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.

How to Bury a Dog Safely and Respectfully: Step-by-Step Guide for Families

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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...

Moving a Grave: Laws, Permits, and Costs of Exhuming and Reburying a Loved One

Moving a Grave: Laws, Permits, and Costs of Exhuming and Reburying a Loved One

Most families don’t set out expecting to think about moving a grave. It usually starts with a quieter truth: someone can’t travel anymore, the family has scattered across states, a spouse...

When You Disagree with a Loved One’s Funeral or Cremation Choices: Respecting Wishes While Caring for Yourself

When You Disagree with a Loved One’s Funeral or Cremation Choices: Respecting Wishes While Caring for Yourself

There are grief moments that hit like weather—sudden, physical, uninvited. And then there are grief moments that arrive as a sentence. “I want to be cremated.” “I don’t want a...

Online Memorial Websites: How They Work, What to Include, and Privacy Tips

Online Memorial Websites: How They Work, What to Include, and Privacy Tips

In the first days after a death, families often find themselves holding two very different kinds of weight at the same time: the emotional shock of what’s happened, and the...

Embalming: What It Is, When It Helps, and When You Can Skip It

Embalming: What It Is, When It Helps, and When You Can Skip It

If you’ve found yourself searching for information about embalming during a period of grief or urgent funeral planning, you’re not alone. Most families aren’t curious about the technical process, they...

Bereavement Leave and Time Off Work After a Death: What Employees Should Know

Bereavement Leave and Time Off Work After a Death: What Employees Should Know

Experiencing a death in the family can make work feel both distant and urgent at the same time. Balancing funeral arrangements, paperwork, and family communications while managing job responsibilities often...

Is Embalming Required for a Funeral? Laws, Myths, and Alternatives Explained

Is Embalming Required for a Funeral? Laws, Myths, and Alternatives Explained

When a death occurs, one of the first questions families often hear from a funeral home is whether they want embalming. In the middle of grief and shock, it can...

Pet Burial Laws by State: What You Need to Know Before Burying a Pet

Pet Burial Laws by State: What You Need to Know Before Burying a Pet

When a beloved dog or cat dies, many families instinctively picture a resting place under a favorite tree or near the back fence. Home burial can feel intimate and deeply...

Scattering Pet Ashes: Legal Guidelines, Meaningful Locations, and Ceremony Ideas

Scattering Pet Ashes: Legal Guidelines, Meaningful Locations, and Ceremony Ideas

Finding yourself with a small container of cremated pet ashes can feel both surreal and heavy with emotion. Many pet owners want to honor their companion in a way that...

Is Backyard Pet Burial Legal? Pet Burial Laws by State and Safer Alternatives

Is Backyard Pet Burial Legal? Pet Burial Laws by State and Safer Alternatives

When a pet dies, many families have the same first instinct: bring them home and bury them in the yard they loved. You might imagine a quiet spot under a...