With cremation rates on the rise, many families consider keeping their loved one’s cremated remains at home. Like the choice to be cremated, the final disposition for those remains is a personal choice, too.

Months after the cremation takes place, however, it’s not uncommon for the family to want to permanently memorialize their loved one—even if it wasn’t necessarily important when their loved one was first cremated. For many people, having a Memorial Gathering and/or Memorial Service helps bring about the closure that’s otherwise missing.

Decisions about how or where to permanently memorialize your loved one shouldn’t be taken lightly. Most of us don’t live, work, and die in the same location. That makes it so important to understand your options.

Think about what happens in 10, 15, or 20 years if you don’t permanently memorialize your loved one. What happens to them, then?

It’s probably difficult to believe that cremated remains become lost or forgotten in someone’s home, but it does happen. It’s seldom intentional, but can be really devastating. Memorializing your loved one is a guarantee that this doesn’t happen.

The benefit of cremation is that you have so many choices. You can scatter your loved one’s cremated remains somewhere of significance. You can memorialize them in a cemetery. You can have a tree or bench placed in their honor. The options are almost endless. Choosing a beautiful, peaceful location is the important part.

The difficult position that many find themselves in is knowing that they’re going to put their loved one to rest somewhere different from where they’ll end up living. We’re a transient society, so depending on stage of life, it may be a given that you’re going to move. In this case, cremation can allow for permanent memorialization of your loved one without leaving you feeling guilty about leaving them behind.

Cremation lets you keep your loved one with you while also allowing you to lay them to rest somewhere peaceful. Regardless of where your loved one is memorialized, you can keep a symbolic amount of their cremated remains with you no matter where you end up.

There are thousands of different options that let you keep a symbolic amount of your loved one’s cremated remains with you. Whether you choose a keepsake urn, a ring, bracelet, pendant, or something else, you never have to feel like your loved one is far away.

When you’re talking to your loved ones about cremation, ask how and where they’d like to be memorialized. Think about a permanent place for the cremated remains and consider having a Memorial Gathering and/or Memorial Service to help the survivors with the grieving process.