Alternatives to Buying a Headstone Through the Cemetery
Every option for purchasing a headstone outside the cemetery, including online retailers, local monument dealers, and VA-provided markers — with the legal protections that make it possible.
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All articles about Headstone, Gravestone & Memorial Marker Guide.
Best Headstone Buying Guide for Executors Managing an Estate
What executors need to know about headstone purchasing: deed transfers, fiduciary duty, cemetery fees, family coordination, and documentation for the estate file.
Best Headstone Planning Guide for Grieving Families
How to choose a headstone planning guide when grief is impairing your ability to research, compare, and decide. What to look for and what to avoid.
Bronze Grave Marker: Cost, Durability, and Cemetery Rules
Bronze grave markers vs. granite headstones — pricing, theft risk, patina care, VA bronze options, and what cemeteries require for bronze memorials.
How to Buy a Headstone: Online vs. Local Dealers vs. the Cemetery
Buying a headstone online, from a local monument dealer, or through the cemetery — pros, cons, and consumer rights for each option.
How to File a Cemetery Complaint With Your State Board
Step-by-step process for filing a formal complaint against a cemetery with your state licensing board, the FCA, or the BAO — and what to expect after you file.
Cemetery Fees After Death: Perpetual Care, Administration, and Catch-Up Costs
Cemetery fees after death include perpetual care, deed transfer, catch-up costs, and administration charges. Learn what's reasonable and what's excessive.
Cemetery Says You Have to Buy Their Headstone — Your Third-Party Rights
Some cemetery rules restrict third-party headstones. Learn when restrictions or fees can raise antitrust concerns, what the FTC Funeral Rule covers, and how to challenge a charge.
Cemetery Headstone Rules: Size Limits, Materials, and What They Can't Restrict
Cemetery headstone regulations explained — permitted sizes, material restrictions, religious symbol rules, and your legal rights against unfair bylaws.
Common Headstone Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Memorial
Avoid the most common headstone buying mistakes — spelling errors, wrong dimensions, skipping the soil settling window, and overpaying for cemetery monopoly pricing.
Companion Headstone: Costs, Design Options, and When to Order
Companion headstones mark two people on one monument. Covers design layouts, granite sizing, costs ($2,000–$8,000+), second-name engraving, and cemetery rules for double plots.
Custom Headstone Design: How to Create a Personalized Memorial
Custom headstone design options — shapes, portraits, symbols, engraving methods, and the approval process for a personalized grave marker.
Exclusive Right of Burial and Deed Transfer: Who Can Place a Headstone
The Exclusive Right of Burial (EROB) determines who can place a headstone. Learn how deed transfers work, what documents you need, and how to resolve ownership disputes.
Family Conflict Over Headstone Design: How to Resolve Disagreements
Family disagreements over headstone design are common and painful. Learn practical strategies for resolving disputes about budget, inscription, and religious symbols.
Granite Headstone: Grades, Colors, and What Actually Lasts
How granite grades affect headstone durability, cost, and engraving quality — plus black, gray, and colored granite compared for cemetery monuments.
Headstone Cost: What You'll Actually Pay in 2026
Real headstone prices by type, material, and size — plus cemetery fees that inflate the total cost families pay for a grave marker.
Headstone Design Checklist: Every Detail to Finalize Before You Order
Use this headstone design checklist to verify dimensions, inscription spelling, symbols, and cemetery compliance before placing your monument order.
Headstone Estate Planning: How to Include Memorial Wishes in Your Will
How to include headstone preferences, cemetery plot ownership, and memorial funding in your estate plan so your family isn't left guessing — or fighting.
Headstone Flower Vase: Types, Installation, and Cemetery Rules
Headstone flower vase options — granite, bronze, and in-ground styles, mounting methods, cemetery restrictions, and theft-prevention tips.
Headstone Foundation Requirements: Concrete, Depth, and Soil Compaction
Headstone foundations must be properly sized and meet cemetery rules, including local frost-depth requirements where applicable. Learn about concrete depth, soil bearing capacity, and anchor systems.
Headstone Guide vs DIY Research: Which Approach Actually Saves You Time and Money
Compare using a structured headstone planning guide versus piecing together cemetery rules, costs, and legal rights from scattered free sources.
Headstone Inscription Ideas: Wording, Epitaphs, and What Families Actually Choose
Headstone inscription ideas for parents, children, spouses, and veterans — plus wording examples, common mistakes, and cemetery approval tips.
Headstone Installation: Process, Cost, and What Can Go Wrong
How headstones are installed — foundation pouring, setting fees, soil settling timelines, and how to avoid a sinking or tilting monument.
Headstone Maintenance: Seasonal Care Schedule for Granite, Marble, and Bronze
A practical headstone maintenance schedule — what to clean, when to inspect, and which products damage stone. Covers granite, marble, bronze, and slate markers by season.
Headstone Permit Application: How to Get Cemetery Approval for Your Monument
Most cemeteries require a permit before installing a headstone. Learn what documents you need, typical processing times, and how to avoid rejections.
Headstone Restoration: When to DIY, When to Hire, and What It Costs
Headstone restoration ranges from simple cleaning to full re-engraving and structural re-setting. Covers DIY limits, professional conservator costs, and how to avoid making damage worse.
Headstone Setting Fees: What's Reasonable and How to Challenge Overcharges
Headstone setting fees range from $150 to $600+ depending on the cemetery. Learn what's reasonable, when fees are illegal, and how to challenge inflated charges.
Headstone Symbols and Their Meanings: Religious, Cultural, and Secular Options
Common headstone symbols and their meanings — crosses, doves, trees of life, military emblems, and cultural motifs. Plus cemetery rules for symbol placement.
How Long Does a Headstone Take? Timeline From Order to Installation
Headstone timeline after burial — soil settling, manufacturing, cemetery permits, and when the monument is actually set in place.
How to Clean a Headstone Without Damaging It
Safe headstone cleaning methods for granite, marble, and bronze markers — which products work, what ruins stone, and when to call a restorer.
How to Plan a Headstone When Your Family Can't Agree
A step-by-step framework for resolving headstone disagreements about design, budget, inscription, and legal authority without letting grief destroy family relationships.
Infant Grave Marker: Options, Costs, and What Families Should Know
Choosing an infant grave marker — size, material, inscription ideas, communal plot limitations, and support resources for grieving parents.
Laser Etching on a Headstone: How It Works and What to Expect
Laser etching vs. sandblasting for headstone engraving — photo quality, granite requirements, cost, durability, and what to ask the monument company.
Marble Headstone: Durability, Cost, and What to Check With the Cemetery
Marble headstones are beautiful but degrade faster than granite in outdoor conditions. Compare lifespan, cost, maintenance needs, and cemetery rules before you order.
Photo Headstone Ceramic Portraits: Materials, Costs, and Cemetery Rules
Ceramic photo portraits add an image to a headstone. Compare porcelain, laser-etched, and bronze options — plus cemetery restrictions to check first.
Questions to Ask a Monument Company Before Buying a Headstone
Before buying a headstone, ask these essential questions about granite origin, warranty, installation timeline, and fees. Protect yourself from overcharges.
Sinking Headstone Repair: How to Fix a Tilting or Damaged Monument
A sinking or tilting headstone can be repaired by resetting the foundation. Learn what causes monuments to shift, when to DIY vs hire a mason, and repair costs.
Types of Headstones and Grave Markers: A Visual Guide
Flat markers, bevel, slant, upright, and companion headstones compared — sizes, costs, cemetery rules, and which works for your plot.
Who Owns the Headstone on a Grave? Deed Rights Explained
Who has legal authority to place, change, or remove a headstone — plot deed holders, executors, and what happens when families disagree.