The death of a loved one is an emotional and difficult time for everyone. However, planning ahead and making decisions in advance can help ease the burden during this difficult time.
Funeral arrangements should be made with a funeral director in accordance with your wishes and the wishes of your family. It is important to compare prices and services of funeral establishments before selecting the right one for your needs.
Preparation
Preparation for a funeral is often a time of grief, and the responsibility can be overwhelming. But with a little planning, it can be a more manageable task.
Start by choosing a location for the service. Whether you want to have the service at home, the crematorium or somewhere else, it’s important to decide on a suitable venue.
You may also want to choose music for the funeral service. Picking songs that reflect the person’s hobbies or interests can help to make the funeral more personal and meaningful.
Lastly, you may want to make an obituary or write a death notice. This will communicate the preference for flowers or donations to charity organizations and other wishes. It will also let people know when the funeral service will take place.
Arrangements
Arrangements include selecting a casket, outer burial container or alternate container and deciding how to dispose of cremains. Funeral directors may help you with these choices, or you can work with a third-party provider that coordinates these services for a fee.
Funeral homes offer basic and extra funeral arrangements services. They can also arrange for transportation and lodging for out-of-town guests, a post-funeral reception, and cemetery or crematory services.
Funeral homes must provide you with a general price list and an itemized statement of prices for the goods and services they provide. This information must be made available to you before a discussion or selection of a casket or outer burial container occurs.
Services
Funeral bureaus provide a variety of services and merchandise for the convenience of their clients. These services and merchandise may include things such as transportation, crematory fees, permits, obituaries, flowers, honorariums, certified death certificates and more.
Whether you are making arrangements for yourself or a loved one, it is important to ask questions and compare prices and services. This will help you make informed decisions that are meaningful to your family and control the costs for yourself and your survivors.
The State Board of Funeral Service licenses and regulates funeral directors, embalmers and funeral establishments. This helps to ensure that the public is treated with dignity and respect when they lose a loved one. It also investigates consumer complaints and takes appropriate disciplinary action when acceptable standards are not met.
Merchandise
Funeral merchandise is any per- sonal property sold by a funeral establishment for use in connection with a funeral or disposition of human remains. It includes, but is not limited to, caskets and alternative containers; clothing; memorial folders; monuments; outer burial containers; prayer cards and register books; cremation interment containers; flowers; and urns.
Funeral homes must offer you a General Price List (GPL) before you meet with the funeral director or select any goods or services. The GPL must include the retail prices for all items regularly offered for sale.
Preneed
Preneed plans are a popular way for people to save money and avoid the stress of funeral planning after the death of a loved one. These contracts allow you to decide on the services you want, and then pay a set amount into a trust administered by the funeral home.
The funds in the preneed account are held in an interest-bearing account with a separate financial institution. You can change to another funeral home without penalty, if the contract is revocable, or request a refund of the principal and interest earned at any time.