FAQ

Planning for end-of-life arrangements raises many important questions. Whether you’re considering pre-planning options, exploring the differences between traditional burial and cremation, or learning about our mausoleum services, this comprehensive FAQ guide provides the information you need to make informed decisions. We’ve compiled answers to the most common questions families ask about cemetery services, costs, regulations, and memorialization options. Taking time to understand these choices now can bring peace of mind and ensure your wishes are honored while protecting your loved ones from difficult decisions during their time of grief.

Common Questions

Pre-Planning

Why should I pre-plan a memorialization?
You probably have already taken steps to prepare for a death in the family by making out a will and taking out a life insurance policy. Pre-planning your memorialization is simply the next step to completing your plans. By pre-planning, you are making the wise decision to ensure that all of the emotional and financial details are in order for your burial. You relieve your family of a difficult decision in their time of grief and save a substantial amount of money by taking advantage of today’s prices.
Pre-planning allows you to arrange and pay for burial needs in advance, providing you with the opportunity to make the choices that are right for you. You make the important decision regarding traditional burial, aboveground entombment and cremation. You choose the location, the required containment, memorialization statement, any additional memorabilia and type of burial service. And, you can control the cost, spending as much or as little as you deem necessary.
Definitely! Your family will not be faced with the uncertainty of whether or not they are carrying out your wishes. Pre-planning also helps avoid “emotional overspending”, and expensive situation many families face when they need to make immediate decisions at a highly stressful time.
When you pre-plan at today’s prices, you protect your family from future increases, conserving their financial resources. You pay today’s costs instead of prices that will be in effect ten, twenty or even fifty years from now. Pre-planning discounts are often available with easy financing.

To ensure your investment on your grave, crypt or niche, a portion of the money is placed in an endowment fund that pays for the perpetual maintenance of the cemetery. Your memorial service investment is placed in an escrow account to be accessed at the time of need

A memorial serves as a tribute, honoring past generations, acknowledging history and remembering one’s life and passing. We believe that it is vital to provide a permanent tribute so that future generations may remember our ancestors who have passed on and reflect upon our history.
Cremation is a popular choice for its simplicity, dignity and affordability. Yet there are still many decision regarding your memorialization. Cremated remains may be placed in a traditional burial plot or above ground in a mausoleum niche.
A memorial is a personal reflection of one’s life. Pre-planning gives you and your family the time to think about and discuss the memorialization that will be most meaningful.

Traditional Burial

Is There a Time Limit After a Death for a Person to be Buried?
States have different laws—some limit the maximum time before final disposition. Things that must be considered: securing official permits and authorizations, notifying friends and family, preparation of the burial site and religious requirements. Your funeral director will be well versed on these and other regulations.
No. Embalming is a matter of choice. Your decision will be influenced by several factors: 1. Length of time between death and burial; 2. To enhance the deceased’s appearance in an open casket for public viewing or private viewing by family members; 3. Transportation of the body by plane or train.
Fees for “Opening and Closing” cover the cost of many separate services performed by cemetery personnel. They include administering and permanent record keeping which encompasses the determination of ownership, obtaining necessary permission and completing all other necessary documents, including entering the interment details in the interment register and maintaining all legal files. The fees also include actually opening and closing the grave, crypt or niche. In the case of in-ground burial, we locate and lay out the boundaries of the grave, excavate, make the burial and fill the space. We also level, tamp and sod the gravesite and level and re-sod it again if the earth settles.
A burial vault is the outside container into which the casket itself is placed. It is designed to protect the casket and keep the grave surface from sinking in. Burial vaults vary in type and can be made of one or more of the following materials: concrete, stainless steel, galvanized steel, copper, bronze, plastic and fiberglass. Grand Prairie Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum requires the use of a burial vault for in ground, full-casket burials.
Yes. You can make all arrangements in advance. Planning ahead lets you consider the options you prefer and make the decisions about your funeral, your cemetery arrangements and memorial that you are comfortable with. They will be meaningful decisions that will give you peace of mind, knowing that you have relieved your loved ones of the emotional and financial burden of having to make decisions in their time of grief. It’s also a wise economic choice because you purchase at today’s prices, free from future inflation.
No. The purchase of a grave is really a purchase of the right to designate who may be buried in that grave and what kind of memorial you want, subject to what the cemetery’s rules permit. You are not really purchasing the land or the actual grave, crypt or niche. They remain the property and responsibility of the cemetery. You will receive a Certificate of Ownership for your burial rights.
Endowment care income is a portion of the purchase price contributed to a special fund that provides for regular care and maintenance of the cemetery which can include mowing, planting and maintaining trees, water supply system, maintenance, roads, drainage and more. The minimum amount that can be contributed to the endowment care fund is usually legally mandated.

Cremation

What is Cremation?
Cremation involved placing the deceased in a special chamber in a building called a crematorium and incinerating the body at high temperatures for several hours until it is reduced to a fine white powder. These remains are commonly called “cremains”. Because of the simplicity, dignity and affordability, cremation is the most popular option to the traditional funeral and burial.
Cremation has seen a steady rise in acceptance in the United States over the past four decades among people of all backgrounds and faiths. In 2005, cremation accounted for less than 32% of all final arrangements in America but today the rate is over 40%. By the year 2020, cremation is projected to be 56% of all arrangements.
With cremation, neither a casket nor embalming is generally required. However, you can always choose to be embalmed and have a casket, full viewing and a full service. Cremation can be performed without a service or done before or after a funeral service. Cremains may be scattered, kept at home, buried in a cemetery, or inurned into a niche in a columbarium (a structure containing niches).
One factor is our increased mobility. People often live away from family and would prefer to have their remains “closer to home” where they have a stronger attachment and where family and friends may visit. Perhaps a person would like to be remembered in two different places or have their remains encased in molten glass objects d’art or crafted into jewelry. Some people are even having their cremains launched into space. Literally, the sky’s the limit.
Grand Prairie Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum offers a wide range of plans and locations for the inurnment of cremains. Constructed of the finest materials with granite fronts, niche spaces provide an enduring memorial. Our cremation plans include a niche space, urn and lettering. The Pavilion niches offer memorialization in a peaceful, outdoor setting overlooking the lake.
Planning now lets you make choices you’re comfortable with and protects your family from unnecessary burdens. You also take advantage of substantial pre-planning discounts and protect your family from future price increases while conserving their insurance benefits. There are no hidden costs. Your loved ones pay no additional charges at the time of loss or any time thereafter.

Mausoleum

Why Choose a Mausoleum?
Mausoleums provide the prestige, dignity and serenity of aboveground burial that includes a clean, dry, ventilated environment. Covered mausoleums provide a relaxing and comfortable environment for families to visit their loved ones regardless of the weather.

Above ground burial compares favorably with the cost of in-ground burial by eliminating the need for lots, vaults, monuments and memorials. In one indoor, aboveground space, the concrete vault is sealed and the casket is protected from the elements.

Grand Prairie Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum offers substantial pre-planning discounts, as well as low down payments, interest-free financing and special savings on companion crypts, making the choice of mausoleum entombment even more affordable.

All year-round, in any weather, you can pay homage to the memory of departed loved ones in a beautiful, inspirational setting.
The Rules and Regulations of Grand Prairie Memorial Gardens and Mausoleum require embalming when selecting aboveground entombment.