How do you deal with funeral costs and what precautions can you take ?

I work at a funeral home in Illinois, and I know the laws and such are a bit different in FL some things should still apply. As for an average cost of funerals, our usually go from about $8000 to $10000. We also do funerals that are partly or totally refunded by the public aid dept in our state, however we do require families pay up front. You can go in and talk with a funeral director now and see what options are available. You could possibly start making payments now toward any services that you pick out now for future use. Also, if your father is a veteran he can recieve burial benefits, you may want to contact your local va representative about that. Good luck.

It was my parents' personal choice that they be cremated instead of being buried. The cost was under $1000 at that time (2004 in Daytona Beach). You don't have to pay for a funeral since many funeral directors obviously want to give the impression that you owe it to your loved ones to provide "the best" service which in the end only services the funeral business. Cremation is one option. If you want the traditional funeral, many casket manufacturers such as the Batesville Casket Company offer a payment plan similar to buying any commodity such as car for example. Check with your funeral home for details.

we shelled out $3,800 three years ago for a basic cremation/urn/funeral. It is stunning how much they gouge you for the smallest of services (200 for the obit in the paper, 300 for transportation of the body from the hospital to the funeral home, keeping in mind the two are one traffic light away from each other- if you don't believe me, check out Fish Memorial Hospital in Orange City to Baulduff funeral home) Anyway, best thing to do is to set aside money in his estate to cover all the costs, and even prepay them if you can. reason being you won't be out the cash while waiting for reimbursement from the estate after the fact. Get the cheapest the funeral home has to offer in terms of cremation and urn- and if he belongs to a church, have them do the funeral. this cuts down on all kinds of costs. Also, do not pay for burial. You can do anything with the ashes- keep them on the mantle if you're that sort of gruesome person, or scatter them at the beach- whatever. And as far as any sort of wake goes, do that at home and have the guests bring the food.

Depending on family assets you may or may not be able to have social services pay a death benefit,Was you Dad a Veteran they would give you benefits from the Veterans Dept.