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Message:
Holy Week #1: Palm Sunday
Speaker:
Chuck Lowe
Scripture Passage:
Matthew 21:1-17
Devotional
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Among the questions to be addressed in planning a funeral are:
Pre-paid or pre-arranged?
Consumer advocates commonly advise prearrangement - but not prepayment - of funerals and cremations. Prearrangement saves the bereaved a lot of confusion, uncertainty and perhaps exploitation. In lieu of prepayment, those who want to spare their survivors any expense are advised to earmark a bank account for this purpose.
Funeral home or private arrangement?
The simplest approach to planning a funeral is to use the services of a funeral home. The bereaved must still make several decisions, and are advised to take a friend along for support. But the funeral director will take care of most details. Yet because this is the simplest approach, it is also the most expensive: in 2003, a typical funeral costs $10,000 or more (including funeral home, casket, burial plot, etc.).
Alternatively, state law permits the bereaved to bypass a funeral home, though this option remains atypical. Consumer guides are available to help you through the entire process. Roughly, the procedure involves:
- obtaining a death certificate through the hospital where the death occurred, or through the local police department if the death occurred at home;
- selecting the cemetery or crematorium;
- with the death certificate, obtaining a burial permit from the Board of Health in the town where the death occurred (or from the police, if immediate burial is sought on the weekend or holidays) (cost: $5);
- with the death certificate, registering the death at the Town Clerk's office in the town where the death occurred. The Town Clerk will retain the original death certificate and provide certified copies for legal and financial purposes (obtain 6-10 copies, at $10 each);
- making arrangements for delivery of the body to cemetery or crematorium (immediate next-of-kin may deliver the bodies themselves; non-immediate relatives and others must hire a service to perform this task).
Bypassing the funeral home involves considerable work, but can save thousands of dollars; using an 'alternative container' rather than an expensive casket can save thousands more. Still, a basic burial costs $5000 or more.
Burial or cremation?
While burial is traditional, cremation is increasingly common in a mobile culture where families often cannot remain close enough to visit the grave. Cremation is also typically less expensive: a no-frills cremation can cost as little as $350 (if the family delivers the body to the crematorium) or about $1000 (if the family uses a cremation service to make all arrangements). Funeral homes will also arrange cremation, but typically at higher cost than a cremation service.
Embalming or immediate burial?
While common, embalming is not actually required. If the funeral is to be held several days after death, some funeral homes provide refrigeration at considerably lower cost than embalming. Cemeteries also make provision for immediate burial, which requires neither embalming nor refrigeration. State law prohibits cremation until 48 hours after death, but the crematorium will typically store the body without additional fee.
Visitation or private viewing?
Some families arrange 'visiting hours' with the funeral home (for additional fee), so that relatives and friends may visit in the days before their funeral to pay their respects to the deceased and family. Other families prefer to mourn in privacy. This is entirely at the discretion of the bereaved.
Which funeral home?
As in any other business, funeral homes differ in quality of service and in cost. By federal law, funeral homes must provide pricing information over the phone and in the office; they should provide three price lists:
- general price list (covering a range of burial services);
- casket price list (see below);
- outer burial container list (see below).
You may also wish to visit the funeral home before reaching a decision.
Type of casket?
Funeral homes typically display only
mid-priced or expensive caskets, but can provide more
modest caskets on request. Caskets may also be purchased
- often at considerable discount - on-line or from a local
casket warehouse. (To facilitate pre-purchase, some caskets
are designed to double as a bookcase or coffee table until
needed.) A cardboard casket ('alternative container')
is sufficient for cremation.
Open casket or closed?
The former permits viewing of
the deceased; the latter precludes viewing.
Which cemetery?
As in the case of funeral homes, cemeteries
will typically provide cost information over the phone.
Costs typically include: grave plot (for two, stacked
vertically), outer container, marker or monument, and
opening the grave.
Type of outer container?
The outer container is made
of concrete, and sits in the gravesite to prevent the
ground from collapsing. Outer containers come in two types:
- grave liner (unsealed, which permits natural decomposition);
- coffin vault (sealed from air and water, promoting liquefaction of the remains).
The distinction is purely psychological and financial.
Marker or monument?
The cemetery generally regulates
the sort of marker or monument permitted. The cemetery
will also provide assistance in securing the marker or
monument, though at mark-up. The family can secure their
own marker or monument, though the cemetery will often
charge an 'installation fee' to place it at the grave.
Type and location of services?
The two most common
times to hold a service are either before burial (funeral
service) or after cremation (memorial service). Interment
is usually accompanied by a second, briefer service of
committal at the grave site. Typically the family invites
those whom they wish to take part in the service.
Obituary or death notice?
A funeral director will
provide a form for this purpose. Otherwise, contact the
preferred newspaper for guidelines and procedures.
Flowers or donations?
In lieu of floral arrangements,
some families prefer donations to a favorite charity of
the deceased. This can be announced in the obituary.
Post-interment reception?
Some families provide a
light meal for those who attend the committal service.
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