their funds in case of a health emergency.
Unfortunately, their son died before they did. Shortly thereafter, they received a tax bill for several thousand dollars. Why? Under Pennsylvania law, one third of the money in their accounts was considered to be their son’s. Since, according to the law, they had inherited it, they owed 4.5 percent as tax. Their son had none of his own money in the accounts, but that didn’t matter. They had to pay the tax.

This problem could have very easily been avoided. Instead of putting their son’s name on their bank accounts, they should have prepared a financial power of attorney document. In this document, they could have given their son the right to access their money and make financial decisions on their behalf when they were unable to do so. This method would have allowed them to keep all of their money instead of giving some of it away to the government needlessly.

For helpful information about how to plan for incapacity and death, go to www.diesmart.com.

How about a QR barcode for a love one’s tombstone?

Traditionally, the deceased have been buried in a grave which is marked by a lifeless granite tombstone. The tombstone conveys just basic information – the name of the person and his or her years of life. Sometimes it also includes a short phrase about the person, such as “beloved parent” or “lived life to the fullest”.

If you’ve ever walked around a cemetery, you’ve probably looked at many of these stones and may have wished that you could know more about the people buried beneath them.

Now there is technology that will enable you to learn more. A QR barcode sticker can be affixed to an individual’s tombstone. Then the family of the deceased can link the code to an electronic obituary of the person, a biography, a video or images and much more. Finally, if you have a smartphone with internet access, you can walk by this stone, scan the barcode and view the online tribute to the person.

Some companies, like Digital Legacys, a Pennsylvania company, sell the QR barcode sticker and the online tribute link for $99.99 per year or $149.99 for a lifetime subscription to the service.

Living Headstones®, Seattle, Washington, is a monument company. Thru them, you can buy a headstone that has an embedded QR barcode and a code link to their memorial site for $75. However, if you already have a tombstone, you can purchase a QR barcode and a link to their memorial site for $150.

These QR barcodes can also be attached to memorial benches, plaques or even trees in a memorial garden.

With a QR barcode, a deceased’s legacy can live on. Isn’t that better than just seeing their name and date of birth and death? What do you think?

Planning a Pet’s Funeral

Many people complain about funeral costs when they are deciding what to do about dear deceased granddad or mom; they think costs are too high and ask for cheaper options. But when it comes to a beloved pet, no one complains about what it costs to bury or cremate it. Cost is rarely even discussed. Rather the pet owner decides what he or she wants and then just pays for it.

National Pet Memorial Day was celebrated in September. According to the International Association of Pet Cemeteries and Crematories, it was a day to “increase awareness of the many options available to memorialize pets”. Less than ten years ago, pet aftercare facilities were almost nonexistent. People just didn’t talk about what to do with their deceased pet. Today, there are more than 700 pet aftercare facilities nationwide and the number is growing. According to Tom Flynn, president of Hillerest-Flynn Pet Funeral Home and Crematory in Hermitage, PA, it’s a rapidly growing business. His profits have increased by 25% every year since he began offering pet burials in 2006.

Nobody really knows what demographic is responsible for the industry boom. Some think it’s baby boomers, who turn to a pet after their spouse has died or their children have left home. Others think it’s people in their 20’s and 30’s who have delayed or opted out of becoming parents and have decided to get a pet instead. Still others think it’s older women who never had children. Or the very wealthy. But, in actuality, Ed Martin, Jr. of Hartsdale, NY Pet Cemetery and Crematory, says they “get everybody: men, women, rich, poor, young, old.”

A pet funeral can be expensive, with a bronze grave marker costing almost $1,800 and a velvet-lined casket in excess of $1,100. Did you know that in addition to pet burials and cremations, you can arrange things like pet blessings and candlelight vigils? Some companies offer even more services than you’d find at a human funeral home.

In addition, there are unconventional options as well. Although it sounds very weird, some people opt for freeze-drying their pet’s body which can cost as much as $3,000. And a company in Elk Grove Village, IL called LifeGem, has a process that uses carbonized ashes from cremated remains to create synthetic diamonds. Prices run from $2,490 to $25,000. The process originally was intended for humans but pet owners started requesting the service for their pets so frequently that it’s now 25% of LifeGem’s business.

If you’re looking for unusual ideas, a place to start might be Peternity, an online store like Target, but for pet grieving.

Whatever you decide when planning what to do with your deceased pet, be like everyone else. Don’t think about price. Just decide what you want and pay whatever it costs.