People react in different ways following the death of a loved one. Sometimes, you'll encounter family members who may push ideas that you don't agree with, and this can lead to some challenging interactions at a time that is already difficult for everyone. One issue that you might come across is a family member (or even you yourself) wanting to have your deceased loved one cremated right away. There are several reasons for this idea, and many don't make much sense — which can often be expected during a time of grief. Here are some reasons that you shouldn't rush the cremation process.

Some Family Members Will Want To View The Body

Rushing the cremation process may prevent some family members from being able to view the body of the person who has passed away. Not everyone will want to go through this process, but it presents an opportunity for closure for some people. Remember, a funeral service in which the person is cremated will often not have a body present in an open casket. This makes being able to see the body before cremation valuable for certain people. If you rush the cremation process, these people will miss out.

A Medical Examiner May Need To See The Body

Depending on the cause of death, it's possible that a medical examiner will need to look at the body before it's released for cremation. If you're in a hurry to have the body cremated, you may run into a roadblock if you're too fast. For example, you may get a call from someone at the crematorium saying that the cremation process cannot begin until the medical examiner has signed off on the cause of death, which means that you'll have rushed trying to get the cremation completed for no reason.

You'll Have More Time To Grieve

Instead of rushing to have the body of your family member cremated, you should take some time to grieve. The days ahead will be busy enough with the funeral preparation and then, depending on the situation, going through the person's estate and dealing with it. If you're trying to set up the cremation just hours after the person passes away, you'll be skipping the important process of grieving — and you might appear callous to some of your family members who would rather than you grieve with them at this difficult time. Turn to a funeral home's director, such as at American Cremation Society, for guidance on the timelines of dealing with cremation.

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