Title: Funeral Costs to Plan For | Saving and Budgeting | US News
Headings: Funeral Costs to Plan For
Funeral Costs to Plan For
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Content: Like pre-planning a funeral, this is a decision best made before death. It may sound creepy to some, but there's no question that people who leave their body to medical science are doing a service, and most medical research facilities that accept bodies handle all of the transportation and burial costs. In fact, many research facilities offer an annual memorial service for those who have donated their body to medical science, and if you prefer not to receive an urn of ashes, many will put the body in a repository for bones or bodies of the dead. But do your research first. For starters, donating your body to science is different than donating organs (since the organs are taken but the body stays for the funeral), and if you donate your body, you can't also be an organ donor (researchers don't want your body without the organs). Alternatively, bodies can be claimed by the local or state government, which then decide what to do with them. For instance, in Los Angeles, since the 1890s, an annual mass funeral is held for unclaimed bodies. Comparison Shop
Fournier says that you can have someone directly cremated – as in, there is no funeral service – for as little as $450 and possibly as high as $3,000. Direct burial can range from $1,500 to $6,000, according to Fournier, and a traditional funeral cost can range from $2,000 to $10,000. But if you're paying for a variety of services from a funeral home, you should have a breakdown of the exact expenses. "