Just about every aspect of a funeral cost money. If you use the funeral home's chapel, there's a charge. If you go elsewhere (such as a church) and have the coffin brought to the venue, there's a charge. If you have a viewing, there's a charge. It also requires a makeup artist to fix up the loved one for the viewing, so there's a charge. I'm told having the funeral home raise the lid and lower it costs money as well. And those are just the fees I know of. Consequently, to keep funeral expenses down, my husband and I decided not to have a viewing, no makeup artist, and not to have the coffin brought to whatever location the service will be held. We'll simply have a memorial at a church and then a graveside service. That should bring the funeral cost down between $5,000 and $7,000. I'll have to research if that amount includes cemetery associated fees (someone has to set up that tent and dig that hole) or if that's in addition to funeral home costs.
We'll have to state all this in writing, because a few representatives from funeral homes have been known to pressure family members. In their grief, the bereaved often make decisions they wouldn't make under normal circumstances. As a pastor who has accompanied widows and adult children to funeral homes for planning, my husband has heard, on more than one occasion, "Don't you want your loved one to have the best?" Such manipulation recently cost a widow her husband's entire life insurance policy, plus some.
While that doesn't represent the actions of all funeral home reps, we have to plan in advance on our own to avoid making decisions when we can't think straight. Free funeral planning worksheets can be found online. We'll download one and fill it out, updating it as needed. My husband served in the Air Force. We'll also contact our local VA office to see what benefits they provide. The money we'll save will help our family.
Next, my husband and I will need to gather all the documents for our "estate." I'll discuss that in my next post.