Archive for Funeral Planning Guidance

What is an “immediate burial”?

By Mike Testa · Comments (0)
Thursday, May 23rd, 2013

Choosing an “immediate burial” when making funeral arrangements can have a big impact on the total cost of a funeral.  This article will explain what the funeral home does when you choose an immediate burial instead of a traditional funeral.

 

What are the key elements of an immediate burial?

 

The funeral home does four things when you choose an immediate burial:

 

·        remove body from place of death to funeral home

·        obtain permits

·        transport body to a final resting place

·        bury or entomb the body upon arrival at the cemetery

 

 

What is an immediate burial?

 

With an immediate burial the body is taken directly from the place of death (or from the morgue) to the cemetery.  Normally, the body stops at the funeral home just long enough to secure the death certificate and burial permit – and for the family to buy the cemetery lot.  The body is then transported to the cemetery where it will be buried in a grave or entombed in a mausoleum crypt.

 

With an immediate burial there is no:

·        funeral ceremony

·        viewing or visitation ceremony

·        grave side ceremony

·        embalming or other body preparation

 

Although immediate burials do not include any type of formal ceremony, many families choose to hold a get-together at a relative’s house following the burial.  This allows the family to get a sense of closure without incurring additional expenses at the funeral home.    

 

Click here to find out how much an immediate burial costs.

 

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What does cremation with services mean?

By Mike Testa · Comments (0)
Monday, May 20th, 2013

This article explains cremation with services.  Families choosing cremation have two options: direct cremation or cremation with services. 

Cremation with services often includes elements similar to what you would find in a traditional funeral; however, instead of a casketed body serving as the focal point of ceremonies, the cremated remains are the centerpiece of a memorial service.   

With cremation the body is exposed to high heat and reduced to the consistency of sand.  In the case of cremation with services, the cremation itself could occur after a traditional funeral has been held or the body could be cremated first and the cremains used as the focal point during a memorial service.

A memorial service is any type of service that commemorates the life of the deceased while an urn containing the cremains (i.e. ashes) is in the room.  A funeral service is any type of service that commemorates the life of the deceased while the casketed body is in the room. 

Depending on the timing of cremation, the body may need to be embalmed.  If the body is cremated before any type of formal ceremony is held, embalming is usually not necessary.  If cremation takes place after the body is viewed, embalming is usually required.

To summarize: cremation with services

When you choose cremation with services the body is removed from the place of death to the funeral home or crematory.  The body is then prepared for viewing and visitation, followed by a funeral ceremony and then cremated.

Alternatively, the body could be cremated immediately upon arrival at the funeral home and the cremains used as the centerpiece in a memorial service.

Click here to learn more about cremation.

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Basic facts about the cremation process

By Mike Testa · Comments (0)
Friday, May 17th, 2013

This brief article shares facts about the cremation process.  Most bodies that are cremated are placed in something combustible.  Typical cremation containers include heavy cardboard trays, cardboard or wood caskets, or canvas body bags. 

Only 15 percent of cremations include the use of a casket.  This means nearly 85 percent of cremations take place using a less expensive cardboard container or canvas bag. 

Cremation process

The typical cremation process takes somewhere between one and two hours to complete.  The actual time varies in proportion to the size of the deceased, with larger bodies taking slightly longer to cremate. 

Cremation heats the body and container at a high enough temperature to reduce all contents to cremains.  “Cremains” is the technical term for “ashes.”  A normal adult body yields between five and seven pounds of cremains, enough to fill a 12″X 4″ container.

Cremains are generally gray in color and have a consistency similar to playground sand or fine gravel.  From an environmental standpoint, cremains are sterile and non-polluting.

Most funeral homes return cremated remains in a small cardboard box fitted with a plastic-bag liner.  Sometimes the funeral home will stamp the word “temporary” on the box in an effort to sell the family a more permanent – and expensive – urn.  However, you do not need to purchase an urn because any container, including the simple cardboard box, is sufficient for storage purposes.

You can learn more about the cremation process in the Funeral Saver’s Kit.

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The advantages and disadvantages of donating your body to science

By Mike Testa · Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

Many people consider donating their body to science in lieu of choosing a funeral followed by burial in a cemetery.  Body donation (or medical donation, as it is sometimes called), has advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of donating your body to science

One of the chief advantages related to donating your body to science is that this option is often considerably less expensive than other funeral options.  By donating your body to science, you avoid costs associated with body burial in a cemetery.  You may also be able to lower or reduce costs related to the headstone or memorial marker.

A body donation can also be fairly simple to arrange: normally you file basic paperwork with a donor program (usually a medical school) and then notify the donor program immediately following the death.  Representatives from the medical school will dispatch professionals to pick up the decedent and transport the body back to the medical school.

Moreover, the donor program or medical school accepting the body usually takes full responsibility for handling the eventual cremation and burial tasks.  Families are usually given the option of having cremated remains buried at the school site or returned to the family once the school is finished using the body for teaching purposes.

Donating your body to medical science also has an altruistic advantage in that your donation helps train future doctors and surgeons and may help find cures to a variety of diseases.  While this may not be a high priority in some families, other families take solace in the fact that they are able to make a positive impact on future generations.

Medical donation / Body donation – disadvantages to consider

While medical donation offers many advantages, there are also disadvantages you should consider before finalizing your plans.

You need to plan carefully to ensure that the body will be accepted regardless of the manner of death.  Some donation programs exclude bodies that have expired from certain conditions.  Should you (or a loved one) die in a manner that is excluded under the terms of the donor program, surviving family members would be responsible for making alternative arrangements.  This means even if you were planning on donating your body to science at relatively no cost, you could end up with unexpected funeral bills.

Most donor programs have counselors that can clearly explain which methods of death are acceptable or excludable under their program guidelines.  By talking with the donor program counselor and reviewing their literature, you can reduce –and in many cases eliminate- the risk of an expensive surprise.  Some programs will agree to accept the body regardless of the manner of death – even if the school determines they cannot use the body for teaching purposes.

It is also important to remember that medical donation may not be a viable alternative for “at need” cases.  Most donor programs require program registration prior to the time of death.  Because most medical schools require the decedent to be delivered immediately upon death, there often is not enough time to register for medical donation after the person has died.

This means you should have a backup plan when choosing medical donation.  You want to have a “plan B” just in case your donation is not accepted by the medical school because of an excludable manner of death or because the body could not be transported to the medical school within a reasonable amount of time.  Again, the donor program counselor will be able to provide clear guidance as to what manners of death and what time frames for delivery are acceptable.

Also, because most medical schools use bodily organs in their research, they usually do not accept bodies whose organs have been donated.  So if donating your organs is important to you, the medical donation option may not be available to you.  Similarly, autopsied bodies are usually not eligible for medical donation for the same reason.

Note: most medical schools do allow you to donate your eyes without jeopardizing a full body donation.

While donating your body to science can be a wonderful way to serve future generations, the process may not celebrate the decedent’s life as the family wants.  Because time is of the essence when donating a body, there usually is not time to hold a funeral or memorial service with the body present.  This doesn’t mean the family can’t hold a memorial service anyway; it just means that they will have to hold the service in the absence of the body or cremated remains.

Because some families find that holding a funeral is therapeutic and helps them begin the healing process, forgoing a funeral for body donation, may be less satisfying to some  surviving family members.

Although all medical schools hold a community memorial service to pay respects to the bodies used during the previous semester’s classes, this ceremony usually does not occur until approximately 18 months after the date of death.  This extended “waiting period” often may delay the family’s feeling of closure.

Lastly, because the body needs to be preserved for a long time period (usually until the next school semester starts), the medical school will be required to embalm the body.

Donating your body to medical science has many advantages and disadvantages.  The above considerations can be used as a starting point for making an appropriate decision.

You can learn more about donating your body to medical science here.

 

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What are the advantages and disadvantages of a traditional funeral service?

By Mike Testa · Comments (0)
Thursday, May 2nd, 2013

 This article identifies a variety of considerations related to holding a traditional funeral service.  Reviewing these considerations will help you identify the type of funeral service that is most appropriate in your situation.  

 

Advantages of a traditional funeral service

A traditional funeral service is the most popular –and therefore, socially acceptable- type of funeral service in America.  The structured formality of the traditional funeral service may provide the family with a sense of comfort and closure not experienced in less formal service arrangements.

 

The traditional funeral affords ample time for friends and extended family to attend and support the surviving family members.  A traditional funeral usually includes some type of viewing ceremony held one or two nights before the actual funeral.  Since the funeral ceremony itself is almost always held during the daytime, this nighttime visitation allows friends to pay their respects, even if they work during the day.  Also, by scheduling the traditional funeral three to six days after the death, extended family members have time to make travel arrangements, if necessary.

 

The traditional funeral provides many ways to celebrate the life of the deceased.  Although the traditional funeral can be a fairly structured event, it also provides maximum flexibility in terms of casket choice, religious readings, flower arrangements, and eulogies.

 

Lastly, the expenses associated with a traditional funeral service leave plenty of room for negotiating a big discount.  Using a resource like the Funeral Saver’s Kit to plan your funeral can often slash several thousands dollars from the funeral home’s bill.

Disadvantages of the traditional funeral service

The main disadvantage of the traditional funeral service is its cost.  The traditional funeral service is the most expensive option in terms of service, disposition, and memorial costs.  The average traditional funeral costs nearly $7,500 and often exceeds $10,000. 

 

Many people also feel that traditional funeral services lack meaning.  This is often the case when the family fails to personalize a highly-structured traditional funeral service.  (The Funeral Savers Kit provides many useful tips that show you how to personalize the traditional funeral service for free.)

 

Holding a viewing during the evening, followed by the actual funeral service the next day, forces family and friends to make multiple trips to the funeral home (separate trips for viewing and funeral ceremonies).  This may be an inconvenience for family members that are ill, disabled, or have to travel great distances.  The traditional funeral also requires the greatest time commitment from the immediate family in terms of planning and attending ceremonies.

 

Unfortunately, the traditional funeral service is subject to the greatest amount of sales pressure from funeral home employees.  Because there are many funeral goods and services associated with a traditional funeral, there are a lot of opportunities for the funeral home to sell overpriced (and often unnecessary) items under the guise of “tradition.”

 

The traditional funeral service, like any other type of funeral service, has both advantages and disadvantages.  Considering both the benefits and costs associated with a traditional service allows you to make an appropriate choice for your family. 

You can learn more about traditional funeral services with the Funeral Saver’s Kit.

 

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What are the advantages and disadvantages of direct cremation?

By Mike Testa · Comments (0)
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013

Direct Cremation Advantages

Direct cremation offers an affordable alternative to traditional body burial. 

While direct cremation can significantly reduce funeral home costs, you can reap additional financial benefits from the cemetery and headstone dealer.  If you choose not to bury the cremated remains – and many people do not - you can eliminate many items that make the traditional funeral so expensive. 

Here is a list of costs you can eliminate by choosing direct cremation:

  • expensive casket
  • embalming
  • funeral home staff and facilities charge
  • cosmetic and hair dressing charges
  • funeral chapel or church fees
  • viewing or visitation charges
  • transportation fees (hearse, flower car, utility vehicle, etc.)
  • burial plot or mausoleum crypt
  • vault or grave liner
  • grave opening and closing costs
  • headstone or grave marker

But price is not the only advantage in choosing direct cremation.  Many people prefer cremation because the cremains (i.e. ashes) are portable.  This allows families to take remains with them when they move.  Many people also feel that choosing cremation over body burial is friendlier to the environment because no land is disturbed. 

Direct cremation is also simpler and more expedient.  The entire affair usually takes place in just two or three days; furthermore, direct cremation requires less time commitment from the family.  This can be especially important if surviving family members are ill, disabled, or live far away.

Cremation also offers a wide range of disposition options.  While most families decide to keep remains at home, other options exist.   You can find many creative cremation options in the Funeral Saver’s Kit.

 

Direct Cremation Disadvantages

While direct cremation offers many advantages, you also need to consider its potential disadvantages before finalizing your plans. 

Because many families find comfort in holding a traditional funeral service, a simpler direct cremation may not be therapeutic enough to satisfy surviving family members. 

In addition, direct cremation does not allow the family to celebrate the decedent’s life, nor does it give friends an opportunity to say goodbye.

And because the funeral home makes less money when providing direct cremation services, funeral home employees may try harder to sell you extras.

Lastly, even though you may not have to buy a grave site or headstone, you will incur an additional expense if you decide to purchase an urn.

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Cost considerations when choosing direct cremation

By Mike Testa · Comments (0)
Monday, April 8th, 2013

This article will discuss the costs involved in choosing a direct cremation.  There are two basic ways to arrange for direct cremation: through a funeral home or directly through a crematory.  A crematory is a business that only performs cremation services.

Generally speaking, most funeral homes do not perform cremations themselves.  Instead, they contract out their cremation services to a crematory and include the crematory’s fees as part of the funeral home’s bill.  Many times the funeral home will add a separate handling fee to the crematory’s charges. 

This means it’s usually less expensive to arrange direct cremation through the crematory.  Doing so allows you to eliminate any extra fees from the funeral home.   

Average Direct Cremation Costs

The average cost of performing a direct cremation through a funeral home is between $1,600 and $3,000.  Costs can run as high as $5,500 if you purchase a casket to be used in the cremation. 

The average cost of performing a direct cremation through a crematory is between $1,000 and $2,200.  Again, costs can be significantly more if you cremate the body in an expensive casket.

From a practical standpoint, there isn’t a good reason to purchase a casket for use in a direct cremation.  You’ll be fine using a less-expensive cardboard box, sometimes referred to as an “alternative container.”

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Donating your body to science – what you need to know about body donation

By Mike Testa · Comments (0)
Friday, April 5th, 2013

Many people consider donating their body to science in lieu of choosing a funeral followed by cemetery burial.   

Donating your body to science:  a basic description

When you choose to donate a deceased body to science, you are essentially donating the body to aid medical research – usually to teach medical students about anatomy.

When you donate a body, a representative from the medical school picks up the body and takes it to back to the school school where it’s embalmed and stored.  The body is used to teach anatomy to medical students during the following semester’s classes.  After the semester ends, the body is cremated.

The cremated remains (i.e. cremains) are either returned to the family or buried in communal plot in a cemetery near the medical school. 

Families choosing to donate a body to science can still choose to hold their own memorial service after the death; however, in cases of body donation, the cremains will not be present during the memorial service (because the body needs to be transported to the medical school immediately following death).

The medical school usually holds a single memorial service for all of the bodies used during the previous semester’s classes, and surviving family members are invited to attend the ceremony.   The medical school’s memorial service occurs approximately two years after the date of death.

After the school holds their memorial service, the cremains are usually buried in a cemetery near the medical school.  However, the family can also request the cremains be returned to the family.  Again, this occurs nearly two years after death.

Body donation – typical requirements

Medical schools have specific rules that must be followed in order to donate a body for their use.  Most schools only accept fully-intact bodies (because they can also use the organs in their research).  This means most schools will not accept a body that has been autopsied or that has donated bodily organs.  

Note: usually, you are allowed to donate the eyes without jeopardizing the full body donation – but check with your specific donation program first, just to be sure.

Here is an index that identifies body donation programs.

I live near the Cleveland Clinic, and they also have a reputable medical donation program.

There is usually no cost associated with donating a body to a medical school, as long as you deal directly with the school itself.  Many funeral homes will help arrange a medical donation, but they usually charge a fee (about $1,000) for doing so.

If you are thinking about body donation as a way to avoid the expense of a funeral, considering consulting the Funeral Saver’s Kit.  Its helped thousands of families reduce burdensome funeral expenses and choose the end-of-life options that are right for them.  It includes even more information about donating a body to science.

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What makes up a “traditional” funeral?

By Mike Testa · Comments (0)
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

A “traditional” funeral involves the laying out of a casketed body for friends and family to pay respects.  The casket itself may be either “open” or “closed”.  An open casket is one in which the casket lid is left open so that the deceased is visible throughout the ceremony.  A closed casket ceremony means the ceremony is held in the presence of the casket, but the casket lid is closed.  The decedent’s family decides which option they prefer after considering the manner of death and condition of the body.

During a traditional funeral, some type of remembrance ceremony is held.  This ceremony gives friends an opportunity to “say goodbye” to the person who has died and comfort surviving family members.  The funeral ceremony may be open to anyone that wishes to come, or it may be restricted to invited friends and family members.

With a traditional funeral, the body is removed from the place of death and transported to the funeral home.  At the funeral home, the body is embalmed and cosmetically repaired (i.e. the hair is combed, cleaned, and set and makeup, if needed, is applied).  After the body is prepared, it is laid out in a casket. 

Usually, a viewing or visitation ceremony is held the night before the actual funeral service.  This gives friends and well-wishers an opportunity to pay their respects even if they can’t attend the actual funeral service (which is usually held during normal work hours).  If the casket lid is closed during this time, it’s called a “visitation” ceremony; if the casket lid remains open during the ceremony, it is known as a “viewing.”

The actual funeral ceremony is usually held the day after the viewing ceremony.  This is the formal ceremony in which the eulogy is given, often by a religious official.

Immediately following the funeral ceremony, the body is transported to its final resting place – usually a cemetery or mausoleum.  A committal service (i.e. separate service held at the grave side) may also be held right before the casketed body is buried or entombed.

Learn more about traditional funerals.

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What you must know before planning a funeral

By Mike Testa · Comments (0)
Saturday, March 30th, 2013

Before planning a funeral you should know that death care in America is a business.  There are service providers (e.g. funeral homes, cemeteries, and headstone dealers) and there are consumers (people like you and me who need to make funeral arrangements). 

 

Like any business, funeral homes and cemeteries should provide their goods and services on an honest and fair basis.  Unfortunately, this rarely happens as several characteristics unique to the funeral industry place the consumer at a significant disadvantage when making funeral arrangements. 

 

Unique characteristics inherent in planning a funeral:

 

·        disorientation caused by bereavement

·        infrequency of purchase

·        lack of objective information

·        the need to make decisions quickly

·        social taboos surrounding death

·        lack of standards by which to judge funeral goods & services

·        the fact that most people:

o       fail to view funeral arrangements as a business transaction

o       are ignorant of the law as it pertains to disposal of the dead

o       know very little about how a funeral home operates

 

Together these characteristics place consumers at a significant disadvantage when making funeral arrangements.  Funeral homes are staffed by experienced salesmen who deal with the business of death every day.  These professional salespeople square off against emotionally distraught families forced to act hastily with little or no information about legal requirements and available options.

 

The profit-obsessed nature of the funeral industry creates a conflict of interest between the desire for sales and the consumer’s need for meaning and affordability.  The funeral home can make substantially more money if they can manipulate a family into buying unnecessary and overpriced items.  In this unbalanced and highly charged environment, purchase decisions are often based on what the funeral home offers to sell instead of what the family wants (or can afford) to purchase.  This increases consumer costs and decreases consumer satisfaction with the goods and services received. 

 

This website and the Funeral Saver’s Kit ”level the playing field”.  Together they give you, the consumer, objective information and tools needed to understand, evaluate, and make satisfying and affordable funeral arrangements. 

 

A major assumption that lies behind modern funeral practices is that “nothing is too good for the dead”….but you are NOT being disrespectful to the deceased by being practical regarding the arrangements.

 

Most people want to avoid looking cheap when making funeral arrangements.  They want to arrange “a nice, decent funeral”, but they have no idea what a nice, decent funeral looks like.  And everybody is concerned about price – so don’t feel guilty about wanting or needing to make less expensive arrangements.  Did you know that when President John F. Kennedy died, even his family didn’t want to overpay?  The Kennedy family’s accountant was hired to review the funeral home’s bill and identify unnecessary charges.  In the end, the accountant was able to save the family a substantial amount of money.

 

There will be a temptation to just throw up your hands and let the funeral director make all the decisions because of time pressures, uncomfortable decisions, and the emotional stress of dealing with all the pertinent details, but that can be an expensive and unnecessary mistake. 

 

Next to a house and car, a funeral is the third most expensive purchase the average American citizen makes during his lifetime.  Just as you are careful when buying a car or house, being careful when making funeral arrangements can result in tremendous financial savings.

 

The Funeral Saver’s Kit, along with this website, gives you honest advice regarding choices and prices…after all, you have to live the rest of your life with the decisions you make in an hour or two; if you waste money now, it’s gone forever.

 

The key to feeling comfortable and saving money is knowing the available alternatives and asking for them – and that’s what you’ll learn using the help you find here. 

 

Remember, stripped to its simplest form a funeral is merely saying goodbye and disposing of the remains…all else is really unnecessary.

 

Click here to learn more about planning a funeral.

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