Not Just “Plain-Jane” Cremation Anymore

As professionals, we help our clients express wishes about funeral preferences in their Wills – did you know that wishes expressed in the Will are actually binding on the Executor, and the Executor has to carry out these wishes unless doing so would be unreasonable or impractical or cause hardship? For example, if the Will stated that the funeral celebration must be lavish, but the Estate is modest, this could potentially cause hardship and the Executor would be well advised to deviate from the deceased’s wishes.

Lavish burial services have fallen somewhat out of favour, and cremations are becoming the norm. More recently however, the “Green” movement has spurred more creative and symbolic options. For example, biodegradable burial pods that turn a deceased love one’s remains into a tree.

To view a video about the biodegradable burial pods, click here.

If the pods strike you as a bit far-fetched (we agree), then perhaps the more realistic options are the biodegradable urns to hold cremated remains, from which a tree will grow – the Boisé de Vie. These are available in Canada and likely will grow (no pun intended) in popularity, for those clients who have the space to plant a tree.

In the not too distant future, instead of visiting grave-yards, we may be visiting our loved ones at their tree in a forest grove.