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Funeral Information


ON THIS PAGE:
•Do It Yourself

• Area Funeral Homes   - "Immediate Disposition" 

•Grave Liners

•Indigent burial

• Table: New Info, re: "Low Cost"

• Comments 

• IMMEDIATE ACTION LIST 

• Obituary 

•Eulogy

•Getting A Death Certificate

•Links


Casket Royale: 137 Lafayette Road, Hampton Falls, NH 03844, 1-800-791-4169
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http://www.myfuneralplan.org/ptbo.htm
http://www.myfuneralplan.org/niag.htm - [Ontario ]

 The Lowest Cost Funeral 

  "Immediate Disposition" or Type "A" Funeral: 

 The Type "A" funeral is a funeral of the utmost simplicity and has evolved into what is now referred to as an "immediate disposition" to the cemetery, at a cost of about $1,200 to $2,000. It is usually chosen by members who want a memorial service in the chapel of the funeral home or another location (or no service at all).

A memorial service is a service where the body is not present and it is usually held a week or so after the death. Often a picture of the deceased is displayed. 

The Type "B" Funeral

While still very simple, it is more conventional. There is no embalming and the casket is closed. Friends and relatives may be received at the funeral home for one afternoon and evening or often now for an hour before the service with a cost variance. A cloth pall is usually used to cover the closed plain casket or container.

You can, of course, add anything you wish to the Type "A" or Type "B" funeral (at an additional cost) simply by asking the funeral provider at the time the prearrangement forms are completed or survivors can do this at the time of death.
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FROM A FUNERAL HOME:

 "... Costs may range from below $2,500 for immediate disposition services to several thousand dollars depending on the type of services and merchandise selected by the consumer..."
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• Any consumer entering a funeral home making inquiries is entitled to receive the General Price List itemizing the costs of funeral services and the merchandise for sale.


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Federal law states "The funeral provider may not refuse, or charge a fee, to handle a CASKET YOU BOUGHT ELSEWHERE..."

http://funeraldepot.com/didyouknow.htm

Any funeral home that refuses to accept a casket from a family is subject to:

• a fine of $10,000 per incident from the Federal Trade Commission.

They would also be subject to any civil damages resulting from any complaint filed by the family for emotional distress for refusing to accept the casket, refusing to perform the funeral service or charging the family anything extra because they exercised their right to comparison shop. Funeral homes all across America are accepting caskets purchased on the internet to avoid any scrutiny or repercussions from the FTC. Not to mention they also want to be referred to other families by satisfied customers.

EXCERPT FROM THE FTC LINK BELOW:

• ftc.gov/.../funeral.htm - The Funeral Rule, from the FTC
• ftc.gov/.../shopping-funeral-services - The FTC's "Start" Page for funeral info


The Funeral Rule

Most funeral providers are professionals who strive to serve their clients' needs and best interests. But some aren't. They may take advantage of their clients through inflated prices, overcharges, double charges or unnecessary services. Fortunately, there's a federal law that makes it easier for you to choose only those goods and services you want and to pay only for those you select.

The Funeral Rule, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, requires funeral directors to give you itemized prices in person and, if you ask, over the phone. The Rule also requires funeral directors to give you other information about their goods and services. For example, if you ask about funeral arrangements in person, the funeral home must give you a written price list to keep that shows the goods and services the home offers. If you want to buy a casket or outer burial container, the funeral provider must show you descriptions of the available selections and the prices before actually showing you the caskets.

Many funeral providers offer various "packages" of commonly selected goods and services that make up a funeral. But when you arrange for a funeral, you have the right to buy individual goods and services. That is, you do not have to accept a package that may include items you do not want.

According to the Funeral Rule:

a funeral provider that offers cremations must make alternative containers available.

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Area Funeral Homes

(As of 1/17/2018)

https://www.parting.com/funeral-home/search/?zip=01701/../

https://www.parting.com/funeral-home/

PRICES LISTED FOR:  "DIRECT BURIAL" 

 George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Homes    •   www.parting.com/../doherty/../
477 Washington St.
Wellesley, MA
Estimated Cost - $2,035
Call: 781-235-4100 - [called 3/30/2018 - ~2400 PLUS casket, cemetary work, LINER, so roughly ~$4,000]

Boyle Brothers Funeral Home
Framingham, MA - 1649 mi away
Estimated Cost - $2,500
Call: 508-875-3106

Edwards Memorial Funeral Home
Milford, MA - 1640 mi away
Estimated Cost - $2,780
Call: 508-473-0225

Britton-Shewsbury Funeral Home
Shrewsbury, MA
Estimated Cost - $3,150
Call: 508-845-6226

Chesmore Funeral Home
 Holliston,  MA
Estimated Cost - $3,250
Call: 508-429-2391

Fitzgerald & Collins Funeral Home
Marlborough, MA
Estimated Cost - $3,690
Call: 508-485-2000

Metro West Funeral & Cremation Service of Wadsworth Chiappini
Framingham, MA
Estimated Cost - $4,290
Call: 508-875-8541

Buma-Sargeant Funeral Home
Milford, MA
Estimated Cost - $4,100
Call: 508-473-5511

Duckett Funeral Home of J. S. Waterman
Sudbury, MA
Estimated Cost - $4,290
Call: 978-443-5777

John Everett & Sons Funeral Home
Natick, MA -
Estimated Cost - $4,455
Call: 508-653-4342

Norton Funeral Home
Framingham, MA
Estimated Cost - $4,760
Call: 508-875-7871

Area Funeral Homes: General Info


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Do It Yourself

(From http://fcaemass.org/ - Scroll down a bit)

It is perfectly legal in Massachusetts, as in most other states, to care for your own dead without using a funeral home at all. Or, if you wish, you might want to use only limited services, for example, help with transportation, or the necessary paper work. Whether planning for yourself, or someone close to you, download our brochure on Home Funerals,
http://fcaemass.org/CFYOD/Threshold.pdf
and our advice on doing it yourself.
http://fcaemass.org/diy.html

FCAEM helped revive this time honored tradition in the 1990s by clarifying the law with the state after the funeral Board of Registration had led many to believe that the practice was illegal. Click here for details of that history.

FCAEM: Funeral Consumers Alliance of Eastern Massachusetts, aka The Memorial Society, 66 Marlborough St., Boston, MA 02116 • 617-859-7990

GENERAL INFO

St. Stephen's Cemetery, (Mailing Address:) 221 Concord St, / Fenwick St, Framingham • Phone: 508-881-1062

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Grave Liners

Grave liners are a hidden expense, and most cemetaries refuse to bury without one. The cemetery in this case doesn't sell them. The law lets you buy from a 3rd party, but cemetery can charge extra for this (cemeteries make up their own rules.)

The Federal Funeral Rule requires that funeral homes or cemetery owners provide you with a complete list of prices and descriptions.


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Indigent Burial

http://fcaemass.org/indigentburial.shtml
•http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXVII/Chapter117a/Section9 - Mass. law governing burial of ingient persons

Basically, the state will pay a maximum $1100 toward payment of a burial for someone on Medicaid, WHICH WILL BE RECLAIMED FROM FAMILY MEMBERS when possible. The state may force family members to pay additional costs over & above this amount: the state chooses the type of service and therefore the total cost, & the family are stuck with the bill.

There may be a method of sidestepping this unofficially, but it's not spelled out.

[FROM MASS GEN. LAW PART 1, TITLE XVII, CHAPTER 117a, SECTION 9:] Section 9. "The department shall provide for the decent final disposition of all deceased persons who are at the time of death recipients of aid or assistance... without means of support at the time of death. The expense thereof may be recovered from their kindred, if any, chargeable by law for their support in the manner provided in this chapter and if the expense of the funeral and final disposition is not paid by the kindred, an amount not exceeding $1,100 shall be paid by the commonwealth to the funeral establishment; provided, however, that the commonwealth shall have the right of reimbursement from whatever resources may exist in the estate of the deceased person."



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LOW COST OPTIONS & IDEAS
•Google: no money for a funeral

Talk to your county coroner’s office

Article: "When a Relative Dies and You Can’t Afford the Funeral" Some useful, some lame - as usual...

If you simply can’t come up with the money to pay for cremation or burial costs, you can sign a release form with your county coroner’s office that says you can’t afford to bury the family member. If you sign the release, the county and state will pitch in to either bury or cremate the body. The county may also offer you the option to claim the ashes for a fee. But if these also go unclaimed, they will bury the ashes in a common grave alongside other unclaimed ashes.

[Possible idea: display documentation of having already purchaced the plot & "negotiate" - perhaps someone from this office can contact the cemetary office (which refuses to talk directly with the consumer) so that only the actual burial costs are required (liner, digging costs). "You Harass Them!"



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Comments

<!-- thread 3 -->
funeral prep


x -

I've never had to plan a funeral before. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

x
If your mom didn't have a church, you can call a Methodist church and ask for a  Stephen Minister.  They are lay people who are trained to help in times of grief, and the church will be happy to help, even if you have no money and aren't Methodist.

Google: "stephen minister" local - minor results

 As for the funeral, you can google for low-cost funerals/cremations in your area. Decide on if you're having a wake or not. After the funeral, most people expect to come back to the house and eat and drink.

Call on friends and any extended family and send out an SOS. If you are affiliated with any religious organization, call them and tell them you need help STAT. Delegate - ask for help.

x
IF there are few close family or friends, consider skipping the visitation and funeral for  a graveside service.  We did that when both MIL and GFIL died last year. Much easier on us, and a LOT cheaper. Also you can set up a fund "in lieu of flowers,  "please contribute to help defray costs of the services." 
Like3Reply · More · 5 hours ago

x
These people, if they are in your area, can usually help with meals, etc:
Neighbor Brigade establishes community-specific networks of volunteers that can be mobilized to help residents facing sudden crisis manage day-to-day tasks such as meal preparation, rides, and basic household chores. Using web-based coordination tools, we manage recipient requests and the recruitment of volunteers to fulfill those requests sensitively, quickly and free of charge.

http://www. neighborbrigade .org/

https://app.betterimpact.com/PublicOrganization/../ -  NATICK CHAPTER  - [New URL - 111216]

x
I'll tell you some practical things I learned that I wish someone had told me:

You don't have to use a funeral home, and you don't have to buy anything they try to sell you -- and they will try to sell you a lot of very expensive services and stuff.

If you have a memorial service or gathering, you can do it at you home, or, enlist the help of a friend or family member to host the gathering. People are willing to help, and they will be honored to help. Now is the time to allow them to help.

• When you go to the funeral home,  don't let them up-sell you.   Take someone else with you just to sit there,  i.e. a pastor, (someone not emotionally connected) can prevent people being sold more than they need/want just by sitting there.




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Basic List: "Immediate Action"


  • "Immediate Disposition Funeral" ("Type A")

  • McCarthy - 11 Lincoln St - 508.875.4747. (SEE OTHERS LISTED ABOVE)


  • St. Stephen's Cemetery, (Mailing Address:) 221 Concord St, / Fenwick St, Framingham • Phone: 508-881-1062
    • Item: lot I-27, section: new calvary. • Certificate #200 from Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston • Date: August 21, 1998

  • Photo "Poster"

  • Photo CROP - "Portrait"



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Funeral & Obit
Personal Info

•

Obituary Notice     [her draft]

Beatrice (O'Leary) Erickson, [AGE], of Natick, on [DATE].

Born in Framingham, she was the daughter of the late James and Bridget (Keaney) O'Leary. She was a graduate of Framingham High School in the class of 1945. She worked for Dennison Manufacturing as a secretary for 11 years. She was later employed by Filenes preceding her retirement. She was an avid reader and enjoyed discussing history with friends and family.

She leaves her two sons John H. Erickson and Robert J. Erickson, both of Framingham, and her sisters Alice Gardella of Framingham and Margaret Ferriter of South Dennis. She is predeceased by her sister Mary Collins.

The family will gather for a private service. Burial will also be private, at St. Stephens Cemetery in Framingham.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of _____________


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