THE "BASIC" NEEDS FOR BURIAL AND CREMATION SERVICES

I would like you, the consumer to know exactly what is involved in a “Basic FUNERAL and CREMATION service”.

Hard to have, isn't it?

These items taken from the GENERAL PRICE LIST of any funeral home to help you have a successful, affordable service within your budget. Please understand that a funeral homes GENERAL PRICE LIST has service & merchandise pricing on it  and is required by law to follow a specific format. This depending on what that specific funeral home charges and they are not required by law to follow any specific guidelines for charges, they can charge what they choose as long as those charges are consistent from one client to the next.

Review these Items I put together below to guide you in your selection process. REMEMBER! Many funeral homes will put these bare necessities on their website to lure you in thinking that is all you need to accomplish your service, then as you start inquiring and requesting those other things that you assumed came with the service the counselor starts to apply these things to the service contract until you come out with a charge that is almost twice the amount of the original advertised price. This is not illegal.

REMEMBER! Every funeral home is required by law to give you a copy of their general price list, its the law,  but! they are not required to give you a copy of their "true" package pricing if they provide package services at all (not all funeral homes do), this is a leverage tool that is used to force you to sit with them and discus arrangements, get comfortable and once they get you to do this, they interpret your actions as half the battle being won.

Take a look below as to what a “Basic” layout is for funeral and cremation services, as you can see, there is a great deal missing. Below are Avenidas Charges from our General Price List.

“Basic” Items that make up a Burial service

 

Basic service of the funeral director and staff  $795
Transfer of deceased to the funeral home         $250
Embalming of the deceased                                 $395
Dressing, Casketing and Cosmetics                    $160
Three Hour Daytime Visitation                           $295
Funeral Coach                                                         $300
Funeral Ceremony/Service                                  $295
Graveside Service                                                   $175
Disposition Permit                                                 $4       
Total                                                      $2,669

* The casket is not included due to the fact that you can purchase one with us starting at $310 up to about $5,000.

“Basic” Items that make up a Cremation service

Basic Service of the Funeral Director and staff    $795
Transfer of deceased to the funeral home             $250
Embalming of the deceased                                     $395
Dressing, Casketing and Cosmetics                        $160
Three Hour Daytime Visitation (chapel)               $295
Funeral Ceremony/Service                                       $295
Crematory Fee                                                             $155
Disposition Permit                                                     $4
County Cremation Fee                                               $15
Temporary Plastic Cremains Container                 Included Total                                                         $2,364

* Again, cremation casket not included, you may choose a rental casket at $575 or purchase a cremation casket for much more.

Now, Cremation traditionally costs less because there is less involved when handling cremation.  But many funeral homes are trying to change all this. The effort is to slowly increase the cost of cremation services over time so they are equivalent if not more than burial. There is a great deal of revenue (cash) saved by yourself should you choose a service that ends by cremation over a service that ends with burial. The BIGGEST savings of money comes from the thousands of dollars saved by you on the "no casket sale" by the funeral home AND the no purchase of cemetery property.

Cemetery property alone can save you thousands of dollars. Caskets being marked up as much as 7 to 10 times at some locations are a great deal of the funeral homes income. The loss of the casket sale can be very damaging for those funeral homes that put so much weight on the casket sale to compensate or handle their overinflated  overhead or debt ridden funeral home. This little secret can not be emphasized enough.

Remember, should you choose a service ending with a cremation, there is a great deal of money that will be saved by you, the consumer. In regards to services and pricing, cremation is by far the most affordable option available and if the location you are pricing is telling you the costs would be about equivalent, you should consider another location. The costs are not equivalent.

Things to consider beyond these basic charges for a service, not all are required, but most are requested by families. These items are:

1.     Casket (burial, required) Start at $390

2.     Rental Casket (cremation) and new insert (required) $575

3.     Urn (optional) start at $65

4.     Register Book (optional) $40

5.     Prayer Cards (optional) $45 per 100

6.     Thank You cards (optional) $10 a set

7.     Flowers (optional)Start at $200

8.     Casket Cross (optional) $25

9.     Motor Escorts (optional) $380

10.   Limousine (optional) $400

11.   Concrete grave box for burial $625

12.   Evening visitation charge $145 Extra

13.   Weekend charge, Saturday, $300. Sunday and Holidays, $450

14.   Church use service fees (If applicable)

15.   Clergy (if applicable) $150

Remember, most “Packages” do not contain any of these listed Items above. At Avenidas, our Funeral and Cremation Packages are very explanatory and thorough as to what is in them.

We do have a burial or cremation package that includes:

Basic Service of The funeral Director and staff
Solid Oak Rental casket for cremation with new insert or
20 gauge metal casket for burial ($850 value "click here")
Transfer of deceased to the funeral home
Embalming of the deceased
Dressing, Casketing and Cosmetics
Two Hour Daytime Visitation and or service (our chapel)
Funeral Coach (if needed)
Transportation to the cemetery or crematory
Cremation or Graveside Service
Plastic temporary container for cremains
Disposition Permits and or fees
50 prayer cards or memory folders

*Alteration are not allowed with the exception of merchandise upgrades (rare exceptions)
Your cost is - $2,195.00

(if packaged together off of the General Price List the total charges would be well over $3,200)

Thanks for reading, should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call and as always, my pricing and services can not be out done.

623-925-1525

Semper Fi, Keep the faith.

Miguel Legaspi, Owner
Brandon Walls, Owner
Lorena Flores Wilson, Manager
Patricia Del Castillo, Conselor