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Death in One State, Burial in Another.

In our mobile society, death arrangements often cross state lines. Even though the shipping of cremated remains is far less expensive than body-shipping, cremation is not an option for many families. What are the ways to cut costs when two funeral homes are likely to be involved?

In the case of an anticipated death, visitation in the community of death may not be necessary—the family may have already said its "good-byes." In fact, if all observances can be saved for the state of final disposition, the expenses will be considerably less.

If the body has not yet been picked up—from the hospital or nursing home, for example—the family probably should not call a local mortuary. Instead, the family should call a receiving mortuary in the other state or location. The family should ask that mortuary to use a body shipping service such as Inman Nationwide Shipping (1- 800-321-0566 — this number is for undertakers only; the company will not talk with consumers). The charge for picking up a body, getting permits and the death certificate, embalming, and delivery to the airport is about $695. There may be an additional mileage charge if the Inman agent in your area must travel any great distance. By comparison, the charge for this service is likely to be anywhere from $750 to $2,000+ when approaching a local funeral home directly, although a few small funeral homes may have prices as low as Inman's for "Forwarding Remains." Funeral homes serving as an Inman agent probably do so simply because they aren't busy enough, in spite of the low reimbursement. No doubt they hope the local family will remember which funeral home came to call.

(Inman can also arrange for a simple cremation. If there is no Alliance affiliate in the area where the death occurred, you still might check with the FCA office. Sometimes we have be able to locate a low-cost provider or the low-cost provider has come to us. If we have not been able to locate an affordable cremation service, then the receiving funeral home could check with Inman. Funeral homes that post prices to the public of $1,895 for a cremation may be an agent for Inman and agree to do it for only $635—if the call comes through another mortician via Inman.)

If the body has already been taken to a funeral home, the family should inquire about the price for "Forwarding Remains," one of the sixteen FTC- required options that must be offered. This will usually include pick-up of the body, the basic service fee, embalming, and possibly a shipping container as well as transportation to the nearest airport (what it covers must be listed on the General Price List). Ironically, this price is often much less than the individual items priced separately! However, if a family doesn't know enough to ask for the price of this option, the mortician is likely to crank up the bill by charging a la carte. One woman would have saved almost $2,000 if she had only known.

There are two kinds of Airtrays or shipping containers: one carries just the body, the other covers and protects a casket. Sometimes this is not included, so it is helpful to know what is reasonable. The wholesale cost of the first one (somewhat more rugged) is $68; the wholesale cost for the other is $49. If the funeral home is going to charge more than $100-150, a family might ask if there is a used one that can be recycled for a reduced cost. Most funeral homes have a few in the garage, and it doesn't hurt to ask—although it's probably what the funeral home would use anyway.

(If there are no services on the sending end, the funeral industry etiquette says the receiving funeral director should get the casket sale. This is NOT always honored OR appropriate. One woman was told she'd have to discard the casket her son had been buried in in another state, buy a special shipping container, and THEN buy a new casket when his body arrived at the receiving funeral home in Maryland.)

In most areas, it is legal for a family to transport the body. Even if the family were to rent a van, it might be considerably less expensive than airfare, and such a journey may have some very therapeutic value. Most airlines, however, do offer a bereavement rate at a deep discount for people flying to a funeral.

Even if the person you are helping is not a member of one of our nonprofit consumer groups, look up the phone number of the affiliate in the other state to find a receiving mortuary. That sort of help builds good-will. The cooperating mortician in Vermont called the FCA office for contact information when shipping a nonmember to New Jersey. He saved the family hundreds of dollars as a result, and that certainly rewards the cooperating mortician on the other end.

Unless there is a need to have visitation and a full funeral service in the state of burial, the family should ask the receiving mortuary for the price of "Receiving Remains"— another one of the FTC-required options. This usually includes picking up the body at the airport, filing permits, and transportation to the cemetery; it might be as low as $450. Cemetery charges will be extra. After getting a price for "Receiving Remains," the family may wish to ask the cost of a "Graveside Service" (usually about $250) if relatives and friends will want to be in attendance. Both of these options should be considerably less than the a la carte prices that would be charged otherwise.

In selecting a casket through either funeral home, the family may want to specifically avoid a "sealer." An affordable casket would be a 20-gauge non-gasketed steel casket or a cloth covered wood or fiberboard casket. Or the family may wish to check the internet for casket artisans and retailers that can ship overnight to any destination. Cloth covered caskets run about $300 plus $200 or so for shipping; they come in pink, blue, taupe, and gray. A 20-gauge steel starts at about $495 plus a similar shipping charge.

The family should plan to handle the obituary without the help of the funeral director. It is also a good idea to call the cemetery directly to check on prices for opening and closing the grave and whether or not the cemetery sells the grave-liner it will probably require. It may cost less through the cemetery. There is no advantage in purchasing an expensive or sealed vault.