This page is designed to help you understand how funeral directing operates and will provide you with the information to ask questions appropriate to your needs when you consider the arrangement of a funeral.
Funeral directing as a profession commenced towards the end of the 1700's, before then funerals were organised by individuals e.g. a gravedigger or member of the clergy and the deceased buried in a churchyard.
If you choose to use a funeral director, contact the one of your choice. If the death occurs at home and the police are involved they will arrange for a funeral director to remove the deceased. This does not mean that you have to use that funeral director.
Once contacted the funeral director will:
After the funeral an account will be sent which should be itemised and all the disbursements paid on behalf of the person arranging the funeral should be clearly defined. This funeral account should broadly be in line with the amount agreed before the funeral was arranged.
Most funeral directors should be able to supply an estimate and you should reasonably expect an itemised price list of all aspects of the funeral including the disbursements.
Some people alleviate the worry of paying for a funeral by purchasing a "Funeral Plan". You should consider however that cheaper options may arise in the future. If a funeral plan is purchased it will be necessary to choose a cremation or burial package that meets your needs. These plans need to be considered very carefully, as some of the basic options may not prove sufficient when you actually die.
Funeral plans may be paid by instalments or by a lump sum payment. This enables the funeral to be paid at current prices, without further worry about increased funeral costs in the future.
Insurance policies are also a way in which people can help cover funeral bills, and these can be paid over a number of years.
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