Beyond the Pall
New Post Every Wednesday
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

That Mysterious Basic Fee

8/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Once you sit down with a funeral director and he or she hands you the general price list you might see a long list of goods and services.  The funeral home will often list the basic fee as the first item on their general price list. What is this Basic Fee on funeral home general price lists?  Why do funeral homes have a basic fee?  How do these work? A basic fee in a funeral home covers many things, but mostly it covers the cost of running a business which most businesses already include in the prices of their goods and services.  For example, when you go to get a haircut, you do not pay a basic fee plus the price of the haircut. The price listed is the cost of the haircut and the cost of the salon or barber to run the business. You can tip, but you know the price is the price.  In the funeral home, this is not so.  You pay a basic fee, and then you pay for goods and services.
According the Funeral Rule, the funeral home’s basic fee cannot be declined.  We have a right to purchase whatever goods and services we choose, but this fee we may not decline.  The funeral homes wanted a way to secure their interests in dealing with families in grief, and so this basic fee was allowed by the funeral rule to protect the funeral homes’ interest.  The basic fee is the least you can expect to pay at the funeral home you choose.  Basic fees often cover filling out forms and coordinating with cemeteries, etc. This fee can range wildly.  One funeral home might charge $3000, while another might charge $900.  You must shop around to find one that suits your needs and pocket book.  You can order any shroud or coffin you choose, so picking a funeral home should be about how you see they do business.  You might consider what services they might offer and if they fit what your family needs, but shop around to see what the local market offers your family.  You might be surprised at the wide range of prices.  

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.



    RSS Feed

    Caroline Vuyadinov


    I graduated from St. Vladamir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York with a Master of Divinity.  I trained as a chaplain following graduation and worked with a wide variety of people. 

    When I moved to Canada, I began work in a women's halfway house in Hamilton, Ontario which worked with women in conflict with the law on a federal level.  I became the program manager and  loved working alongside the women, creating their plans for their reintegration back to the community.  I also worked as a liaison with the parole board, parole officers and other community service providers.

    Upon my return to the United States, I worked in the Death Care Industry as a Family Service Counselor, which lead me to become a green burial advocate. I co-founded Midwest Green Burial Society with Juliann Salinas. I speak  to community groups and have developed practical seminars for a variety of audiences.  I have been interviewed on a national podcast and was featured on a WGN spot dealing with green burial. 

    Archives

    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    Children's Graves
    Comunicalbe Disease And Burial Practice
    Cremation
    Cremation Urns
    Cultural Conflicts And Medical World
    Death Of A Child
    Depression
    Ebola
    Family Rights
    Fear Of Death
    Fr-thomas-hopko
    Funeral Laws
    Funeral Planning
    Garden Memorial
    Green Burial
    Grieving Parents
    Heirloom Seeds
    History
    Infant Death
    Live Streaming Funerals
    Mausoleums
    Memorial
    Memorialization
    No Embalming
    Non Religious
    Orthodox
    Orthodox Christian Grave Practices
    Pre Planning
    Pre-planning
    Remembering The Dead
    Serbian Cemetery Rites
    Suicide
    Tree-memorials
    Vaults
    Zito

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly