Many funeral homes can arrange cremations for their clients' deceased loved ones. Here are a few of the reasons why some people may decide to use a funeral home's cremation service.

Their relative did not leave behind funds for their funeral and they cannot afford a standard burial

Not everyone has the means or the foresight to pay for their funeral in advance of their death. As a result of this, sometimes a person who needs to organise their recently-departed relative's funeral will have to pay for it out of their own pocket. If a person finds themselves in this situation and they cannot afford a standard burial without going into lots of debt, then the funeral home that they are working with may suggest that they have their relative cremated.

This is because cremating a deceased person is less expensive than burying them. For example, whilst the deceased will still need to be put into a coffin before being cremated, this coffin can be unlined and made from a very basic, low-cost material like plywood, as it will just be burnt during the cremation. Conversely, coffins that are to be used in burials need to be robust so that they protect the remains and don't deteriorate when they're exposed to the soil, insects and moisture in the ground.

Additionally, although some people choose to buy headstones and use them to create memorial sites for their cremated love ones, this is not an essential part of the cremation process, and a person who is arranging the funeral can skip it if they cannot afford it.

They or the relative's other family members live far away from the closest cemetery

People also sometimes request cremations for their loved ones if they and their other family members live very far away from the closest cemetery. Two of the main motivations that drive some people to bury their deceased relatives is that they then have a specific spot that they can go and visit on the anniversary of the person's death or when they just miss them and want to be close to what is left of them.

However, if everyone in the deceased's immediate family lives in, for example, a rural area that is a hundred or more miles away from the nearest cemetery, then burying the deceased for these reasons would be illogical, as they may not be able to travel that far to visit the grave on a regular basis. In this situation, cremating their relative and storing the ashes in their own home or scattering them on a piece of land that is near to their own property would be better, as it would allow them to be close to their relative's remains.