Types of Funeral

Besides the traditional form of funeral that involve burials or cremation, it is also possible to opt for Humanist funerals and green, environmentally friendly funerals. There is more information on each of these below.

If the person who has died had a funeral plan, or left a will or record of wishes then they will have specified whether their wishes were to be buried or cremated.

If they haven’t done this then you will need to decide between a cremation or a burial if they have not expressed their wishes to you.

There are things to consider for each, which are explained below, but generally speaking a cremation costs less than a burial.

In some cases it may be possible to get help with funeral costs, you should speak to your funeral director who will have a detailed understanding of your situation.

Funeral Costs

How much do funerals cost?

According to a survey in 2014 the average cost of a funeral in the UK was £7600 with funeral prices having risen by 80% in the 10 years from 2004 (source).

This average funeral cost was calculated from the cost of a burial or cremation (including non-discretionary fees) of almost £3500, plus the cost of memorials, funeral flowers & wreaths, and catering of roughly £2000, plus discretionary estate admin costs of over £2,100.

It was estimated that these funeral costs would leave 100,000 people in the UK struggling to pay the bill.

It is perhaps because of these ever rising costs that prepaid funeral plans seem to be more popular than ever, where you can pay now or in instalments and have a kind of funeral insurance policy that will guarantee to cover certain parts of your funeral bills;

And also why there are more and more funeral directors offering low cost funerals to cater against the expense of typical funeral prices.

Low Cost Funerals

The lowest cost funeral that is available today is a direct cremation service, where the body of the deceased is escorted to the crematorium by the funeral director and then the cremation takes place.

These simple funerals do not involve a service of remembrance, flowers, hymns, songs, readings, or – perhaps critically – mourners, it is simply a delivery of the body of the person who has died to a crematorium where they are cremated, and their ashes collected.

Perhaps this is a sad indictment of society in general, when the end of a life of a Human Being is reduced to a simple process without ceremony, purely on a cost basis because of financial necessity.

It is worth pointing out that even though these are classed as the lowest cost type of funeral, I suppose what you could call “cheap funerals”, this type of funeral will still probably cost in excess of £1000, which isn’t “cheap” at all by most people’s standards.

The cost of these funerals is made up partly of the charges from the crematorium, which will vary depending on where the cremation takes place, since it is set by the local council, plus doctors fees (they charge for issuing a death certificate), and some other sundry unavoidable costs.

Of course the funeral director also has to cover their costs and this also adds to the final bill.

So to answer the question of how much is a funeral, how much does it cost?

The total price depends entirely on the choices that you make, the flowers, the wreaths, whether you choose a burial or cremation, the type of hearse (horse drawn, motorbike, motor car, etc), the type of headstone and memorials, and all of the other options that are available to you.

These include things like the type of coffin, if you would like the releasing of doves at the funeral, if you would like memorial (cremation) jewellery, the place where the funeral and service will take place, catering, stationery, and everything else that you might decide on.

What do you need to do when someone dies?

Your Funeral Director will be able to help and guide you through the formalities and legal requirements that you will face when someone dies.

Some of these formalities may take place before you contact your local Funeral Director, and there may be others that you will need to deal with.

Knowing what needs to happen will make it easier for you, this is explained below.

Planning a funeral may seem like a daunting task, but the process will not be as difficult as you imagine, and your funeral director will help and assist you through it all.

Registering a death – What You Need to Know and Do

Before you can register a death a medical certificate of the cause of death needs to be obtained, the process is slightly different depending on whether a person dies at home or in a hospital or nursing home.

When someone dies at home

When someone passes away at home their doctor (GP) needs to be informed as soon as possible.

The GP will usually visit the home and should be able to issue a certificate giving the cause of death if the death was expected.

If you are not sure who their GP was then you should call an ambulance instead.

If the GP is unsure about the cause of death then they will not be able to issue the certificate, in this case the coroner must be informed.

The body of the person who has died will then be taken to a hospital mortuary where a post mortem may need to take place.

When someone dies in hospital

If a person dies in hospital, a hospital doctor will issue the certificate of cause of death.

The remains of the person who has died will be taken to the hospital mortuary while you arrange for a funeral director to collect them.

If the doctor is unsure about the cause of death then they will not be able to issue the certificate, in this case the coroner will be informed and they may order a post mortem examination.

The Registration

A death usually needs to be registered within 5 days and in the register office covering the area where the person lived, unless the person died in a hospital or nursing home in which case it should be the office covering that address.

Registration can be extended for a further 9 days if a medical certificate has been issued, however if the coroner is involved then you cannot register the death until these investigations are completed.

The death can be registered by any of the following people:

• a relative of the person who has died;
• a person present when the person died;
• a relative living in the district where the person died;a
• a person who owns or lived at the place where the person died;
• the person arranging the funeral, but this cannot be the funeral director;

You will need to provide the medical certificate of the cause of death, and if possible their birth certificate and marriage or civil partnership certificate, and also if possible their NHS medical card;

The registrar will also need to know:

• The date and place that the person died;
• The full name of the person (including maiden name);
• Their address;
• Their date of birth;
• The persons occupation and, for married or widowed women, the full name and occupation of her husband;
• Detail of a pension or benefits that the person was receiving;

When you have registered the death, the registrar will give you a green form to give to your funeral director. This is the certificate authorising a burial or cremation service.

The registrar will also give you a certificate of the registration of a death to send to the Department for Work and Pensions or local Social Security office.

The death certificate is also needed to close bank accounts and insurance, and to deal with property and the will of the deceased so it is advisable to purchase several copies from the registrar.

What happens when someone dies abroad?

It can be a traumatic time when a UK citizen dies abroad, since you will have to deal with the legal requirements of the country in which the person died, which may be very different to the process in the UK.

Fortunately the British authorities will help you.

The British Consulate, Embassy, or Commission in the country where the person has died will need to be informed, and they will ask the Police in the UK to inform the next-of- kin. They will also help you and give you advice on what you need to do.

They will also help you with registering the death, since all deaths have to be registered in the country where the person passed away, it is also necessary to report the death to the Foreign and Commonwealth office in the UK.

To register a death abroad you will need to provide certain information about yourself and the person who has died, which includes full name and date of birth, details of next of kin, passport number and where the passport was issued.

International Repatriation

In many cases the family of the deceased will want to have the remains of the person returned to the UK for a family funeral, although it is possible for the funeral to take place in the country where the person died.

Bringing the person home is known as international repatriation and is organised and carried out by specialised funeral directors or undertakers who will guide and advise you on the necessary requirements.

In order to satisfy these requirements you will need a number of documents which include an English translation death certificate, permission to remove the persons body from the country, and a certificate of embalming.

These additional expenses can significantly increase the overall funeral costs and so it is advisable to see if the person had travel insurance that can help with the costs of repatriation.

The British Consulate or an international undertaker will advise you on how to obtain the necessary documentation.

You will need to obtain a certificate from the registrar before the person can be buried, and for a cremation you need to obtain permission from the Home Office.

Some funeral directors will be able to help you with all of the required steps including dealing with the authorities and even booking the flight to return your loved one home.

What happens when a foreign national dies in the UK?

In this case you will be required to register the death in the UK and follow the procedures laid out by the UK authorities.

You can then arrange with a funeral director to repatriate the person back to their home country as above.