While it is against the law for a funeral home to tell you a casket is needed for a simple cremation, a casket might be required for those families wanting to incorporate a traditional funeral with a viewing and service followed by a cremation. While you may purchase (or in some cases rent) a casket from a funeral home, caskets may also be obtained from retail casket stores. The Federal Government prohibits funeral homes from requiring you to buy a casket from them or charging a "handling fee" if the casket is purchased elsewhere. We have identified numerous casket stores throughout the country that have provided their products and prices on their web site. In addition to caskets, many of these companies sell cremation items such as urns, urn vaults and keepsakes.
