To think that cremation/burial should be free?

[AccordingToOurRecords]

We will all die and so our bodies will need to be disposed of. Whether you opt for a cremation or burial, it costs a fortune. It has to be done but why do we have to pay so bloody much. I think it is a service that should be free, not the whole funeral ( that's my second winge) but the actual disposal of the body.

Also, AIBU to feel that funerals have become another way for people ( when at there most vulnerable ) to be pressurised into thinking the amount you spend = the amount you love a person.

I recently organised a funeral, I was shocked that when I sat down with the funeral director I was told that they were £1600 cheaper than elsewhere locally. It really annoyed me that money came before compassion. Tried another FD, I was told I absolutely must have this and must have that at ridiculous cost. In the end I thought sod it, I'll sort everything myself. I'm not mean but I'm not being taken advantage of by money grabbers masked by fake respectfulness. It's just business at the end of the day to them.

Then there are T.V. Adverts for prepaid funeral plans. Listing the costs of a funeral and how will your loved ones cope with the expense which they estimated to be about 7k. Seriously? The pressure to provide such things as catering and a venue is ridiculous, it's not a wedding( and yes, I think weddings are no longer about what they are supposed to be about).

A wake used to be close friends and family back to the house for a cup of tea, sandwich and a sherry to raise a glass to the deceased.

AIBU to think you show how much you love/care for/ respect a person when they are alive not by spending silly money when they are dead. I probably am BU :( ........... Gloves up, feet a shuffling....ding ding.

""Is there an alternative to having a religious ceremony or burial in church grounds?..... I've recently heard about woodland burials which I like the sound of. But is there a way if doing it all without a vicar or any religious aspect?""

I'm having a natural burial, I love Wales and camp a lot there. My body will be taken and quickly buried without preservatives and "feed" the woodland.

Google your options. You need to make it clear on your NHS records.

It can be free to get a cremation if you donate your body to medical science, I am very tempted by that option.

Maybe burials should be free too if they could be done unmarked in woodland or something. Taking up space that needs tending and doesn't provide useful space for nature doesn't sound like a good use of tax money.

What we would cut in the state budget to fund free burial or cremation?
There is huge variation between funeral directors, but there are now funeral comparison websites where you can compare them and what they include before you make contact.

I think cremation should be free and whoever can pay for the pot of their choice to keep the ashes in.
Burial you are paying for the space in the graveyard too so should be charged.
It doesn't matter how much you spend but I suppose it makes the grieving feel better in a way.

I don't agree that burials / cremations should be free ,as the bottom line is nothing is free so someone is paying and that would be the tax payer . That said I did complain to the ASA about that pre paid funeral advert as I do feel that it makes it sound like funeral directors want the money immediately and that the price of a funeral is several thousand pounds ,when the reality is funerals can be organised for a lot less than that and many funeral directors are happy to take payments . The ASA didn't agree with my point that the advertiser is frightening possible vulnerable people into buying something they don't need .

Birds, that's a lovely plan.

I think funeral costs have soared in the last 10 years from my recent experiences. I read an article the other day about a funeral director who provides children's funerals for free and he's just been awarded charity status and local people raise funds for them. Interesting idea, charity funded funerals.

Some of the prices im seeing here are crazy, my mums funeral cost £700 for headstone, wash and wrap, service, transportation ect
We paid £35 extra for a flower bed to be put on top of her grave and £300 for food and drink at her wake which was held at my aunts.

Oddboots, leaving your body to science is not as clear cut as it seems. You have to get a medical school to accept your body whilst you are still alive ( not as easy as you would imagine)Masses of forms to fill in before you die. If you have to have a post mortem your body is no longer suitable for donation. As for the cremation being free, if your family want the remains of your body returned, they then have to pay for a normal cremation.

I'd never thought about this, even though I've taken qualification in Social Policy.

Whereas Dentistry was in with the Welfare State (although removed later), cremation, wasn't.

So the law was bought in so you can't DIY, but the cheapest is about £900 (if you want to attend), £600, if not.

Babyfeet, the cost of a burial plot alone is between £700 and £900. Headstone and everything else is on top of that.

Betty, I believe most if not all FDs provide their services for free for children's funerals.

Certainly the FD that dealt with all my grandparents, and will do my parents, never charges for anyone under 18 and its nothing is too much trouble as well. As far as I know, he funds it all himself.

It was an article I read, I'm in the lucky position of never having to deal with a child's funeral.

According you are right, I asked my sister and my mums funeral was 4k the headstone was £700. I didn't even realise funerals were that expensive!

The problem is, I think, that most people don't want to think about these things because they are a bit morbid. If a family are struggling with two wages coming in, how on earth can they find the money if they have to pay for a parents funeral for instance. People on benefits can get help but not everyone is on benefits.

Funeral costs have increased so much. In 2008 my FILs funeral was £2900. We have just paid for my MIL's funeral, and that was £4500. Same company, same service provided.

The government paying for a funeral or part off wouldn't be cost effective, plus they'd find a way to cut costs, mass graves/cremations and it wouldn't be as personal. What would you like see cut to provide this?

I do think theres an argument for a cremation being free and everything else, the transportation and preparing of hte body, the celebrant (religious or otherwise), flowers, 'do' etc being charged for. (right up to a pot to put your ashes in). Mind you, most of the £4k+ sums being quoted aren't for the actual disposal of the body, but for all the other services.

Bodies do need to be disposed of. The celebration of someone's life is optional.

Thus is why everyone should either organise and prepay for their own funeral or have insurance to cover it.

We have had life insurance, which included funeral costs and paying off any mortgage we had since we got married as teenagers.
We are now mid 30s and have money put aside for our funerals, it is hopefully very premature but it's better to be prepared for something that is inevitably going to happen, although hopefully not for a long time.

Adding a "bodies" section to the recycling centre would be a good idea if the majority of the population would be interested, a very efficient good to be provided by the council, they could store up a load and then burn them all in one go - probably even in a waste plant that produces electricity.

But it's not a great idea, because the vast majority of people want to do more than simply dispose of the body. They have religious ideas of what needs to happen or want a ceremony etc. so the very few people that would actually take advantage of a council provision would make it uneconomic.

YABU.

In which case According I would support state paid cremations and/or composting (a relatively new system, not sure if it is in the UK yet) and possibly unmarked woodland burials with cardboard coffins. Not any additional stuff though.

My sons funeral was free. Paid just over £700 for a headstone for him.

It's an extorinate amount of money.

I had a friend die before xmas. Not a UK national, no next of kin. No money or insurance whatsoever.

The hospital she died in said they could arrange the funeral for £650. This was for no service, no remains (to take back to her aging parent abroad) or anything. £650!! I asked what would happen if none of us (her friends) could pay it and the bereavement officer just shrugged her shoulders and said she would be kept in the mortuary in that case until the hospital ran out of room and then she would be 'disposed' of.

Awful, and sad.

(We did hold a 'proper' funeral. We, the friends, paid for it.)

TheGirl, that's so terribly sad.

There are funeral directors here (in Ireland) that offer coffin rental for cremations to keep the cost down. Which makes a lot of sense, why pay a fortune for something just to burn it.