Groundbreaking research from Parting Stone may help you get cremated remains permanently placed

September 9, 2026/Cremation, Products, Regulations/

Recently I received a press release from Parting Stone, the solidified remains company, that enlightened me as to some of the reasons so many survivors continue to hold on to cremated remains in the home rather than pursue permanent placement for them.

I’ve always thought that the main reason that families continue to hold onto these remains is that they “just don’t know what to do with them”. After the research and further study, Parting Stone CEO Justin Crowe says it led him to believe, “Families aren’t lacking information, they’re lacking a decision that feels right and people to make it with”.

To that point, much of the reasearch and analysis, that you can access here, indicates that it is not lack of knowledge but emotional issues that keep these remains from being permantly placed. Here’s what the survey says about this issue:

“The reasons families give are about readiness and relationships, not facts. Only 7 percent say they do not know
their options. By contrast, the dominant answers are emotional: it feels like letting go, it is too difficult right now,
they are comfortable as things are. The reckoning is not an information gap. It is an emotional one.”

Justin Crowe
Parting Stone
CEO

The Parting Stone survey also notes that “Readiness” is there to do something by most families. The survey notes that 70% of those “in limbo” as to what to do with the remains would “welcome a new way to honor their loved one if it felt right”.

Don’t let October 17 go by without doing something to let families know you can help.

As you may know the inaugural National Cremation Placement Day will be observed on the third Saturday in October—October 17, 2026. It is intended for cemeteries and funeral homes to use the day to host gentle, pressure-free events that help families consider permanent placement and lasting care for cremated remains.

To help your funeral home and/or cemetery facilitate this event Crowne Vault has made customizable advertising and media materials available free of charge to your establishment. To see how Crowne Vault’s placement initiative, “At Home to At Rest” can help you help these families you can click here.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take: First of all, I just believe that for most families to have permanent placement of remains taken care of is good, sound, sensible action. It removes the generational problem of the remains simply being passed to the next generation of family as time moves on.

Secondly, there can be a great “relationship” built with family clientele if a funeral home follows up 6-months, 12-months, 18-months, and even up to two years post-cremation if you are aware that permanent placement has not happened. The new research from Parting Stone indicates that from 6-months to 2 years after the death is when most families are struggling with the cremated remains placement decision.

Finally, a third good reason to do this follow-up is financial. Helping a family make this decision could lead to added revenue that would have probably been lost forever if you did not follow up on a family’s placement decision process. You could receive additional income from urn vaults, interment lots, columbarium niches, monuments, preneed arrangments, or even less obvious payments such as Parting Stone, Eterneva, Celestis, or Better Place Forest margins or commissions. There is even a possibility of a Direct Cremation family choosing to have some type of event or celebration after a period of time thinking about it.

Staying in touch and helping families as they move through this identified “in limbo” decision path can only be a win-win situation for the family and the Death Care provider.

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