|
3 Must-Ask Questions For Your Funeral
Director
By Flora Richards-Gustafson
A funeral director should be a person who can provide
support during times of great need by acting as an
experienced source of guidance. As in any business, some
funeral directors are more up front than others. Here
are three questions to make sure you get the best
service available, and at the best cost.
1. What services do you provide?
Since memorial homes are often family businesses,
services offered vary by establishment. Look for
directors that offer consolation and act as listeners,
crisis managers, and tribute planners. Possible tasks
for your funeral director include:
- Completing any necessary paperwork
- Contacting physicians, florists, newspapers, and any
other vendors
- Attaining licenses and death certificates
- Contacting family, friends, and solicitors
- Coordinating the details of a funeral service or
memorial services with clergy members
- Recommending local support groups and other sources of
professional help
Often, funeral directors' most important role is taking
care of the body. Be sure to ask your director what
options are available for internment. These choices may
include:
- Earth burial: one of the most popular forms of
interment. This requires a cemetery plot and usually
includes additional costs such as fees for opening and
closing the grave.
- Aboveground Burial: this type of entombment requires
purchasing a crypt within a mausoleum designed
specifically for that purpose.
- Cremation: Cremation usually involves placing an urn
in a columbarium. An urn could also be buried in a
cemetery. If cremation is chosen, services such as
visitation, the viewing of the body, a memorial service,
and funeral service may still be conducted.
- Anatomical Gifts: Organs and tissues may be donated
without interfering with the preparation of the body for
funeral services. A funeral director should be able to
guide one through this process.
2. What is the cost?
Funeral directors must provide the consumer with service
prices over the phone and be able to provide the same in
writing before any goods are shown. All costs associated
with any services must be explained: no hidden fees are
allowed. Before making any payments, see that all costs
and services are in writing.
Directors should never be charge an extra fee for
purchasing internment containers elsewhere.
Additionally, they must go over all the options for
disposition: cremation, embalming, direct burial, etc.
A funeral director can assist budgeting, arranging
payment plans, and suggesting financial assistance
options. Local funeral and memorial organizations can
help point one to a reputable funeral home and may be
even able to negotiate discount rates for those in need.
3. Why should I hire you?
Like any business owners, funeral directors should be
able to tell you what sets them apart from their
competitors. Also consider how much experience this
person has acting as a director and what type of support
staff is in place. Ask if the staff receives mandatory
on-going training to ensure professional development.
No family should have to face the loss of a loved one
uninformed and unprepared, and keeping the above
questions in mind will help you find a funeral director
that can provide valuable knowledge and expertise to
help you and your loved ones through difficult times of
loss.
~Flora Richards-Gustafson, 2009
Planning a loved one's funeral is a difficult task. Take
time to also celebrate their life. Find everything you
need to create an online memorial page for someone you
will always remember at valleyoflife.com. |
