Funeral & Memorial Planner — The decisions of the next few days, one at a time.
The funeral home, the service, the reception and the paperwork in one place — the costs laid out line by line, every call and form in order, and shared, so the people closest can carry it together.
- Free to start
- No sign-up to try
- Plan together
Everything in one plan
The funeral home’s statement, the chapel, the notice, the certificates and who is bringing what usually live in a dozen phone calls. Here they’re one place.
Includes a guest list, a service schedule and an arrangements checklist.
Idea board
Make it sound like them.
The chapel by the river, a celebrant who knew him, the back room at his local, a notice in the county paper, a bench on the towpath one day. Keep each with a photo and a note, so the family can decide together.
“He drank there for thirty years.”An idea on the board of the “Cremation with a service” example
- Places, people and words on one board
- Track each one: considering, researching, contacted, shortlisted
- Share it, so no one decides alone
Idea board 1/2
Costs, itemized
Know the costs before you’re asked to choose.
The funeral home’s professional services, transfer, cremation and container, the chapel, programs, the reception and certified death certificates — the way an itemized statement lists them, so nothing arrives as a surprise.
$5,145 · Funeral home services $2,800 · Reception $900 · Service and ceremony $645The “Cremation with a service” example’s costs
- Comparing, arranged and done
- Benefits checked before paying
Costs, itemized 1/2
Timeline
What to do first, and what can wait.
Who can decide, any plans already made, letting people know, checking benefits, the itemized statement and the notice — then the day itself, hour by hour, and the estate after the service.
9:30 AM Family arrives · 11:00 AM Service · 11:45 AM Words of remembranceThe day of the service in the “Cremation with a service” example
- The first calls in order
- The day hour by hour, in pictures
The first days 1/2
Recommendations
Plain answers when you need them.
What a crematory fee covers and what costs extra, who has to sign and how long it takes, where ashes may be scattered, how many certificates to order, which benefits may apply, and what can wait until after the service. Open one and it answers for your plan, with its own numbers and dates.
What can wait until after the service, and what cannotA guide in the “Cremation with a service” example’s recommendations
- Costs, authorization and certificates
- Benefits and what can wait
A guide, answered 2/2
About the Funeral & Memorial Planner
Funeral costs arrive at the hardest possible time to comparison-shop, and the industry rarely makes prices easy to see. This planner itemizes the real lines — the funeral home’s professional services fee, transport and preparation, the casket or cremation, cemetery charges, the service itself, and the reception afterward — with typical US prices on each, so you can see where the money goes and strike what doesn’t apply.
It also carries the checklist for the week: choosing a funeral home (every home is required by federal rule to give you an itemized price list — ask two or three), checking veterans, Social Security, union, and insurance benefits before paying anything, ordering certified death certificates, placing the obituary, and shaping the service. Things that can wait — the headstone, estate paperwork, acknowledgment cards — are dated after the service so the first days stay as clear as possible.
Choose burial, cremation, or direct cremation and the plan adjusts its lines to match. A guest list tracks who has been notified and who is attending, the Service Schedule lays out what happens and when, and the plan can be saved, shared with family, or exported to CSV or PDF.
What you can do
- Itemized costs: funeral home services, transport, preparation, casket or urn, cemetery, service, reception
- Burial, cremation, and direct-cremation plans, each with its own line items
- The consumer-protection checklist: itemized price lists, benefits to check before paying
- What can wait, dated after the service: headstone, estate steps, acknowledgment cards
- Guest list for notifications and attendance; Service Schedule for the service day
- Save, share with family, and export to CSV or PDF
Frequently asked questions
How much does a funeral usually cost?
A funeral with a viewing and burial typically runs $8,000–$10,000 in the US; cremation with a service is usually $6,000–$9,000, and direct cremation $2,000–$3,500. The planner starts from typical prices on each line so you can adjust to the quotes you actually receive — prices for identical services vary widely between funeral homes.
Do funeral homes have to tell me their prices?
Yes. The FTC Funeral Rule requires every funeral home to give you an itemized price list on request, to let you choose only the goods and services you want, and to accept a casket you bought elsewhere without a handling fee. Calling two or three homes for their lists is the single most effective way to keep costs in hand.
What help is available with funeral costs?
Veterans may be entitled to burial benefits and a plot in a national cemetery; Social Security pays a small lump-sum death benefit to an eligible spouse or child; unions, employers, and life insurance policies may also contribute. The planner’s checklist puts these before any payment, because they are easier to claim before bills are settled than after.
Can I use this to plan ahead for myself or a parent?
Yes. Set the service date further out and work at your own pace — the same itemized costs and checklist apply, and a saved plan spares your family most of these decisions later. Planning ahead also makes it practical to compare funeral homes without time pressure.
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Photos by John Kinnander, Debby Hudson and Ivy Tang on Unsplash.