Latest news with #GreenBurialCouncil
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
This Morbid Tax Move Sounds Clever — But Experts Say NEVER Do It
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Laying a loved one to rest comes with a host of uncomfortable but necessary questions that need answering. Topping that list is the topic of burial specifications. If the person doesn't wish to be cremated, the alternative is generally to be buried in a cemetery or a mausoleum. But what if there were another option closer to home—much, much closer? And said option would also score you a tax break? There's a rumor circulating on social media that if you bury a loved one in your backyard, your home is zoned as a cemetery. Makes sense, right? But there's more: Allegedly, if your home is zoned as a cemetery, you no longer owe property taxes. A bittersweet perk, but a perk nonetheless. If you, like us, were wondering if this so-called cemetery tax break is real, let's just say convincing family members to change their wills would be for naught. Are Home Burials Legal? According to the Green Burial Council, home burials are technically legal in 47 states. It is considered illegal to bury a loved one in your backyard in the states of California, Indiana, and Washington. It is also illegal in the federal District of Columbia (Washington D.C.). But just because these are the only areas in the United States with hard-and-fast rules regarding home burials doesn't mean the remaining states make it easy to arrange. In an interview with How Stuff Works, Lee Webster, president of the National Home Funeral Alliance, explained that there are also zoning laws in every state that make home burials challenging, regardless of their legality. 'Some states and individual counties have rules about the minimum distance that a burial plot needs to be from bodies of water, electrical lines, other buildings, and roads,' Webster told the publication. These restrictions make it almost impossible to bury someone in a suburban backyard, Webster adds, clarifying, 'There simply isn't enough space on most properties to manage the setback restrictions, plus you're going to freak out the neighbors.' In addition to zoning laws, some states, like New York and Louisiana, require a funeral director to oversee almost everything concerning the body and funeral. Other states require families to undergo specific preservation methods, and if you do not hire a funeral director, it is your responsibility to fill out and file the death certificate. In other words, home burials require you to jump through a lot of hoops, all while grieving your loved one in the process. Does A Home Burial Make Your Property A Cemetery? In a word, yes. If you bury a body in your backyard, your home becomes a cemetery. You don't need to create an official cemetery. 'It works in reverse,' Webster said. You don't need a cemetery to bury a body; there needs to be a body buried on a piece of property to be considered a cemetery. Are Home Cemeteries Eligible For A Tax Break? Although burying a loved one in your backyard does make your home a zoned cemetery, if your home wasn't designed as an exclusive burial site, you likely still have to pay property taxes. However, according to Intuit TurboTax, you can get tax deductions for funeral expenses if said expenses are paid using estate funds. It is also more budget-friendly to bury a loved one in your backyard versus using a funeral home (whose services, such as viewings, embalmings, staff and facility costs, add up) and burning them in a cemetery or a mausoleum. Is a Backyard Burial a Good Idea? While it's widely considered legal to bury your loved one in a backyard, and it can be comforting to keep your loved one close, from a financial standpoint, it's not necessarily a lucrative alternative. You also have to weigh the pros and cons of home burials, because while the sentiment may feel more personal, it's a big undertaking, with a lot of details and moving parts to keep track of (all while in the thick of grief). Abide by your family's wishes, but make sure you are taking care of yourself in this difficult time, too. Follow on Instagram and TikTok. You Might Also Like 15 Home Bar Gifts Every Cocktail Enthusiast Will Appreciate 32 Low Light Indoor Plants That Can Survive in the Darkest Corners of Your Home These Are the 50 Best Paint Colors for Your Living Room Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scrub Hub: What is a 'green' burial? (Hint, it involves decomposing into the earth)
Hoosiers may soon be able to choose a "water burial" after at least a decade of lawmakers trying to add it to the options funeral services may offer. Rep. Mark Genda, R-Frankfort, once again introduced a bill that would legalize alkaline hydrolysis, a "green" form of cremation promoted as more environmentally friendly than other options. House Bill 1044 would mandate the state to create rules for the process before January 1, 2026. Efforts to add water cremations to the list of funeral services for Hoosiers have been underway since at least 2015. Genda's bill this year has passed through the house and is awaiting a hearing with a Senate committee. Alkaline hydrolysis has been used in the U.S. since 2003 and is available in roughly half of states across the country. The process does not involve the burning of fossil fuels nor produce the pollution that traditional cremation does. It does, however, use a significant amount of water. The process involves dissolving a human's remains in a chemical mixture using heat and water. This, much like traditional cremation, leaves behind bone remains that can be memorialized. Alkaline hydrolysis is not the only form of a green, or eco-friendly burial, there are other sustainable options Hoosiers can choose. Green burial can mean different things to different people — to some, it means a very specific form of disposition, but to others it encompasses the broader umbrella of sustainable options for after-death care. The Green Burial Council talks about 'any form of disposition that reduces impact on the environment,' said Sam Perry, president of the national group. 'We want to conserve land, protect natural resources and protect worker health, too.' Perry, who also is a licensed funeral director in Indiana and Illinois, said the group also is working to change the term from green to natural burial, noting there can be negative connotations with use of the term 'green.' It also better represents what these options are and what they provide for families, he said. Scrub Hub: Where can Hoosiers get help identifying, eradicating invasive plants? Still, the GBC works with a particular definition of green or natural burial. For their organization, a natural burial focuses on three key elements that differ from the conventional version. The first factor is how the body is prepared. In a traditional burial, bodies are often embalmed with a mixture of chemicals such as formaldehyde, glutaraldehyde and other solvents. In a natural burial, that doesn't happen and bodies typically are not embalmed, Perry said. The second element of a natural burial is the container in which the body is buried. Usually, bodies are buried in a metal casket or one that is wood but lacquered and treated with other chemicals. These materials do not easily or readily break down. With natural burials, bodies are placed in containers that will biodegrade. Perry said that can include caskets made from wicker or bamboo, for example, or even a simple pine box that is untreated. The last aspect that makes for a natural burial is where the bodies are buried. Many cemeteries bury their caskets in vaults or liners, often made of concrete, which are meant to be protective receptacles. That very characteristic, however, goes against allowing bodies to decompose as part of a natural burial. It's these elements — the lack of chemicals, non-biodegradable materials, as well as minimal carbon footprint as compared to cremation — that explain why natural burials are considered an environmentally-friendly option. Environmental bill: 'Water cremation' could be coming to Indiana. What is it and why is new option important. According to Perry, green burials are allowed in every state, including Indiana. That said, there are still accessibility issues for such services across the country. In recent years, Perry has seen significant growth in both public interest and demand in natural burials and other sustainable disposition options. In response, he also is seeing more funeral homes and cemeteries wanting to learn more in how to offer natural services. 'People who come to natural burial usually are more comfortable with that natural decomposition and the breakdown of the body and going back to nature,' Perry said. 'It's the idea that we aren't separate from nature, but we are part of it.' There are other types of sustainable after-death options that also are becoming more popular. These include the water cremation IndyStar previously wrote about or another process called human composting. While still a better alternative to traditional burial or cremation, Perry said, both of these options also have their drawbacks — such as water and energy usage. If you have any more questions about green burials or any other sustainable alternatives, please ask us! You can submit a question to the Scrub Hub through the Google form below. Call IndyStar reporter Sarah Bowman at 317-444-6129 or email at Follow her on Twitter and Facebook: @IndyStarSarah. Connect with IndyStar's environmental reporters: Join The Scrub on Facebook. IndyStar's environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'Green' burials grow in popularity as people want sustainable options
