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.
Alabama Pet Cremation Guide: Laws, Costs & Options
Updated December 19, 2025 for 2026. Losing a pet is never easy, and making decisions about pet cremation in Alabama can feel overwhelming—especially when you are grieving and trying to...
How to Verify a Pet Cremation Provider: Tracking, Accreditation, Paperwork & Questions to Ask
When you are making aftercare decisions for a beloved pet, the questions you face can feel unexpectedly heavy. Choosing a pet cremation provider is not just about hiring a service,...
Can Pet Ashes Be Buried with Humans? Laws, Cemetery Rules, and Realistic Options
There’s a moment many families don’t expect until they’re living it: you’re planning a burial or an urn placement for someone you love, and suddenly the conversation turns to a...
Human Ashes 101: Legal, Emotional, and Practical Things Families Should Know
When the crematory calls and says your loved one is ready to be picked up, most families are surprised by how ordinary that moment can feel. You sign paperwork, you’re...
Understanding Your Cemetery Contract: Plot Rights, Fees, and Long-Term Obligations
In a season of loss—or even in the quieter weeks of funeral planning—a cemetery contract can feel like a different language. The phrases look familiar (plot, deed, perpetual care), but...
Traveling with Cremation Ashes: Airline Rules, TSA Guidelines, and Peace of Mind
Traveling with someone’s ashes is one of those tasks that can feel deceptively simple on paper—until you’re actually doing it. You’re juggling logistics and grief at the same time, and...
Funeral Scams and High-Pressure Tactics: Red Flags to Watch For and How to Push Back
You’re grieving, and you’re making expensive decisions you’ve probably never had to make before. That combination is exactly why funeral scams and high-pressure funeral sales tactics can work so well,...
How to Bury a Dog Safely and Respectfully: Step-by-Step Guide for Families
When a dog dies, the world can feel strangely split in two: the big, aching grief—and the small, immediate questions you never wanted to have to answer. If your instinct...
Dealing with Veterinary Malpractice: Grief Mixed with Anger
There are losses that arrive like a soft wave—sad, heavy, inevitable. And then there are losses that land like a collision: sudden, confusing, and threaded with the kind of anger...
Headstone Regulations and Cemetery Rules: Size Limits, Materials, and What’s Allowed
Choosing a headstone can feel overwhelming, especially during a time of grief, because it involves more than simply selecting a beautiful stone. Families quickly discover that cemetery rules set boundaries...
Should You Keep Cremated Ashes at Home?
When people ask whether they should keep cremated ashes at home, they are often balancing two questions. One is practical, whether it is safe, legal, or wise in the long...
After the Obituary: Updating Online Profiles, Directories, and Community Groups About a Death
The obituary tends to feel like a finish line—one clear announcement that tells the world what happened. But in real life, grief has an aftershock. It shows up as a...
What to Do with Wedding Rings and Jewelry After a Death: Options for Keeping, Wearing, and Repurposing
When someone you love dies, the world changes in obvious ways—phone calls you’ll never get again, routines that go quiet, a chair that suddenly looks too empty. But grief also...
Digital Legacy Planning: Passwords, Social Media, and What Happens to Your Online Life After Death
The first time you notice it, it can feel strangely ordinary: a phone lights up with a “Memories” notification, a calendar reminder pings, an auto-payment emails a receipt. Grief is...