Canadian Consumer Handbook 2008-2009

Funerals

Most people avoid thinking about funerals until faced with the death of a loved one. When you wait until this time of stress and grief, it can be hard to make the necessary decisions. In Canada, the provinces and territories regulate the funeral and burial industry. For more information, contact your provincial or territorial consumer affairs office or the regulator.

Burial

Burial is the most common way of dealing with remains. Bodies must be buried in approved cemeteries.

There are two methods of burial. The first is the traditional earth burial, in which the body is placed in a casket and lowered into the ground. The second involves permanently placing the body and the casket in a mausoleum, or tomb, above or just below the ground.

Cemetery costs vary widely. Before you make an agreement to purchase a plot, ask for a written statement listing all costs and a copy of the cemetery's rules and regulations.

What Kind of Casket?

The price of a casket can easily account for half the total cost of an average funeral service. Prices range from a few hundred dollars for a cloth-covered casket to several thousand dollars for a metal or hardwood casket. You may have to ask to see less expensive caskets, since these are often not on display at funeral homes. Plywood caskets can usually be purchased on request. In some areas, you can save money by renting a decorative casket shell for use during the funeral and graveside service. Discount casket stores have opened in some cities in Canada, and some local companies make and sell caskets.

Sometimes, people go deeply into debt when they choose a casket because they want to do their best for the deceased. Think carefully about spending more than you can afford or have budgeted for in advance. Consider asking a trusted friend or relative to accompany you when you decide which casket to buy. Consider too that a casket is not required when the body is to be cremated (although a container must be supplied).

Embalming: Extra or Essential?

Embalming involves substituting a chemical fluid for blood to temporarily preserve a body. This is usually done for cosmetic and sanitation purposes when the body is to be viewed in an open casket. Consider the benefits of embalming and the wishes of the deceased and next-of-kin when deciding about embalming. If you decide against it, inform the funeral home immediately. In most cases, except in Alberta and Ontario, unless you give instructions to the contrary, funeral homes will usually automatically go ahead with this procedure and charge you for it.

Generally, embalming is not legally required; however, it may be required when transferring remains by air or otherwise to another province or territory, or out of the country, unless embalming is contrary to religious beliefs.

Cremation

Cremation is an alternative to burial. It saves valuable land in a time of urban sprawl. It also usually costs less than burial, particularly because you don't have to buy an expensive casket or spend money on a cemetery plot.

Before you receive permission to have a body cremated, the body must be examined by a medical examiner and a Medical Certificate of Death signed by the attending physician.

Funeral chapels and crematoria require that the body be enclosed in a container that is combustible, of rigid construction and equipped with handles. You may supply your own homemade container.

After a cremation, all that usually remains of the body is two to three kilograms of pulverized bone and ash, and perhaps some parts of artificial joints. These materials represent no health risk. You're free to take care of the ashes as you see fit. Most crematoria and funeral homes will provide temporary storage of the ashes until you decide what is to be done with them. You may also choose to bury the ashes in a cemetery plot.

Conventional Funeral Service

A conventional funeral involves a service in a religious institution such as a church or temple, or funeral chapel, with the body present, followed by burial. The following services are usually included in the price the funeral home or cemetery charges:

• removing the body to the funeral home
• using funeral home facilities
• embalming and cosmetic application
• the price of the casket
• using a hearse for transportation to the cemetery or crematorium
• arranging funeral services
• registering the death and obtaining the Burial Permit
• preparing newspaper death notices.

In most provinces and territories, funeral homes and cemeteries are required to provide families with a detailed cost breakdown of all the products and services they provide. This will enable you to select only those services you require and can afford.

Memorial Service

A memorial service is usually held when the body is not present. For example, the body may have already been buried, or it may have been cremated or donated for medical research. Family and friends in another city from the deceased's often hold a memorial service.

A memorial service is most often held within a few days or weeks of the death. Memorial services, as with funerals, can be large or small, and held in a religious institution such as a church or temple, funeral home chapel, hotel, private club or family home. Arrangements are usually simple. Embalming, viewing and other services associated with a conventional funeral are eliminated, reducing the cost.

Planning Ahead

Prearranging a Funeral Service

When looking for a prearranged plan, ask yourself the following questions.

• Does the funeral home have a good reputation? Ask friends for recommendations. Ask yourself whether the funeral home is likely to be in business for many more years.
• Will interest be paid on the money in your prearranged plan? If so, compare rates at various funeral homes. Will you or your estate receive the interest or will the funeral home?
• If you choose to pay in installments, will you be charged for late payment?
• Does the contract specifically describe all goods and services to be provided?
• Does the plan meet your religious needs? Does it allow for a service in your own religious institution such as a church or temple, if you wish it or must you use the funeral chapel?
• Is there any plan to cover the increased cost of the prearranged service due to inflation?

Buying a Cemetery Plot

You can also buy a cemetery plot and a grave marker in advance. Before signing a contract, get answers to the following questions.

• What happens if you move or change your mind for whatever reason? Would you be able to sell the plot or transfer ownership?
• What are your payment options?
• What penalty would apply if you failed to make the payments?

Mausoleums and Columbariums

An alternative to buying a cemetery plot is to purchase a niche in a mausoleum (for a casket) or columbarium (for cremated remains). As with prearranging a funeral or buying a cemetery plot, it is important to ask questions about fees and services ahead of time.

• What are you getting for your money?
• Is there an extra charge for the nameplate or for a flower vase to put in front?
• What are the options for paying?
• Can you get a refund if you decide not to use the niche?

You should also ask about the opening hours for a mausoleum or columbarium, since they are unlikely to be open all time, as cemeteries are. This is particularly important if your family lives in a different city from the mausoleum or columbarium and will only be visiting occasionally.

Memorial Societies

Memorial societies are voluntary, non-profit organizations dedicated to helping people arrange simple, dignified and inexpensive funerals in advance. They encourage the donation of bodies or body parts for medical science.

Most memorial societies have either a legal contract or an agreement with one or more local funeral homes to provide services for members. Memorial societies that are unable to get such agreements give advice to people who want to prearrange their funeral. Members are given a form on which they indicate their desired arrangements. The society and/or the cooperating funeral home keep a copy of the form. If you move, your membership file can be transferred to the local memorial society near your new community.

Donating a Human Body or Organs

Medical science makes valuable use of donated tissues and organs, for research, teaching and transplants. The entire body, or just certain parts, may be donated. It is quite easy to make such a donation. Just write out your instructions on a piece of paper and sign it.

Be sure to tell your next-of-kin about your wishes and to carry a copy of the signed instructions or a signed donor card in your wallet. Your driver's license may have an attached universal donor card, which you must fill out and sign for your wishes to be followed.