When making decisions about a final resting place, the cost of a burial plot is one of many factors to consider. Other considerations might be proximity to other family members, personal preference, family, religious or cultural traditions and availability in your area.

When choosing cemetery property for someone else, you might also keep in mind that person’s personality and passions. Someone who loved to camp may have wanted a remote spot in a tree-filled cemetery. A passionate gardener may have wanted to be buried in an area filled with flowers. A veteran might have appreciated a place near fellow service members.

Traditional in-ground cemetery plots are commonly thought of when it comes to burial options, but there are other types of properties for both cremations and casket burials that fall within a variety of price points. Dignity Memorial^® professionals can assist you in choosing cemetery property that meets your tastes, preferences and budget.

Costs of traditional burial options

People who choose traditional casketed burials have myriad opportunities to create a place of remembrance. Traditional burial plot options can vary in price depending on what you choose and the level of customization you prefer. In-ground burial plots and lawn crypts come in single and double depths and can be memorialized with headstones or markers. A mausoleum allows a casket to be entombed above ground. Families can also consider custom, private aboveground or in-ground options.

• Custom-built memorials are personalized tributes in granite, bronze or marble. They include statuary, monuments, benches and other types of memorials, and they are typically inscribed with names, dates, verses, mottos and more. A custom-built memorial can be placed near the site where someone is buried or can be a permanent reminder and a place for friends and family to visit and remember someone who was buried elsewhere. The cost of a custom-built memorial depends on the size, material and level of customization chosen.
• Private mausoleums are exclusive, custom-built, aboveground burial places usually for a prominent individual, couple or family. The person or family building the mausoleum works with a designer to customize the architecture of the structure as well as features such as bronze doors or stained-glass windows.
• A community mausoleum can hold hundreds or even thousands of crypts for aboveground casket burial. Typically constructed in granite, these are sometimes very large and stately structures. A garden mausoleum has only outdoor crypts. An indoor mausoleum is a climate-controlled building that’s comfortable for visitors even in very hot or very cold weather. Depending on the mausoleum and cemetery property, options can include single crypts, side-by-side crypts and companion crypts. These can be more affordable options and can still be personalized depending on your selection.
• Individual burial plots for in-ground casket burial are available in single depth or double depth options, depending on the cemetery. Burial plots can range in cost depending on the option you choose and its placement in the cemetery.
• Private estates can include gated estates and hedge estates for in-ground casket burial. A gated estate is like a mini cemetery within a cemetery. Typically more than one person is buried there, and the property is kept private with a wall or fence and a gate. Similarly, a hedge estate typically has space for more than one burial; hedgerows indicate the perimeter of the private area.
• Lawn crypts are areas where outer burial containers are pre-installed. Lawn crypts come in single-depth and double-depth options. Not all cemeteries have lawn crypts available, so if you’re interested in this option, be sure to ask.

Cemetery plot prices can vary widely depending on the property type and the cemetery chosen—and they are, of course, subject to inflation over time. When you plan a funeral ahead of time, you lock in the burial plot cost, making an objective decision when it comes to affordability and minimizing the financial burden to your family. Dignity Memorial providers can assist you with prearrangement options with low monthly payments.

Costs of cremation cemetery options

There are unique and beautiful ways of varying costs to create a lasting legacy for those choosing cremation. Whether you want to bury an urn in a cemetery garden, place it in a columbarium or mausoleum niche, or choose another inurnment option, such as a bench or a boulder, we’ll help you find the final resting place best suited to your preference and budget.

• A columbarium is a room or structure designed to house cremated remains. Columbaria are permanent memorials with banks of cremation niches (similar to cubbyholes but with secure fronts). A columbarium can be large or small, private or public. Some columbaria have glass-front niches, which allow you to see the cremation urns and personal artifacts displayed with them. Other columbaria have granite-front niches that can be engraved or memorialized with plaques. Some columbaria have both.
• Cremation gardens are sections of a cemetery set aside for cremated remains. Some cremation gardens allow for in-ground burial of urns. Others allow cremated remains to be scattered there. Some include benches, boulders, statues and more that are designed to hold cremation urns.

As with more traditional burial options, cemetery plot costs can vary based on the type of property you choose. Your local Dignity Memorial provider can walk you through the cremation cemetery options in your area.

Is there help to pay for cemetery plot costs?

Planning a funeral and paying for burial costs in a time of grief and loss can be very stressful. You may wonder if there are programs that help pay for funeral expenses and the costs that come with purchasing cemetery property.

Life insurance can help, but it may not cover all the expenses. You’ll need to check your or your loved one’s policy for exact coverage.

Social Security and Veterans Administration (VA) burial benefits are also available but may be limited. They usually don’t pay enough to cover the full cost of the preferred funeral service and burial plot. Social Security may offer a one-time death benefit to a spouse in certain situations. The VA will pay up to $700 as an interment allowance, and that amount may be adjusted annually.

To find out which Social Security benefits you or your loved one qualify for, call 800-772-1213 or go to www.ssa.gov. For veteran benefits, contact the VA at 800-827-1000 or go to www.cem.va.gov.

If you are interested in making your final wishes known, download The Buyer's Guide to Cemetery Property. It will give you helpful information and answer many of your questions about burial options. A Dignity Memorial provider can help you take it from there.