My grandmother passed away last November and was cremated shortly after. My mother is in no state to handle her affairs and I have been handling everything myself. I'm a college student and could only afford a basic cremation. She's not even in a pretty urn, she's just in a black box. It kills me that I can't afford to put her remains in something beautiful like her, but I have no money. I thought about scattering her remains, but she was a strict Catholic and it's against the Catholic doctrine.
Anyways, I know that it's possible to open a burial plot to put cremated remains on top of it. I know she'd love to be buried with her husband.. About how much would it cost to open up his plot to put her in? (In Florida.) Could they add her name to the tombstone or would I have to buy another one?
I graduate this summer and I'm hoping I can give her what she deserves once I get a real job.
I used to bury deceased and make burial markers for a living. I am not an expert on the cost of this venture, but do remember a few things.
1. I'm going to guess that the opening of the grave will run you in the $300-$500 range. That being said, check into the policy of the place where she will be interned. Depending on their required depth for a cremation urn you may be allowed to dig the hole for free if you are comfortable with that.
2. You will probably have to have some sort of official involvment, like a licenced funeral director. Someone will have to document this. Cost not known.
3. If there is enough space on the existing headstone, her name could easily be added. Depending on the size of the stone and the amount of work needing to be done, it is possible that it could be performed right at the burial site. However it is more likely that it would be removed, and have the work done at their shop. Its really hard to say about the cost of that not knowing anything about the headstone, but I would expect to spend $500 IF her name can even be added.
If money is tight for you at the moment, you may be able to make arrangements to have her "stored" somewhere for a much smaller fee until you have the money to do things how you really want them done. Any funeral home should be able to assist you regardless of which path you choose.
US $98.00
