You can ease the burden on family and friends by planning in advance of need.
FIRST
- Click here to download a file containing an example of one affiliate's funeral plans.
- See what plan seems closest to what you have in mind.
- Choose the plan that most nearly meets your needs. Remember you can have a frugal funeral.
SECOND
Prices for each type of funeral will differ among locations and funeral homes in California. Most of the organizations belonging to FCA of California have done a funeral home price survey for their county or counties and we have begun to post these surveys online here. These will be the retail prices for the same item or package of items so you can do comparison shopping at home. Some of them have special discount prices to FCA members, so be sure to inquire. (By law, funeral homes must give you prices by phone if you inquire, so verify that the price remains the same as on the survey.)
National median cost for an old-fashioned standard funeral in 2010, as surveyed by the National Funeral Directors Association, is $6,560 if one uses a $2,295 metal casket. See the figures and news release at the bottom of this page. The cemetery and memorial stone costs would be extra.
If getting a discount interests you, you will have to join a local FCA affiliate if you are planning ahead for yourself, or for your relative who may be at the end of life. Contact the closest affiliate for information about joining and their discount prices and cooperating mortuaries.
When you make your plans ahead of time on paper, make copies for yourself, next of kin, and perhaps your lawyer. If you anticipate the death will be within the next few months, it would be wise to give a copy to the funeral home you choose. Thus, your next of kin has only to phone the funeral home after your death and the plans will be set in motion. Usually all the last minute paperwork can be completed by fax machine and the relatives may not have to go to the funeral home at all (except for a traditional funeral).
THIRD
Print off a copy of Checklist A - "Information to be Assembled Before Death" and start filling in the area at the right when you assemble the information and describe where the papers are located. Put this checklist with paperwork in a secure but readily available folder which can be easily found after death. Tell your next of kin where you keep important papers like this (NOT in a safe deposit box which may be closed for a period of time after your death. You may want to put copies of these documents in the safe deposit box, in case of fire or disaster, however.)
FOURTH
Resist prepaying even though the mortuary may try to convince you to do this. FCA affiliates have numerous complaints about lost prepayment money and other complications. Read the brochure about prepaying, and have your lawyer read and approve the contract if you are tempted to prepay. You may want to consider a Payable Upon Death trust account at your bank as an alternative. The national FCA's official position on pre-paying funeral services is here.
News Release from National Funeral Directors Association on October 10, 2010:
The National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) released the results of its 2010 member General Price List (GPL) survey today. The report provides a comprehensive picture of the diversity of costs associated with a funeral, providing data that breaks down services by geographic region, size of firm and size of city/town.
Perhaps the most frequently requested piece of information produced by the survey is the national average cost of a funeral. NFDA calculates the median cost of a funeral by totaling the costs of the following items: non-declinable basic services fee, removal/transfer of remains to funeral home, embalming, other preparation of the body, a metal casket, use of the funeral home and staff for viewing, use of the funeral home and staff for a funeral ceremony, use of a hearse, use of a service car/van, and a basic memorial printed package (e.g., memorial cards, register book, etc.).
The national median cost of a funeral for calendar year 2009 was $6,560. If a vault is included, something which is typically required by a cemetery, that number rises to $7,755. The cost does not take into account cemetery, monument or marker costs, or miscellaneous cash-advance items, such as flowers and obituaries. The cost of a funeral can vary by region; costs can also vary based on a funeral home's location and the size of the business.
The cost of a funeral this decade (2000–2009) rose 21 percent. Over the 1991–1998 period for which studies were completed, the cost of a funeral increased by 25 percent. The percent increase during the 1980s (1980–1989) was significantly higher at 47 percent, reflecting the high rates of inflation during that decade. Inflation was also higher in the 1990s than in the past decade.
NFDA mailed 3,000 self-administered surveys to member funeral homes in June 2010. The response rate of 21 percent accurately reflects (with 95 percent confidence) NFDA’s total membership within a range of ± 3.5 percent. Respondents were asked to give GPL pricing information for certain funeral products and services as of December 31, 2009.
