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Consumers: Shopping for Funeral Services

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Consumers: Shopping for Funeral Services Shopping for Funeral Services Federal Trade Commission | consumer.ftc.gov Contents Funeral Shopping Tips.................... 2 The FTC Funeral Rule ...................... 3 Types of Funerals ......................... 5 Full-service Funeral ............................ .6 Immediate Burial ............................... .6 Direct Cremation ............................... .6 Choosing a Funeral Provider ............... 7 Comparison Shopping .......................... .7 Funeral Costs ............................ 9 Basic Services Fee .............................. .9 Other Goods and Services...................... .10 Embalming................................. .10 Caskets ..................................... 11 Burial Vaults or Grave Liners ................ .15 Cash Advances................................. .16 Cemetery Goods and Services............. 17 Veterans Cemeteries ...........................17 Pre-need Arrangements................. 18 Prepaying ......................................19 Funeral Terms ........................... 21 Contact Information .................... .23 Solving Problems ....................... .27 Funeral Pricing Checklist................. 12 hen a loved one dies, grieving family members W and friends often are confronted with dozens of decisions about the funeral — all of which must be made quickly. What kind of funeral should it be? What funeral provider should you use? What are you legally required to buy? Should you bury or cremate the body, or donate it to science? What are the choices for a green funeral and burial? What other arrangements should you plan? How much is it all going to cost? Each year, people grapple with these and many other questions as they spend billions of dollars arranging funerals for family members and friends. Many funeral providers offer various “packages” of goods and services for different kinds of funerals. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, wants you to know that when you arrange for a funeral, you have the right to buy goods and services separately. You do not have to accept a package that includes items you do not want. 1 Funeral Shopping Tips Here are some tips to help you shop for funeral services: ● Compare prices from at least two funeral homes. Remember that you can supply your own casket or urn. ● Ask for a price list. The law requires funeral homes to give you written price lists for products and services. ● Resist pressure to buy goods and services you don’t really want or need. ● Avoid emotional overspending. It’s not necessary to have the fanciest casket or the most elaborate funeral to properly honor a loved one. ● Recognize your rights. Laws regarding funerals and burials vary from state to state. It’s a smart move to know which goods or services the law requires you to purchase and which are optional. ● Apply the same smart shopping techniques you use for other major purchases. You can cut costs by limiting the viewing to one day or one hour before the funeral, and by dressing your loved one in a favorite outfit instead of costly burial clothing. ● Shop in advance. It allows you to comparison shop without time constraints, creates an opportunity for family discussion, and lifts some of the burden from your family. 2 The FTC Funeral Rule The FTC enforces the Funeral Rule, which makes it possible for you to choose only the goods and services you want or need and pay only for those you select, whether you are making arrangements when a death occurs or pre-need. The Rule allows you to compare prices among funeral homes. The Rule does not apply to third-party sellers, such as casket or monument dealers, or to cemeteries that lack an on-site funeral home. In brief, the Funeral Rule gives you the right to: ● buy only the funeral goods and services you want. You have the right to buy separate goods, like caskets, and separate services, like embalming or a memorial service. You don’t have to accept a package with items you don’t want. ● get price information by telephone. Funeral directors must give you price information on the telephone if you ask for it. You don’t have to give them your name, address or telephone number first. Many funeral homes mail their price lists, although they aren’t required to; some post them online. ● get a written itemized price list when you visit a funeral home. The funeral home must give you a General Price List (GPL) to keep. It must list 16 specific items and services, but it may include others, as well. ● see a written price list for caskets before you see the actual caskets. Sometimes, detailed casket price information is included on the funeral home’s GPL. More often, though, it’s provided on a separate 3 casket price list. Get the price information before you see the caskets, so you can ask about lower- priced products that may not be on display. ● see a written price list for outer burial containers. Outer burial containers surround a casket in a grave. They are not required by any state law, but many cemeteries require them to prevent a grave from caving in. If the funeral home sells containers, but doesn’t list the prices on the GPL, you have the right to look at a separate price list for containers before you see them. Look for a range of prices. ● receive a written statement after you decide what you want, and before you pay. It should show exactly what you are buying and the cost of each item. The funeral home must give you an itemized statement and the total cost immediately after you make the arrangements. The statement has to identify and describe any legal, cemetery or crematory requirements that require you to pay for any particular goods or services. ● use an “alternative container” instead of a casket for cremation. No state or local law requires the use of a casket for cremation. A funeral home that offers cremations must tell you that alternative containers are available, and must make them available. The containers might be made of unfinished wood, pressed wood, fiberboard or cardboard. ● provide the funeral home with a casket or urn you purchase elsewhere. The funeral provider cannot refuse to use a casket or urn you bought online, at a local store or somewhere else, and it 4 can’t charge you a fee to use it. The funeral home cannot require you to be on site when the casket or urn is delivered to them. ● make funeral arrangements without embalming. No state law requires routine embalming for every death. Some states require embalming or refrigeration if the body is not buried or cremated within a certain time; some states don’t require those services at all. In most cases, refrigeration is an acceptable alternative. Services like direct cremation and immediate burial don’t require any form of preservation. Many funeral homes have a policy requiring embalming if the body is to be publicly viewed, but this is not required by law in most states. Ask if the funeral home offers private family viewing without embalming. If some form of preservation is a practical necessity, ask the funeral home whether refrigeration is available. Types of Funerals Every family is different, and each wants its own type of funeral. Funeral practices are influenced by religious and cultural traditions, costs and personal preferences. These factors help determine whether the funeral will be elaborate or simple, public or private, religious or secular, and where it will be held. They also influence whether the body will be present at the funeral, if there will be a viewing or visitation, and if so, whether the casket will be open or closed, and whether the remains will be buried or cremated. 5 Full-service Funeral This type of funeral, often referred to by funeral providers as a “traditional” funeral, usually includes a viewing or visitation and formal funeral service, use of a hearse to transport the body to the funeral site and cemetery, and burial, entombment, or cremation of the remains. It is generally the most expensive type of funeral. In addition to the funeral home’s basic services fee, costs often include embalming and dressing the body; rental of the funeral home for the viewing or service; and use of vehicles to transport the family if they don’t use their own. The costs of a casket, cemetery plot or crypt, and other funeral goods and services are additional. Immediate Burial The body is buried shortly after death, usually in a simple container. No viewing or visitation is involved, so no embalming is necessary. A memorial service may be held at the graveside or later. Direct burial usually costs less than the “traditional” full-service funeral. Costs include the funeral home’s basic services fee, as well as transportation and care of the body, the purchase of a casket or burial container and a cemetery plot or crypt. If the family chooses to be at the cemetery for the burial, the funeral home often charges an additional fee for a graveside service. Direct Cremation The body is cremated shortly after death, without embalming. The cremated remains are placed in an urn or other container. No viewing or visitation is involved. The remains can be kept in the home, buried, placed in a crypt or niche in a cemetery, or buried or scattered in 6 a favorite spot. Direct cremation usually costs less than the “traditional” full-service funeral. Costs include the funeral home’s basic services fee, as well as transportation and care of the body. A crematory fee may be included or added to the funeral home’s fee. There also will be a charge for an urn or other container. The cost of a cemetery plot or crypt is added only if the remains are buried or entombed. Funeral providers who offer direct cremations must make an alternative container available to use in place of a casket. Choosing a Funeral Provider In most states you don’t have to use a funeral home to plan and conduct a funeral.
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