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Making Funeral Arrangements

Although some may think that death is a very common event, no one can know just how much a funeral could cost unless they experience making funeral arrangements themselves.

A tradition funeral arrangement costs around $5,000 or more if your add acknowledgement cards, funeral flowers, burial vaults, transportation and other extra options. Some arrangements could go as high as $15,000 without the family members knowing due to high emotions over the death of a loved one.

Most people have no idea in making funeral arrangements. For this reason, majority of people dealing with a loved one’s death find it difficult to make decisions on funeral services. To prevent this from happening, many people are making funeral arrangements for themselves or their loved ones without paying in advance.

Things To Consider About Funeral Arrangements

When shopping for funerals, it is important that each service provider give you an accurate and updated price list when you visit or call them. This list should include different options for arrangements and prices of each option.

Although most people who are making funeral arrangements rely on their decision according to the family’s location, reputation or tradition, this may be a costly choice since you are only limiting your options from these factors without comparing prices. For this reason, it is practical to compare prices before settling on a particular funeral arrangement.

When a funeral home offers you a catalog and pricelist, make sure it includes a general price list, a list of fees for outer burial containers and a casket price list. By examining these fees, you could estimate your total costs for the funeral arrangement.

A general pricelist should list down each item with its corresponding prices. It should include the prices for all funeral arrangement options such as funeral director service, transportation and preparation of the body, fees for the facilities and staff as well as additional flowers, personalized music and providing of obituary notices or acknowledgement cards. The general pricelist should also include fees for alternative funeral arrangements, such as immediate burial and direct cremation.

The casket, on the other hand, can be the most expensive item in a traditional arrangement, costing up to $10,000 or more depending on the style and material (plastic, wood, metal or fiberglass) of the casket. For this reason, you should first compare casket prices with other sources because you have the right to buy from any outside casket provider you like.

When you make funeral arrangements in advance, not only can you save hundreds of dollars, you can also spare your family members with additional problems when unplanned deaths in the family occur. 

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February 21, 2007

Buyer’s Guide For Coffins And Caskets

For thousands of years, civilizations have buried the dead in different ways. The Egyptians practiced mummification; the Romans burned the deceased while the traditional practice has been putting the person six feet under.
Regardless of the method, one thing remains the same. This is a time where friends and family get together to pay the last respects to someone who touched the lives of those who are still living. Some even consider this as confirmation to those who are in shock that this happened.
When someone in the family dies, the surviving members will usually go to the funeral home and pick a casket or a coffin for the deceased to be buried in. Owners of these places have a lot to offer made of different materials and designs that is one way of making money from the dead.
There are two types of coffins more commonly offered to customers. There are those made of wood and those made of metal.
1. Wood used for caskets are cheaper than those used in making furniture. This is available in pine, pecan, ash, maple, cherry, oak, walnut and mahogany. It can also come in various finishes that gives a great look even before people can come […]

Full Article At: KnowHow-Now.com Articles

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February 20, 2007

The Burial of the Poor in Past Times

Tip! Eligibility for burial of dependent children is provided for unmarried children under 21 years of age, or under 23 years of age if a full-time student at an approved educational institution. This benefit also applies to unmarried adult children who become physically or mentally incapable of self-support before age 21 or 23 if a full-time student.

The burial of the poor was the responsibility of the local parish Church and it wasn’t always done very kindly but sometimes there was good reason for it.

When a death took place in the Parish and there were no friends willing or able to pay the expenses of a funeral then it fell to the Kirk (Scottish for “Church”) Session to dispose of the body. In such an emergency the Kirk Treasurer was authorised to pay for a “Kist” (Coffin) the cost of which varied but did not exceed a few shillings as the minutes indicate. In 1745 the cost is stated at 4 shillings (20 pence) for adults and 2 shillings (10 pence) for juveniles. In earlier times bodies were not coffined at all but simply wrapped in a sheet or shroud and so put into the ground. This custom survived in some parts of Scotland down to the passing of the Poor Law in 1654. But so far as one can judge it was not reverted to at South Leith excepting under special circumstances. Thus in the plague of 1645 the Kirk Session ordained ” nane to gait dead kysts but those who are able to pay for them”. This was a practical measure due to the shortage of money and timber and necessary to bury the bodies quickly due to the plague which needless to say was extremely dangerous.

Tip! Veterans honorably discharged from active duty, members of the military who die while on active duty, and spouses and dependent children of veterans, may be eligible for VA burial and memorial benefits. The veteran does not have to die before a spouse or dependent child for them to be eligible.

Later the common Bier is mentioned in the records and was sometimes called “the common mort kist” and according to the traditionary account this Parish (South Leith Parish Church) coffin was a closed box with the lid or one of its sides hung on hinges so that the contents of the coffin could be emptied into the grave. When the Poor Law camr into force in the 19th century the poor were provided with a coffin at public expense. There is a tale regarding a west-country parish where the burdens imposed by this Act were considered too generous to be borne and a Geddes Committee was appointed to suggest economies. The parish minister who possibly knew more about the subject than the other members on the board and perhaps had been reading his own registers suggested that a “slip” coffin should be used for the poor. This practical proposition however well meant met with opposition and was denounced by the public as a piece of cruel parsimony and the reverend gentleman went ever afterwards by the nick name of “Slip”

Tip! The burial flag is made from 100% cotton. The burial flag is not intended to be flown because of the stresses of being on the flag pole can and will cause it to tear quite easily.

John Arthur is a local historian and Genealogist, married with two sons having websites at http://www.lineages.co.uk, http://www.leithhistory.co.uk and http://persevere.lineages.co.uk

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