About Us & Services
Memorial Alternatives offers a different option than a traditional funeral home for the families in today's society who would like to do things themselves. Their desire is to have a service provider, such as Memorial Alternatives, to complete the cremation process and for them to plan their own services. Our intention is to provide dignified services at a reduced cost to those who wish to have cremation or burial with a minimum of ceremony.Pre-planning – Making plans in advance is encouraged and can be completed at Memorial Alternatives. Pre-planning not only eases the burden from your family at the time of loss but also shows your survivors your wishes. Preplanned arrangements consist of planning and the funding of the plan. You have the option to just plan or complete both the plan and the funding. Prepaying can be accomplished by the use of a Maine Mortuary Trust Agreement. The Mortuary Trust Agreement protects these funds so that they will always be available to take care of the beneficiaries wishes. If pre-planning is something you would like to accomplish please call us to make an appointment to meet with a Memorial Alternatives Funeral Service Practitioner.
Office Hours – Appointments to meet with one of the funeral directors are scheduled Monday-Friday between the hours of 9 AM – 4 PM. Our professional staff is available 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week, to make the transfer from the place of passing to our facility. All arrangements are made at the main office at 205 Center Street, Bangor.
About Cremation in the State of Maine – There are several laws that provide oversight in the State of Maine. One is that an authorization for cremation from the most immediate next of kin needs to be signed before the cremation can take place. This authorization gives full disclosure of the cremation process and gives consent to Memorial Alternatives from the family to complete the cremation. Second is that there is a 48 hour waiting period between the time of death and the time cremation can take place. Refrigeration is available and used to hold remains at Memorial Alternatives during this waiting period. Third is that an alternative container (an alternative to a casket) is required for transportation to the crematory and is cremated with the remains. The staff at the crematorium is not licensed like the staff at the funeral home and handles the container the remains are transported in. This container is a corrugated cardboard material.