Funerals can be simple or lavish. Many Americans are beginning to question the value or need of a traditional funeral. Embalming is essential to the modern or traditional funeral. Other options include:

With direct disposition, the body is usually taken from the place of death directly to the cemetery. A graveside service may be conducted at a later time, if desired. The cost of direct disposition is related to the degree to which funeral goods and services are used.

Generally less expensive than either traditional funeral or direct disposition, cremation is a process in which the body is placed in an inexpensive container and taken to the crematory where it is placed in a retort, exposed to intense heat, and reduced to ashes. The ashes may then be stored in an urn or other receptacle or disposed of by the survivors. State and local laws should be checked before disposing of the ashes. Some states and localities have regulations restricting the process of scattering cremated remains over land or water.

Usually a memorial service is held after a direct cremation or burial. This option may be less expensive than a traditional funeral depending on the extent to which the funeral home becomes involved. The service may be similar to a traditional funeral service or may be modified to reflect uniquely personal values and/or traditions.

Body donation is considered by many to be a valuable service to medical research, as well as a less expensive method of disposition. Consumers should investigate this option carefully beforehand, and alternative arrangements should be made in case the body is not accepted at the time of death. In the case of organ donation, the institution receiving the donation may return the body to the survivors for disposition following removal of the donated organ(s). The family also may be required to pay transportation costs to the receiving medical institution. Such a donation can be made legally binding on the survivors by properly completing a wallet-sized Uniform Donor Card. However, some medical schools and physicians will not accept bodies or organs unless the consent of the nearest of kin is also given. Many states now have donor forms on the back of drivers' licenses, which should be used in addition to the wallet card. A free Uniform Donor Card can be ordered from Continental Association of Funeral Memorial Societies, Inc., 2001 S Street, N.W., Suite 530, Washington, D.C. 20009; (202) 745-0634.