How to Work With a Funeral Home: Questions to Ask and What to Expect

Most families only walk into a funeral home a handful of times, and usually while they’re grieving. If you know your rights, the right questions, and what to ask about costs, it’s a lot easier to make calm choices that honor the person you love.

You have rights: the FTC Funeral Rule

Funeral homes are covered by a federal law called the Funeral Rule, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. It exists because funerals are complicated, expensive purchases that people usually make under stress (FTC) (eCFR). Here are the protections I think every family should know:

• An itemized General Price List (GPL). When you visit in person to talk about arrangements, the funeral home must give you a written price list that is yours to keep. It lists each item and service and what each one costs (FTC).
• Prices by phone. If you call and ask, the funeral home must give you price information over the phone. You don’t have to give your name, address, or phone number first (FTC) (eCFR).
• Buy only what you want. You can choose individual goods and services instead of a package. The only fee you generally can’t decline is the basic services fee, plus anything required by law or by the cemetery or crematory (FTC) (FTC).
• Caskets and urns bought elsewhere. The funeral home must accept a casket or urn you bought online or from another seller, and it can’t charge you a fee for doing so. You also don’t have to be there when it’s delivered (FTC) (FTC).
• Casket and outer burial container price lists before you’re shown the actual products, so you can ask about lower-priced options that may not be on display (FTC).
• A written, itemized statement to keep, given at the end of the arrangements discussion, listing each item you selected, its price, and the total, so you see it before you pay (eCFR) (FTC).

Many funeral homes still don’t post their prices online. In a 2022 survey of more than 1,000 funeral homes, the Consumer Federation of America and the Funeral Consumers Alliance found that only 18 percent posted their general price list on their website (Consumer Federation of America & Funeral Consumers Alliance). That’s why asking by phone, or in person, is so useful.

What happens in the first 24–48 hours

The first day or two can feel like a blur. Here’s what usually happens:

• A legal pronouncement of death. If your loved one dies in a hospital, nursing facility, or under hospice care, staff will usually handle this. For an unexpected death at home, call 911.
• Choosing a funeral home. The facility will ask where to release your loved one. You can take a little time to make a few calls and compare prices before you decide.
• Transfer of your loved one to the funeral home. This is often listed on the GPL as “removal” or “transfer of remains.”
• An arrangement meeting. Usually within a day or two, you’ll meet with the funeral director to choose services, set dates, and gather information for the death certificate.
• Embalming decisions. Embalming generally isn’t required by law, and the funeral home may not embalm without permission. Some arrangements, like a public viewing, may make it a practical necessity, and refrigeration is often an alternative (FTC) (FTC).

It helps to bring the person’s Social Security number, date and place of birth, parents’ names, military discharge papers if they served, and any written final wishes or prearrangement paperwork.

Questions to ask the funeral home

• May I have a copy of your General Price List?
• What exactly does your basic services fee include?
• Do you offer packages, and what would the same items cost if I choose them separately?
• What are your lowest-priced caskets, urns, and containers, and may I see the price list first?
• Is embalming needed for what we’re planning? Is refrigeration or a private family viewing without embalming an option?
• What are “cash advance” items, and do you add any charge to them?
• Which costs come from the cemetery or crematory, not from you?
• Will you give me a written, itemized statement before I sign or pay?
• When is payment due, and what forms of payment do you accept, including an assignment of life insurance benefits?

Typical cost items

Funeral costs vary widely by location and provider. The best way to know what you would pay is to ask each funeral home for its itemized General Price List, which the FTC Funeral Rule requires it to provide. Totals often do not include cemetery costs, a vault, a monument or marker, or cash-advance items such as flowers or an obituary. Here are common items you may see on a price list.

Item	What it is	Cost
Basic services fee	The funeral director’s and staff’s services and overhead. Usually the one fee you can’t decline.	Varies; see the GPL
Embalming	Preservation of the body, often needed for a public viewing. Other preparation (dressing, cosmetology) is listed separately.	Varies; see the GPL
Viewing	Use of facilities and staff for a visitation.	Varies; see the GPL
Funeral ceremony	Use of facilities and staff for the service.	Varies; see the GPL
Casket or urn	Metal burial casket, or an urn for cremated remains.	Varies; see the GPL
Vault or outer burial container	Often required by cemeteries, not by state law.	Varies; see the GPL
Cemetery: plot, opening and closing	Charged by the cemetery, not usually on the funeral home’s GPL.	Ask the cemetery
Clergy or pastor honorarium	A thank-you gift for the officiant. Often handled as a cash-advance item.	Varies; ask
Obituary, death certificates, flowers	Usually cash-advance items paid to outside parties. Death certificate fees are set by the state, and families often need several copies.	Varies; ask

Cash-advance items are things the funeral home pays to others for you. Ask whether they add a service charge to them (FTC).

Burial vs. cremation

More families are choosing cremation. NFDA projects the U.S. cremation rate at 63.4 percent for 2025, with burial at 31.6 percent (NFDA). Both can include a viewing and a full service, and both can be kept simple.

• Traditional burial usually involves a casket, often a vault, a cemetery plot, opening and closing of the grave, and a marker.
• Immediate burial takes place shortly after death without embalming or a viewing. It is usually one of the lower-cost options, and funeral homes must list its price on the GPL (eCFR).
• Cremation with a service can include a viewing beforehand or a memorial afterward.
• Direct cremation happens without embalming or a viewing. Funeral homes must list its price on the GPL (eCFR). No law requires a casket for cremation, and funeral homes that offer cremation must make an alternative container available (FTC).

Compare more than one funeral home

Prices for the same service can vary a lot from one funeral home to the next. Consumer groups like the Funeral Consumers Alliance encourage families to call around, and they note that the FTC requires funeral homes to give prices over the phone (Funeral Consumers Alliance of North Carolina). Even two or three calls can make a real difference.

Pre-planning vs. prepaying

Pre-planning means writing down your wishes: burial or cremation, the kind of service, music, readings, and who should be in charge. It costs nothing and can spare your family a lot of guesswork.

Prepaying means paying a funeral home ahead of time. Before prepaying, the FTC suggests asking what exactly is covered, what happens to the money, whether you can cancel and get a refund, and what happens if the funeral home closes or you move (FTC: Planning Your Own Funeral). State rules on prepaid plans vary.

How final expense insurance can help

Final expense insurance is a type of whole life insurance with a smaller death benefit, designed to help with funeral costs and other final bills. The money goes to the beneficiary you name, who can use it for the funeral, cemetery costs, the pastor’s honorarium, or any other bills. Because the beneficiary controls the money, the family keeps flexibility in which funeral home to use and what to choose. Coverage amounts, pricing, and eligibility depend on age, health, and state.

If you’d like to talk through how much your family might need, I’m glad to help. It won’t cost you anything.

This article is for general educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Coverage, pricing, and availability vary by age, health, state, and carrier. Costs vary by location and provider.

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