A cremation is a process that uses intense heat over a long period of time to turn the remains of a deceased person into ashes. Prior to the cremation process, your loved one is dressed according to your requests, and other clothing and apparel is carefully folded and placed next to your loved one. Medical devices, such as pacemakers, are separated and removed from the wreckage.

A crematorium is the place where the cremation process takes place. The deceased person is first placed in refrigerated storage until it is time for cremation. Your loved one is then placed in the cremation chamber, where exposure to intense heat results in burnt remains. These remains go through a pulverization process and are finally delivered to you. There are different options of urns and containers.

Burnt remains are the result of the first part of the cremation process. Exposure to intense heat is not enough to turn the deceased person to ashes. After the medical devices and bits of metal (for example, hinges, screws, and prosthetics) are removed, the small amounts of bone that remain are taken and placed in a machine that turns them into ash using the pulverization process.

A cremation viewing is a small, intimate memorial service that takes place prior to the cremation process. The service may be led by a funeral director or religious leader, and once witnesses are in the viewing area, the deceased is placed in a casket or container and taken to the cremation chamber, in a closed machine. . The cremation process takes more than four hours and most crematories do not allow people to witness the entire process.

The steps leading up to cremation take a minimum of 7 days to complete. The funeral director will help you obtain the necessary copies of the Death Certificate through the Office of Vital Statistics. The certificate must then be signed and verified by the coroner and the form is sent to the Office of Vital Statistics, where you will be provided with copies of the Death Certificate. Once this is completed, a Cremation Permit and Burial Transit Permit are issued and presented at the local Civil Registry office.

The funeral director and medical professionals will complete the Death Certificate after receiving all important information from the family. The Death Certificate is filed in the local Civil Registry. If you need to order more copies, you can go to the Texas Department of State Health Services website.

Embalming is not required by law in the state of Texas, but if you choose to have an open drawer viewing, your loved one must be embalmed for preservation prior to cremation.

You can have any type of funeral ceremony before cremation. One option is to hold a private or public wake or have a memorial service at a place of worship or cremation facility.

The law does not require a casket for cremation. Funeral homes or crematoriums must inform you that you can use an alternative casket or container. Alternative containers can be of different materials. Funeral homes have to accept caskets, whether they are purchased there, made elsewhere, or built yourself.

Your loved one's ashes are presented in the container of your choice. There are different options for a permanent resting place: a crypt, a niche, a grave, or a container kept at home. You can keep the ashes or scatter them on "uninhabited public land, on a public waterway or seaway, or on the private property of a consenting owner."

According to the Texas Health and Safety Code , you can spread the ashes in different areas. You should keep in mind that you must remove the ashes from the container before spreading them, unless you have a biodegradable container. In terms of health risk, cremation ashes are harmless, but you should spread the ashes away from other people.

• Scattering the ashes in a cemetery: some cemeteries have designated gardens for scattering the ashes, you can ask the cemetery for more information.
• Scattering the ashes on private property: You can scatter the ashes on your property, but you must get the owner's permission if you want to scatter the ashes on someone else's property.
• Scattering ashes on public or federal land: You should check your city or county regulations before scattering ashes on local public land.
• Disperse ash at sea: You must notify EPA within 30 days if you disperse ash at sea. Non-biodegradable containers must be disposed of separately. The wreckage must be spread at least three nautical miles from land, away from the beach.

Airborne Ash Scattering: Ashes must be removed from the container before being scattered.

Hay muchas razones por las que cada vez más gente elige la cremación en lugar de los servicios funerarios tradicionales. La cremación es conocida por ser mucho más barata que los servicios funerarios tradicionales, ya que cuesta un tercio de esos precios. Además, hay más opciones en cuanto al destino de las cenizas, ya que se puede optar por enterrarlas, esparcirlas o conservarlas. Enterrarlas es más barato que enterrar un féretro, ya que una misma parcela puede servir para muchas urnas. Algunas personas no tienen tiempo para visitar un cementerio o se mudan, y pueden optar por esparcir las cenizas o conservarlas. Otras personas optan por la incineración por razones medioambientales.