RESOURCES
How Are Costs Of A Funeral Determined?
There are generally three major parts to establishing the total costs involved in planning a funeral.
The first cost would be the services being provided by the funeral home. This could involve everything from the transporting of the deceased from the place of death to the funeral home, any scientific preparation work involved, cremation fee, documentation required, costs of vehicles used, staff costs, obituaries, and the many more items handled by your funeral director for you and your family. The second cost would be the casket and urn selected, either by the deceased, in the event of a pre-planned funeral, or the family in the case of an ‘at need’ funeral. This cost varies because of the wide selection of caskets and urns available and the materials they are constructed from.
The final part of the funeral cost, would be items that are paid for by the funeral home on your behalf, such as the grave costs in the cemetery, honorariums, food for a reception, etc. When all three of these items are totaled and the HST is applied, you have the total cost of a funeral. All funeral homes are required to itemize what you are being invoiced for in their final statement to you, to clarify to you what you are paying for, and how much. In the final analysis, the cost you pay for a funeral is based on what decisions you make and the services you require based on the needs of your family.
The professional funeral director is there to guide and assist you in ensuring you have options in all of these areas. Funerals, not unlike other purchases, do increase on a yearly basis, depending on the costs of the supplies and services the funeral home must pay. We, as funeral professionals, try to ensure the prices we charge are only equal to the increases we are ourselves charged.
Is Pre-Arranging a Funeral Costly?
You can make your funeral wishes known at no cost whatsoever. Your local funeral director can provide you, or your lawyer, with all the information needed for your funeral, at no charge or obligation. It’s just a matter of filling out the forms and making your personal wishes known.
You can select funeral details in advance with your funeral home,and keep costs within the limits which you establish. The type of service and merchandise you select will be priced for you at today’s costs. The full amount can be set aside in a trust fund, or insurance policy payable when the need arises. Your lawyer or banker can assist you in this, along with the counsel your funeral director can provide.
Also available to you, is a no-payment form of funeral prearrangement, in which you simply specify the type of service and merchandise you want. You keep a copy in your records, as does the funeral home. At the time of death, your family can act according to your wishes. Contact your local funeral director to answer any questions you may have with regard to pre-planning.
