Finding out that your loved one died in a tragic accident is a shock from which you’ll likely never recover. But, soon you will have a new issue to confront — their final expenses. You must ensure that they have a proper funeral and burial or cremation. Unfortunately, both can be fairly expensive and you don’t have much time to come up with the money.
On average, you can expect to pay from $7,000 to $12,000 for a funeral. Cremation can lower the costs a bit, and on average, runs about $6,000 or $7,000. There are many variations that can increase or decrease the bottom line.
One of the best things that you can do is to price shop at different funeral homes. Of course, your loved one might have this all planned and prepaid, allowing you to skip this step. You shouldn’t let your emotions drive you as you determine what you’re going to do for your loved one.
When you approach the funeral homes, you have the right to get the general pricing for the services you want to use. You might be able to save some money on things like flowers, caskets or urns by shopping around.
Having a direct burial or cremation and then having a memorial service later might also save money since you may not have to have your loved one embalmed. You can ask about the regulations for this, but the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) notes that there aren’t any states that require embalming of every deceased individual.
If the tragic incident was the fault of another person who was negligent or reckless, you might opt to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit. This can help you recover the costs of the funeral and other expenses related to the death.