Guides

Written for someone handling this for the first time. Each one explains the choices that tend to cost the most, defines the trade's terms as it uses them, and cites the law behind it.

If you came for a figure rather than an explanation, what a funeral costs answers the price question state by state, from the price lists we have read.

Aquamation, said plainly

What water cremation actually is, what comes back to the family, and the state by state legality answer read from the statutes rather than from a tracker map.

For families · US · Last reviewed Aug 31, 2026
Comparing two funeral price lists

What a package really is, why the casket sits on its own list, and the method for building the same arrangement out of two different price lists so the totals actually mean something.

For families · US · Last reviewed Aug 29, 2026
Cremation containers, cremation caskets, and rental caskets

What an alternative container is, what the law actually requires, what a rental casket is renting, and the price spread between the three, from funeral homes' own price lists.

For families · US · Last reviewed Aug 29, 2026
Death certificates: who needs one, how many, and what they cost

What a certified copy is, which institutions require one, how the price changes depending on which counter issues it, and the veteran fee waivers nobody offers you.

For families · US · Last reviewed Aug 29, 2026
How life insurance pays for a funeral

What an assignment is, what a funeral home checks before it takes one, why a policy under two years old changes everything, and the assignment fees three funeral homes put in writing.

For families · US · Last reviewed Aug 29, 2026
How to read a funeral home's price list

A line by line walkthrough of a funeral home's general price list, what you can decline, and how to build the number you'll actually pay.

For families · US · Last reviewed Aug 29, 2026
Terramation, said plainly

What human composting actually is, what comes back to the family, and the state by state legality answer read from the statutes rather than from a tracker map.

For families · US · Last reviewed Aug 31, 2026
The practical questions families actually ask

What happens first when someone dies, who moves the body, how long a cremation takes, whether you can witness it, and what to do when the death is out of state. Short answers, one page.

For families · US · Last reviewed Aug 29, 2026
What is a burial vault

Vault, grave liner, outer burial container: what the words mean, why no law requires one while nearly every cemetery does, what the sealed models are actually selling, and the price spread on one real catalog.

For families · US · Last reviewed Aug 29, 2026
When is payment due

Funeral bills are commonly due before the service, not after. What that means for the first conversation, what to ask, and what the options actually are when the money is not there.

For families · US · Last reviewed Aug 29, 2026
Who decides? Authorization for cremation and burial in Washington

The legal hierarchy of who controls disposition, what happens when family disagrees, and how to settle it in advance.

For families · WA · Last reviewed Aug 29, 2026