Prepaid Legal Alabama

Here's a look at the first five pitfalls that often trap consumers - and advice on how to avoid them.

Trap 1: Buying packages

Most funeral providers offer a bundle or collection of goods and services, which generally includes the cost of everything from security papers (such as death certificates and permits) the use of vehicles for transporting the body and members of the family. Some consumers find that aid which allows them to avoid guesswork and difficult decisions at a time when they feel stressed and vulnerable.

But it can also be expensive. A package for a traditional service with burial rather than incineration - often called a full-service "or" traditional "funeral - sounds good to him, but it generally costs of about $ 3,000 to $ 6,000 , excluding the high-priced items of a coffin, cemetery plot or crypt, and the service falls. Even cremation packages can range in cost from about $ 500 to $ 3,000, depending on whether the provider owns a crematorium or contracts with an outside service.

How to avoid the trap

The only way to know if a package is a good buy or bad gouge is to inspect the goods and services including special and remind you that you have the legal right to exclude - and not pay for - goods and services you not 't want or need.

As consumer protection is added, the federal Funeral Rule, which monitors industry practice, an institution may not refuse to serve consumers who choose not to purchase an item or service, like a coffin or embalming.

Trap 2: The purchase of an expensive casket or container

Coffins are usually the most expensive component associated with traditional funerals, priced at $ 500 for a simple pine coffin as high as $ 10,000 for a locked bronze $ 40,000 or more for a gold medal or a model of jewels. And coffins are most markup of all goods and funeral services: generally 300 percent and sometimes up to 650 percent.

The laws governing who can sell funeral merchandise is a bit confusing. But laws in a number of states (including Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia) require that appear to be funerary goods sold by a licensed funeral. Yet the federal Funeral Rule prohibits a funeral director to impose additional fees or refuse to handle a casket or container obtained from the other or cheaper. And some courts have held that the constraints on the licensors do not apply to online sellers.

How to avoid the trap

A little knowledge within the funeral industry, which has studied the habits of consumers, is that consumers usually buy one of the first three boxes they see in a showroom - usually mid-range . Generally, the showrooms are strategically placed to view the most expensive models. Wise buyers will have time to look at several models in different price ranges and insist to see the models at low prices if they are not easily visible.

Caskets and containers are available from a growing number of sources, easily locate and purchase online, ship them to a funeral home. Some have even chosen to make their own, or have one built by a friend at hand. If this is your preference, be sure to specify before hiring an individual funeral director to manage other final arrangements concerned. You can find those responsible and independent artisans coffin specialized in manufacturing low-cost or unique boxes by searching online for the purchase of a coffin, or via a local branch of the Funeral Consumers Alliance.

Finally, most funeral homes also offer rental caskets circumstances in which a body will be cremated but there is a public consultation or service in which the.