Save money on funeral costs: Cheap Trick Thursday
More bodies are going unclaimed because families can't afford the funeral costs, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Certainly, many people are struggling financially, so it's not surprising that the added unexpected cost of putting someone in their final resting place might be just too much. In Los Angeles, the fee to claim a body from the coroner is $200; claiming the ashes costs $352 to $466.
And, frankly, most people are lucky enough not to have a lot of experience planning funerals, so they are in uncharted territory at a time when they are very emotionally vulnerable.
The best advice, of course, is to have conversations with your loved ones about their wishes before they pass, so that you don't make choices that you can't afford.
Where should you start?
The Federal Trade Commission has a lot of advice about your rights when planning a funeral.
Here are links to two brochures: Paying Final Respects: Your Rights When Buying Funeral Goods & Services and Funerals: A Consumer Guide. The former includes a price list and a checklist of questions to ask funeral professionals, and you can get a hard copy by calling 1-877-382-4357.
Tips to remember: you can call to get price quotes over the phone; you can't be charged for embalming you didn't authorize; and the funeral home can't refuse a casket you buy from another supplier (check online) nor can it charge you an extra fee for handling it.
The Maryland Cooperative Extension also offers a Funeral Planning Advice brochure. You can order a copy by calling 410-222-6756. Some of their tips? Consider renting a casket and using a less expensive one for burial. Maryland doesn't require a casket for cremation, either. You can also donate your body to the Anatomy Board of Maryland.
Here's some information from the Funeral Consumers Alliance (via Consumerist).
The Maryland Office of Cemetery Oversight has some state-specific details, including this tip: embalming is not required, although the funeral home may require it if extended viewing is requested.
Some people are turning to DIY funerals --- building their own coffins and preparing the body themselves --- in an attempt to save money and help the environment by avoiding embalming chemicals. Advocates don't discount the emotional advantage of taking care of these needs, either. Here's a 1997 NPR story about DIY funerals, and Smithsonian Magazine wrote about DIY funerals in March.
Comments
The NYT ran a good article about home burials on 7/21/09. It's obviously not for everyone but seems like it's very intimate and rather inexpensive alternative...if you're the type of family that can talk about these things in advance.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/us/21funeral.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=funeral%20at%20home&st=cse
Posted by: bob | July 23, 2009 12:30 PM
Recently I planned my own funeral with a free website called MyWonderfulLife.com. I'm not planning on passing anytime soon, but it was a nice way to let my family and friends know that I don't need an expensive casket or flower sprays at my funeral.
Posted by: Talia | July 28, 2009 10:58 AM