ITEMISING THE COSTS

To help you decide what services you need from the funeral director, let us look at the individual items on offer.

The coffin

Most funeral directors offer a range of wooden coffins varying in quality and price to choose from. A cheaper and more ecologically friendly alternative is a cardboard coffin, but care needs to be taken that it is strong enough for the purpose and will not be affected by rain. Bamboo or wicker coffins, body bags and shrouds are also used, but it is important to check if the cemetery or crematorium is able to handle these. The funeral director should be able to advise.

Professional charges

These cover a variety of services, including an initial consultation and advice, liaising with the burial or crematorium authorities, obtaining and dealing with the necessary forms. Some firms also offer counselling.

Removal and care of the body

This tends to be a standard charge, but extra charges may be incurred if the body is taken away outside normal office hours. Normally the body is stored in a place where it cannot deteriorate and it is not embalmed unless this is specifically asked for. If anyone wishes to view the body at the funeral director’s chapel of rest this may incur an additional fee.

Embalming

This method of preserving the body is not particularly common these days. However, it is essential if the body has to be preserved for a certain length of time or transported to another country.

Provision of a hearse for the funeral

Normally this will be a motorised hearse. Some undertakers can provide a funeral carriage drawn by horses, but this would work out to be an expensive option.

Limousine(s) for the chief mourners

This is the car which follows the hearse and can normally accommodate five to six people. It is not essential and the chief mourners may well wish to make their way to the funeral in their own transport like the other funeral guests. Where there are several family mourners additional cars can usually be provided at extra cost.

Coffin bearers

These are normally provided by the funeral director, but it is possible for members of the family and close friends to perform this duty. However, carrying a coffin is a skilled art and some rehearsal is vital in order to avoid accidents on the day.

Crematorium fees

Most areas have a crematorium run by the local authority, but there are also privately run crematoria. There is some variation in the costs of a cremation, but probably not enough to warrant going some distance for this service. In most cases the crematorium is attached to a cemetery or garden of rest where the ashes may be scattered free of charge. If the ashes are to be taken away in an urn, there is an extra charge.

Cremation certificates

Two doctors’ certificates have to be provided before a cremation can take place, for which there is a standard charge (£110 in 2005).

Cemetery and churchyard fees

Two items have to be paid for: the plot and the digging of the grave, and there is a considerable variation in cost. In most urban areas there is no space for burials in churchyards and a cemetery has to be used. Village churchyards may well have space, but there may be restrictions as to who is eligible to be buried there. Most people opt to be buried in the local authority cemetery nearest their home, but there are a number of private cemeteries you might consider.

Burial in one’s own garden is rarely an option, and in any case would require various permissions, notably from the local authority planning and environmental health departments. Bear in mind that at some future date you may wish to move residence and will have to consider whether to leave the body in situ or have it exhumed and moved to your new address (for which a Home Office licence will be required).

Fees for the funeral service

Fees are payable to the officiant at the funeral service, the organist and the verger (if the service is held in a church). In exceptional circumstances some of these fees might be waived.

Funeral Service cards

These are printed sheets with the order of service and often the words of the hymns to be sung. These are not absolutely essential as most places of worship and cemetery chapels will have funeral service books. However, it is a nice idea for people to have something to take away as a memento of the funeral service. Any spare copies left over could be sent to friends and relations who are unable to attend the funeral.

Listing of mourners

Many funeral directors can provide a person who takes the names of the people attending the funeral as they arrive. The chief mourners will be too preoccupied during the funeral to take note of who has come, and if the funeral attracts a large number of people, a list of them can be extremely useful.

Flowers

Floral wreaths and bouquets can either be ordered through the funeral director or direct from a florist, and there are usually a wide selection of packages on offer. Most florists will include delivery of the flowers direct to the funeral director’s premises in the cost.