6 FAQs About Private Mausoleums

We understand that before you commit to a private mausoleum as your eternal resting place, you may have questions about these structures. After all, building a private mausoleum or family mausoleum requires the expenditure of resources, so you want to make sure you are fully informed before you begin.

Here are some of the most popular questions our clients ask about private entombment options.

What is a private mausoleum?

A private mausoleum is a sizable structure, generally made out of a stone such as granite, designed to house the remains of a loved one above ground.

Mausoleums are generally referred to as an “above-ground burial option.” While this description may sound strange, it generally refers to the entombment of a body in a mausoleum or inurnment of cremated remains in a columbarium niche.

Private mausoleums or family mausoleums are structures built to hold the remains of one person or family. They are sometimes called custom mausoleums and may be built on private property or a section of a cemetery purchased for this use. Typically, the general public does not have access to a private mausoleum.

What is the point of a mausoleum?

The choice you make for your eternal resting place is a profoundly personal decision. The decision may be based on family tradition, your faith, or personal preference.

Some choose entombment in a private mausoleum because they are uncomfortable with the other options for themselves or their loved ones.

Others may choose a private mausoleum to give their families a beautiful, quiet place to go to reflect on life. Mausoleums are wonderful places for private times of prayer, meditation, and reflection.

Additionally, some families view a custom-built mausoleum as a part of their family’s legacy. A private mausoleum is designed to reflect the individual’s or family’s contributions to the world. Personal touches can be added to reflect your beliefs, tastes, and interests.

How is someone buried in a mausoleum?

A private mausoleum is an above-ground building designed to be the eternal resting place of a person or family. Typically private mausoleums are walk-in or vestibule-style mausoleums.

The crypt is the part of the mausoleum that holds the remains of the deceased. Crypts are often built into the walls of the building and may face internally or externally. Some crypts may be placed on the mausoleum floor. They can hold either caskets or urns. The crypt is sealed and protects the remains from the elements.

Can you go inside a mausoleum?

Yes, vestibule-style private mausoleums are designed for mourners to enter and escape from the elements while they privately reflect on the deceased’s life. A vestibule-style mausoleum is a private entombment option.

While visiting a cemetery, you may have seen public mausoleums that looked like large outdoor walls with external-facing crypts. These are referred to as garden mausoleums. They are typically designed for public use and are not designed with an entrance for mourners.

Which religions use mausoleums?

People of every faith use mausoleums as eternal resting places. In fact, the mausoleum can be customized to reflect the religious beliefs of the family.

What is the average cost for a private mausoleum?

Custom mausoleums generally start at a few hundred thousand dollars and may run into the millions of dollars. As with any investment of this size, careful consideration should be made with the team entrusted to this project.

We know that you have more questions about building a private mausoleum for your family. The Forever Legacy team is here to help. We are here to answer any general questions you have about customized mausoleums, but we are also willing to spend time walking you through the building process.

4 Steps to Buying a Mausoleum

We know that the process of building a mausoleum may fill you with unease. After all, it’s not every day that one considers their final resting place for all of eternity. That’s one reason we would like to break down the process into a few steps.

Building a mausoleum is similar to any other large-scale project that you have completed in your professional or personal life. And if you select the right company to assist you with this project, you might even find yourself enjoying the process.

Steps you will go through when buying a mausoleum:

Step 1: Choose a mausoleum company to help you with the process.

A mausoleum should have these two fundamental qualities; it should be personalized and eternal.

When choosing a mausoleum company, make sure they offer full customization and personalization of the design process. Steer away from companies that ask you to pick a design from a catalog. After all, your family’s name and legacy will forever be attached to the project, so you will want it to be unique to you.

Also, a mausoleum must be designed and constructed to last forever. Work with a company that uses high-quality materials and offers a guarantee, like Forever Legacy’s Eternal Guarantee™ .

That’s why we would like you to consider discussing your mausoleum design with Forever Legacy. We are the premier choice for private mausoleum construction in the United States.

Step 2: Choose the site for your private mausoleum.

You might already have several locations in mind for your private mausoleum. If so, discuss the pros and cons of each site with your designer. He or she may see how to incorporate a portion of the landscape into the design you have never considered.

Once you select the location of your mausoleum, you are ready to fine-tune the design.

Step 3: Go through your in-person or online design consultation.

If you choose to work with Forever Legacy, you will meet with your design team for an initial consultation. Your design team will discuss the style, color, and landscaping ideas for your private mausoleum during this meeting. You will talk about how to personalize the structure to reflect your family’s personality and beliefs.

You can come to the meeting with a “folder full” of ideas or come empty-handed. Just as your mausoleum will be customized, so is the consultation process.

Once we have met for the initial consultation, we will give you more information about the cost considerations. Our team will begin work on the design and will submit a final proposal for you.

When the proposal is accepted, the granite will be quarried and cut in our Vermont facility. After that, the construction process will begin.

Step 4: Receive periodic reports from the construction site.

Forever Legacy offers a concierge-level service throughout the entire process. We will keep you informed about your mausoleum’s construction without inundating you with information.

Once the project is complete, you will be able to visit the mausoleum for quiet moments of reflection. You can enjoy what you have created and think of the legacy that you will leave behind for your family.

A critical aspect of that legacy is the eternal guarantee. Eternal Mausoleums™ will guarantee your structure in perpetuity. This is backed by an independent trust established in 1865 and is offered to the family, the heirs, and the cemetery.

Once you are ready to begin the design process of your family’s private mausoleum, fill out this form to request a consultation.

We know that the mausoleum building process may feel different than any other project you have completed before, but you will be comforted knowing that you have chosen the best team for the job.

Benefits of a Private Mausoleum

Everyone knows that their time on this earth is limited. People face this knowledge in varying ways.

Some people avoid discussions about end-of-life topics. They put off decisions that will eventually need to be made, with or without their input.

Others care too much about their family’s legacy to leave things to chance. They research their options and make choices that put the comfort and wellbeing of their family members first.

Perhaps it is time for you to consider your permanent resting place. If you are ready to begin the discussion, reach out to Forever Legacy. Our mission is to create a beautiful and eternal place of remembrance for families.

Forever Legacy is the premier provider of custom-built private mausoleums. Mausoleums are above-ground structures that are designed to contain the remains of individuals or families. They can house casketed remains or cremation ashes.

If you are just beginning to think about your options for eternity, you may be weighing the pros and cons of each of your choices. Let us help by discussing the benefits of a private mausoleum that you may not have considered.

Benefits of a Private Mausoleum

Although there are many benefits of building a custom-made private mausoleum, let’s focus on three.

1) You Have Privacy

Unlike public cemeteries or mausoleums, a private mausoleum provides a quiet, secure, and dignified space for families to be laid to rest.

Your family’s mourners will be able to grieve and reflect in a comfortable and beautiful space inside the mausoleum. They will be protected from the elements in a climate-controlled setting.

The completely private setting will be free from distractions and external noises. It will be a comfortable, relaxing place for your family and close friends to use for prayer and meditation.

Forever Legacy will also protect your privacy during the design and building process. Our concierge-level service appeals to a discriminating clientele.

Your family’s mausoleum will be a dignified, secure, beautiful space that your loved ones will want to visit.

2) Private Mausoleums are Personalized

Another benefit of a private mausoleum is that its design can reflect the individual or family’s personality, tastes, and beliefs.

Forever Legacy specializes in private, custom-built mausoleums. Our designers and artisans work together to create and build one-of-a-kind structures. Your family’s private mausoleum will be permanently attached to your name. It will be part of your legacy, so you don’t want to choose a mausoleum design out of a catalog.

Before we draw up your design plans, our team will meet with you to develop your mausoleum’s concept. Our goal is to create a structure that reflects your life and legacy.

A custom-built private mausoleum designed by Forever Legacy will bring dignity and honor to your family name for eternity.

3) The Design is Pre-Arranged

Although private mausoleums can be designed and built for people who have already passed, many of Forever Legacy’s clients arrange for their resting place to be made before it is needed. Of course, this enables the decision-maker to choose the location, design, size, and amenities of the structure.

Planning Ahead is Key

Creating an end-of-life plan is one of the best gifts you can give to your loved ones. After you pass, your family and close friends will be able to gather together to comfort each other as they share memories instead of having to scramble to make funeral arrangements.

You wouldn’t think of entering your golden years without making financial provisions for those you leave behind. Preparing your final resting place is simply part of that process.

Talk with your estate lawyer to learn about the tax benefit that may come from building a private mausoleum.

We Are Here to Assist You With the Process

We know that you have many questions about building a mausoleum for your family. Forever Legacy is here to help. We will walk you through the entire process and answer questions you may have about appropriate locations, materials, landscaping, and our eternal guarantee.

Take a private and personalized approach to your end-of-life planning by building a custom-built mausoleum. This structure will be part of your family’s legacy for eternity.

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The single best way to memorialize an important life is with the construction of a family mausoleum. Not only do certain unique and personal design implements herald the remarkable lives of the persons interred, but also the importance of the family name lives on in perpetuity.

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The exhibit features mausoleum artwork, furniture, stained glass, ironwork, and sculptures from the Gilded Age period (1870s to 1900). Curators of the exhibition took extra steps contextualize the pieces, including researching tomb designers and tomb inhabitants and reaching out to descendants of the deceased individuals entombed at Woodlawn.

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The cemetery has weathered the last 165 years, but now its historic Banyard Mausoleum is on the brink of collapsing, and the Heritage Library Foundation hopes to raise $175,000 for renovations. The group intends to preserve the historic antebellum architecture of the structure, which is the island’s oldest and only surviving building from the Civil War period. It houses the remains of affluent planter William Eddings Banyard and his family. The marble-covered crypt holds 21 burial chambers that are still intact, though only seven people were interred within.

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Archaeologists recently discovered the 2,100 year-old tomb of Chinese King Liu Fei, who died in 128 BC. The mountaintop excavation, which took two years, unearthed 10,000 artifacts made of gold, silver, bronze, and jade.

As befitting a ruler known for “extreme arrogance and luxury,” according to historians, Liu Fei entered the afterlife in grand style. Replete with all the treasures of the ancient world, his mausoleum offers a glimpse of his luxurious lifestyle, boasting:

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