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The Cost of Funerals

124

Comments

  • sonastin
    sonastin Posts: 3,210 Forumite
    Don't forget that a lot of what appears to be unnecessary beauracracy is there to protect us all. If disposing of a body was as simple as turning up at the crem in a transit van, it would be a whole heap easier to get away with murder!

    Note I'm not saying the poster earlier shouldn't have been allowed to deliver her partner in his old transit, just that you need all the necessary paperwork and certificates to get away with it. The assistance of a funeral director in getting all this paperwork in place is invaluable and people often forget that that is part of the service that is offered.

    Collecting the deceased from the hospital/hospice isn't a matter of turning up and loading a body into a van. Its also demonstrating to the powers-that-be at the hospital that they should release it to you because you don't have dastardly intentions, not facing being questioned by the police for hours for having a body in your vehicle in the event that you get tangled up in some sort of RTA or traffic stop, etc. If it was easy/cheap for us to do this ourselves rather than paying funeral directors for the privilege it would also be easy for gangsters, mobsters and murderers to legitimise the cover up of their crime.
  • red_devil
    red_devil Posts: 10,793 Forumite
    my mums funeral was this time last week and my dad paid four and half thousand pounds however i think she was worth it.
    :footie:
  • hcb42
    hcb42 Posts: 5,962 Forumite
    I have arranged funerals for my Mum, Dad and youngest sister in the last few years, all were around £2-2.5K including some flowers, advert, vicar, two cars etc. The FD in my parents town, that we used for all three, are superb, and the costs seemed reasonable to us.
  • shellsuit
    shellsuit Posts: 24,749 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    Very interesting.

    Just googled my council and found this...

    https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/public_healthwelfare_funerals_120?unfold=1#incoming-88329

    The councils answers are here...

    https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/35752/response/93647/attach/html/3/Response%20for%2023869.pdf.html

    It's a couple of years old, but it's worth reading.

    I've never even heard of these funerals, only a normal paid for funeral and a paupers funeral.
    Tank fly boss walk jam nitty gritty...
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 33,820 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    One of my friends had a DIY funeral for a family member.

    They bought a box on-line and ask the morgue to load him in there and then closed it.

    The box was carried in one family member's estate car to the burial ground. They had to purchase the plot and pay for the digging. They had their own service at the graveside and lowered him onto the ground themselves. Not sure who re-filled the grave.
    The person who has not made a mistake, has made nothing
  • joanne109
    joanne109 Posts: 270 Forumite
    A DIY funeral is possible but it's best to look into it well in advance, once you are bereaved it is too late and you are too vulnerable to do the organising (and yes it does take some organising).

    Someone in your local councils parks dept will be in charge of cemeteries and should be able to advise you.

    10 years ago we found out or baby was likely to die after birth, we wanted to choose a plot for him while I was still pregnant and went to the local cemetery, met the lady from the council and walked round the cemetery where she showed us the available plots.
    She told us about DIY funerals and that you don't need an undertaker, the digging etc will be done by the councils ground maintenance contractor.

    The other differnce is that you normally have to wait 2 weeks or more for a funeral date, if you DIY you can usually get it done much quicker.

    We also spoke to the c* *p about the funeral and they told us they don't charge for childrens funerals - though that may have changed since then.

    In the end our baby didn't die:):) thanks to the wonderful people at GOSH.

    My condolences to those who have recently suffered a bereavement:(

    Joanne
  • floss2
    floss2 Posts: 8,030 Forumite
    Just as a bit of information - some councils do not charge for stillborn, baby or child cremations or burials up to the age of 16.
  • Justamum
    Justamum Posts: 4,727 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Figgerty wrote: »
    Who wants a funeral where nobody is allowed to attend or view the body? This sounds like what I imagined a paupers funeral would be like.

    When my MIL died in South Africa she wanted her funeral to be as cheap as possible. She opted for a 'silent cremation' where nobody was present. A friend picked up her ashes and kept them for my DH and he went out a year later to try and sort out her estate (it was taking an age due to various reasons). He took her ashes and he and a couple of her friends went and scattered her ashes in a spot in the Kruger Park where his dad had been scattered a few years before.
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 33,820 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Do you have permission from MSE Towers? If not your posts will be deleted.
    The person who has not made a mistake, has made nothing
  • Just tried it,but I live in Scotland which isn't covered.sounds like a good idea though.
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