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Funeral Expenses
For most people organising a funeral is something they would rather not be doing. The way of observing funerals and the choices available to you are many and varied. Similarly the cost and fees for the different parts of a funeral will also require your consideration. The funeral is an important step in coming to terms with the death of someone close. The service itself allows people to share their feelings with family and friends. It is an opportunity to celebrate a person’s life and to share memories. There is no right or wrong way to honour someone’s life or to say goodbye. As with most things your decisions may be determined by the costs involved.
The total cost of a funeral is dependant on a number of factors, some that we can control and others that we can’t. Your funeral director will be able to guide you regarding costs and expenses. Some of the fixed costs will vary depending on the area you live in, for example the burial fees vary depending which council we are dealing with. The price variations mean that with out sitting down and going through specific requests it is hard to put a price on a funeral.
The funeral account is made up from the following charges:
Funeral Director’s Professional Fee: Please be aware that all funeral homes opperate differently, when looking at the Professional Service it is important to ask what if does and does not include. Some companies charge seperately for their hearses hire or embalming services. Ours includes but is not limited to some of or all of the following services –
The Funeral Directors professional fee also covers overheads, vehicles, and on call staff – 24 hours, this fee can vary sometimes depending on our involvement in the funeral and services provided to the family.
Casket: We have a large selection of caskets available. These range from a basic customwood casket at $850.00 to a solid timber casket or couch for several thousand.
Expenses Paid on Behalf of the Family: These are expenses are generally paid by the funeral director on behalf of the family and relate to the funeral experience –
Cost Saving Considerations: - Whilst we can and usually do look after paying all of the above for our families, there are ways of reducing the funeral expenses by families looking after things themselves. For example providing your own flowers – you may be able to pick them from your own garden, preparing and printing your own service sheets – many people have access to computers, scanners and copiers, using your own vehicles for transferring your family member – once a person has been embalmed and place into a casket a number of our families use there own vans or station wagons especially if traveling out of the district.
Burial and Cremation Fees: These are charged from the local council. Your funeral director will be able to let you know these charges.
Financial Assistance:
WINZ Grant – there is a funeral grant available from Work and Income New Zealand. It is a lump sum payment to assist with funeral expenses, it is means tested and will not cover the full cost of the funeral. We can assist you with the application. You will need to provide us with a recent bank statement for the deceased and sign the application and we can assist you with filing it.
ACC – if a person’s death is as a result of an accident application can be made to ACC for a funeral grant. We can assist you with this application and usually do on your behalf. There may be other grants that dependants may be entitled to.
Closing Bank Accounts – we are able to assist with the closing of bank accounts if the balance of the account is under $11,000.00. Please ask your funeral director to assist you with this.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding cost please feel free to contact our office.
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