It is important that surviving family members meet with the Catholic cemetery staff to ensure that their expectations will be understood and met. The cemetery staff will be able to inform the family about cemetery guidelines, both for day of burial and the years beyond, to alleviate concerns that might arise.
There are many details that need clarification when a death occurs. Among them are the actual plans for the interment at the cemetery. The time of death is an extremely emotional and stressful time; errors can be made through the fault of no one, but due to the stress and shock of having to make a myriad of decisions in a relatively short period of time.
A face-to-face conference is the most appropriate manner to resolve these many issues in a calm, peaceful and forthright environment. For this reason, at-need arrangements should be made in person at the cemetery office, not through a third party who, while well-intentioned, may not have the full details of family expectations at heart.
When cremation has been selected as the disposition of choice, it is still important for the family to meet with cemetery staff to finalize arrangement for burial, whether for a burial in a grave or interment in a niche. Oftentimes this step in the burial process will not take place immediately upon the death of the loved one since the immediacy of burial is removed. It is still important that the arrangement conference take place so that family, friends and cemetery staff will be able to meet future expectations when the burial actually takes place.