Costs Associated with Funerals

To help you understand Funeral Costs we have prepared an outline of the categories that make up a funeral account. There are basically four sections that make up the total funeral account: Professional Service Charges, Casket & Merchandise Selections, Cash Disbursements and unfortunately the government imposed taxes on applicable items.

To aid consumers, legislation provides that all funeral homes must provide an itemized price list of all of their related Professional Service Charges as well as casket, vault and other merchandise charges. This list must be available at consumers' request without cost or obligation.

We pride ourselves on always being one of the most reasonably priced funeral homes in the area, although many expect our charges to be much higher given the level of service that we provide, professionalism, quality of facilities and ethical standards.

Consumers and families finally can learn first hand that there is a difference and families needn't fall into the trap of traditional loyalty many funeral homes attempt to count on. Today, being good is not good enough. We trust that this service will give you one more reason to give the Brown Funeral Homes, Inc. serious consideration when seeking a funeral home that is pro-actively working towards providing you the highest standards of services and facilities while offering sensible and affordable solutions.

Professional Service Charges

Casket and Merchandise Selections

This section is specific to the casket that a family selects. All of our caskets and merchandise is priced separately - meaning the price you see for the casket is for the casket itself with no other items included that can often become confusing to families. Some of the other types of merchandise you might find in these section of the funeral account are: Burial Vaults, Cremation Urns, and upgraded Stationary packages. Again, each is itemized based on your selection and a total is itemized under the "Casket & Merchandise Selections."

Cash Disbursements

Cash Disbursements are as they imply. To aid the families we serve, we will cover third party expenses and place them on our account as a convenience until the estate is understood.

Strict legislation ensures that these items are not marked up and only the exact "cost" is included on the funeral account. Typical cash disbursements might include:

• Paid Newspaper Obituaries
• Certified Copies of the Death Certificate
• Clergy Honorariums
• Musician Honorariums
• Cemetery Endowments for Maintenance of the Cemetery
• Grave Opening Fees
• Flowers
• Hairdressing
• Additional Vault Co. Fees for Weekends and Holidays
• Cutting Dates on Monuments
• Coroner's Cremation Certificates
• Reception Charges or Donations for Funeral Meals