The Funeral.com Journal

Resources to help you create tributes as unique as the people (and pets) you love. Learn how engraving, photos, colors, and symbols add meaning; discover scattering rituals and at-home memorial ideas. We focus on the details that matter—because small choices can carry a lifetime of comfort.

Where Can You Scatter Ashes? U.S. Laws, Permissions, and Best Practices by Location - Funeral.com, Inc.

Where Can You Scatter Ashes? U.S. Laws, Permissions, and Best Practices by Location

When families ask where can you scatter ashes, they’re usually trying to protect two things at once: the meaning of the moment and the place where it happens. Scattering can...

Inurnment vs Interment vs Entombment: What These Funeral Terms Mean (With Examples) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Inurnment vs Interment vs Entombment: What These Funeral Terms Mean (With Examples)

If you have ever opened a cemetery contract or heard a funeral director use a word that sounded familiar but not quite clear, you are not alone. Funeral terminology can...

What Size Urn Do I Need? Simple Urn Size Guide (Cubic Inches, Adult vs Keepsake) - Funeral.com, Inc.

What Size Urn Do I Need? Simple Urn Size Guide (Cubic Inches, Adult vs Keepsake)

For many families, the question doesn’t arrive at a convenient time. It shows up when you’re holding a temporary container—often a simple box from the crematory—and you suddenly realize you’re...

Custom Urns for Ashes: Personalization Ideas, Engraving Options, and Where to Order - Funeral.com, Inc.

Custom Urns for Ashes: Personalization Ideas, Engraving Options, and Where to Order

When families search for custom urns for ashes, they’re rarely looking for something “fancy.” They’re looking for something that feels true. In the days after a death, details can blur together—phone...

Why People Wear Cremation Jewelry: Meaning, Comfort, and What to Know About Urn Necklaces - Funeral.com, Inc.

Why People Wear Cremation Jewelry: Meaning, Comfort, and What to Know About Urn Necklaces

The first time many families see a piece of cremation jewelry, it isn’t in a display case. It’s in the quiet space after everything “official” has happened—after the calls, the paperwork,...

When a Cardinal Appears: Sympathy Quotes & Sayings About Loved Ones in Heaven - Funeral.com, Inc.

When a Cardinal Appears: Sympathy Quotes & Sayings About Loved Ones in Heaven

It often happens in an ordinary moment. You’re standing at the sink, pulling into the driveway, or staring out the window because sleep won’t come, and a bright red cardinal...

Religious Views on Cremation: What Major Faiths Believe (and How to Plan Respectfully) - Funeral.com, Inc.

Religious Views on Cremation: What Major Faiths Believe (and How to Plan Respectfully)

When a family chooses cremation, the decision is rarely only practical. It can carry a lifetime of meaning—about the body, the soul, and what it means to honor a person...

Living Will vs Health Care Power of Attorney: The Difference That Matters - Funeral.com, Inc.

Living Will vs Health Care Power of Attorney: The Difference That Matters

If you are doing end-of-life planning, you will almost always run into two documents that sound similar but do very different jobs: a living will and a health care power...

All Souls’ Day Explained: Meaning, Date, Traditions & Ways to Remember Loved Ones - Funeral.com, Inc.

All Souls’ Day Explained: Meaning, Date, Traditions & Ways to Remember Loved Ones

On an early November morning, the air often feels different—cooler, quieter, and a little more honest. For many families, the calendar itself becomes a kind of memory. A date arrives...

Necklace for Ashes for Mom: Memorial Pendant Styles, Materials & Engraving Ideas - Funeral.com, Inc.

Necklace for Ashes for Mom: Memorial Pendant Styles, Materials & Engraving Ideas

There’s a quiet moment many families recognize, even if they don’t talk about it out loud. The practical tasks are finished—phone calls made, papers signed, a service held or postponed—and...

Urn Sizes Explained: Capacity Chart, the 1 lb Rule & How to Choose the Right Urn - Funeral.com, Inc.

Urn Sizes Explained: Capacity Chart, the 1 lb Rule & How to Choose the Right Urn

Most families don’t start out knowing what an urn “should” look like, or what it should hold. You might be planning ahead with a calm, practical mindset—or you might be...

The Cheapest Funeral Options in 2025: Direct Cremation, Simple Burial, and Cost-Saving Tips - Funeral.com, Inc.

The Cheapest Funeral Options in 2025: Direct Cremation, Simple Burial, and Cost-Saving Tips

If you are trying to plan the cheapest funeral in 2025, the most helpful mindset shift is this: the lowest-cost options aren’t “less loving.” They are options that remove the...

How Much Ashes Are Left After Cremation? Weight, Volume & Urn Size Examples - Funeral.com, Inc.

How Much Ashes Are Left After Cremation? Weight, Volume & Urn Size Examples

After a cremation, there’s often a moment that surprises families: the phone call to pick up a temporary container, the careful handoff at a counter, the quiet drive home, and...

What Does a Funeral Planner or Funeral Agent Do? Roles, Costs, and When You Might Need One - Funeral.com, Inc.

What Does a Funeral Planner or Funeral Agent Do? Roles, Costs, and When You Might Need One

When a death happens, families often find themselves asking for planning a funeral help—but the words people use for “help” can be confusing. You might hear funeral planner, funeral arranger,...

Advance Care Planning 101: What It Is and Why It Reduces Family Conflict - Funeral.com, Inc.

Advance Care Planning 101: What It Is and Why It Reduces Family Conflict

Families don’t fight about end-of-life care because they don’t love each other. Most of the time, they fight because everyone is scared, everyone is interpreting the same person’s wishes differently,...

What Families Mean by “Quality of Life” at End of Life (and How to Talk About It) - Funeral.com, Inc.

What Families Mean by “Quality of Life” at End of Life (and How to Talk About It)

At some point in serious illness, a family conversation shifts from “What’s the next treatment?” to something quieter and harder: “What kind of life are we trying to protect?” That...