Usually there is a time of visitation to pay respect to the deceased - to offer personal expression of condolence and support to the grieving family, and to allow for individual closure to a life relationship. The visitation can take place either the evening before the funeral ceremony, or immediately prior to the funeral service itself. The funeral ceremony can take place at the funeral home, at your place of worship, or any other appropriate feasable location. A funeral with cremation is very similar to a traditional funeral, except in most cases the atendees do not proceed to a cemetery at the conclusion of the funeral ceremony. Rather at the conclusion of the funeral service the casket is transferred to the crematory where the casket and deceased are reduced (by way of intense heat) to what is commonly referred to as ashes (cremated human remains). At this point, the ashes are carefully collected and placed in a cremation urn which may then be buried in a cemetery grave, placed in a niche in a columbarium (above ground burial), kept at home or some other place of honor, or scattered in some appropriate place. Many family members choose to divide the ashes and place a small portion into keepsake urns, or keeepsake jewelry pieces, prior to burying or scattering the larger portion of ashes.

Some choose a direct cremation arrangement. This type of service allows for the deceased to be cremated as soon as ligistically possible following the death, with no prior visitation or viewing. A memorial service (a funeral without the body present) usually takes place with or without the urn present.