Arranging the Funeral

The only legal requirements for a funeral are that the death must be registered, you must have a certificate authorising it and it must involve burial or cremation. Although you can start planning the funeral immediately, for instance by choosing a funeral director, you cannot make any firm arrangements until the death has been registered. If the death has been reported to the coroner the funeral may be delayed.

 

 

 

The responsibility for paying for the funeral lies with the person making the arrangements; after all, someone who has died cannot enter into a contract. Many funeral directors will require some advance payment to cover disbursements, and some may expect their final bill to be settled reasonably promptly. Funeral expenses have the first priority for payment after any debts of the estate that are secured on assets owned by the deceased, for the very reason that someone else has to take responsibility for them. You should check whether the deceased had a pre-paid funeral plan which will cover the cost of the funeral. Some life insurance policies will pay the undertakers direct and also some banks will be willing to release funds even on accounts that were frozen on death.

 

 

Most funerals are arranged by commercial funeral directors, but you are entitled to make all the arrangements yourself if you wish. You are free to choose which firm of undertakers you wish to use and do not have to use the firm that has taken away the body of the deceased. The wishes of the deceased may be taken into account when considering whether a burial or a cremation is to take place and the other arrangements for the funeral but it is not a legal requirement to do so. A funeral director will usually:

 

They will also be willing to undertake other duties such as:

 

Remember that at all times the funeral directors are acting on your instructions and should want the funeral to comply with your wishes. The undertaker will normally provide you with a written quotation which should include the disbursements that they will incur and you should make sure that the cost of the funeral is known in advance. Charges can vary widely. Even though it is a difficult time it is a good idea to ask for a written price list before choosing which funeral director to use. Most are members of NAFD (National Association of Funeral Directors) or SAIF (Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors). These members are obliged to provide a price list on request. Factors that will significantly affect the cost of the funeral are the choice of coffin, the number of funeral cars that are ordered and the extent of any post funeral wake that is planned to take place. Funeral directors are unregulated and inevitably some will provide a better service than others. A recent report by Which? rated a number of directors very poorly so you may wish to consider recommendations from friends and discussing your requirements with more than one company.

 

 

There are many reasons you might want to make the arrangements yourself for funeral planning services. ONE it's very easy, TWO You may want to keep costs down or THREE you may want a very personalised funeral. Comparethecoffin.com can give you all the information you need to do do it yourself (DIY Funeral)

 

Your local council will have a Bereavement Service who will advise you. It is possible to find a funeral director willing to provide just the services you want this can make the job easier, i.e. transport, but hiring a nice estate car for the day will do just as well. 

 

In many cases we send the coffin direct to the mortuary the day before the event. The staff there will happily put the person in the coffin for you and then you do the collection on the day itself. 
Obvious,

 

Buying a coffin from us couldn't be simplier

 

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