An Honest Look at Funeral Expenses

It’s no surprise: many families are unaware of, or misinformed, about the cost of making funeral arrangements – whether the plan includes a traditional funeral, or a simple memorial service – our goal is to provide options to meet everyone's individual needs and wishes.That’s why we’d like to address the subject of funeral expenses here, opening the door to a later, more personal conversation with you. If you’re ready to chat about funeral expenses, we invite you to contact us today.

Every funeral home is required by the Federal Trade Commission to provide consumers with a copy of the firm’s GPL, or General Price List. It is one of the basic tenets of the Funeral Rule; a set of strict guidelines developed by the FTC to govern the business practices of funeral homes across the country-- and protect consumers. The GPL is a complete list of “all the items and services the home offers, and the cost of each one". If this document is not all inclusive, the funeral home must also provide consumers with a separate Casket Price List and Outer Burial Container Price List. (Source: FTC) Unfortunately, it’s sometimes difficult for consumers to navigate through all the details found in any of these documents; this is why it’s our practice to sit down with a family to review them together.

What you’ll pay a funeral home will largely depend on your cremation/burial decision; but your final funeral expenses will also include the services and products you select during the arrangement conference, such as memorial folders, a newspaper obituary, or any post-service reception costs.

It covers the professional services of the funeral home staff to compensate for the time spent in the arrangement conference and in funeral planning; obtaining copies of the death certificate and preparing applications for the required permits, caring for the physical remains (commonly called "sheltering"), and coordinating arrangements with any third-party providers, such as crematories or cemeteries. You will always pay the funeral firm’s Basic Services Fee. 

There are also “cash advance items” for things like cemetery expenses, catering, flowers, musicians, clergy or celebrant honorariums, as well as the fees charged by newspapers for the publication of the obituary. These items are selected by the family and paid to the provider, directly by the funeral home, on the family's behalf.

We know you have concerns about funeral expenses, and we’d like the opportunity to address them face-to- face. We believe part of our work lies in education: it’s our job to explain available end-of- life options (cremation and burial, for example); and it’s also our responsibility to honestly disclose and discuss funeral expenses. Interested in knowing more about funeral costs? We invite you to contact us directly. We’d be honored to hear from you.