What are the cheapest funerals?
Households facing death do not always have the financial means to pay for the funeral. Some people also consider that the price of a funeral should not be high, by choice
For a number of years, we have often heard that cremation costs less, which is not always true.
Indeed, everything depends on the operations that precede and follow the ceremony.
What is the average price of a funeral?
In France, the funeral cost is between € 3,500 and € 3,800 on average, excluding marble and cemetery concessions.
But not all companies and all regions are created equal. Significant increases, which can range from single to double, observe between cities in the north of France, for example, and cities in the south-east.
What are the different elements of the funeral monument?
The funeral monument is made of several materials including stone, marble or granite which cover the burial. It informs the identity of the deceased and pays homage to him, a desire desired by the family.
Here are the following:
- The stele: engraved with the name of the deceased and according to beliefs, a decorative motif and a cross adorn the stele.
- The base supports the stele.
- The tomb allows you to place plaques or plants.
- The base: of various shapes, it can include planters.
- The sole, under the base, brings stability to the stone monument.
- Veneers according to the configuration of the cemetery, in particular on a slope or in height, are essential.
Our site offers a wide range of standard stone monuments, of different shapes and a palette of colors depending on the materials used. By the way, we offer you no less than 13 shades of granite, each just as beautiful as the next and when it comes to durability and longevity they have proven themselves.
Modern and with a clean line, they are not expensive, a big advantage. At our funeral marble, in case you cannot find models to your liking, we design together and on the plan, the one that will suit you perfectly. A chapel, statues? Everything is possible!
Also, read about “How much is an electric skateboard”
The price difference between burial and cremation
Prices for a funeral
The difference in price between a cremation and a burial depends mainly on the destination of the coffin or urn.
In the event of burial, irreducible costs must be taken into account:
- The acquisition of a concession to the cemetery, from 200 euros for a period of 15 years
- The opening of the pit, 500 euros on average for a dig
If the family already has a family vault, then it will be necessary to count the opening of the tombstone or the door of the funeral monument.
Burial coffins are usually made of oak, and more expensive than a cremation coffin, made of pine. However, the family is free to choose a pine coffin for burial.
Prices for a cremation
In the event of cremation, the same costs for the concession or the opening of a tombstone apply as soon as the urn is placed in a concession in the cemetery.
On the other hand, relatives of the deceased retain the possibility of dispersing the ashes in the middle of nature or in the garden of remembrance, which does not require carrying out the same operations as in the cemetery. The scattering of ashes also makes it possible to choose a cheaper urn: cardboard urns cost between 45 and 55 € on average, for 85 € for a metal urn.
For this second method of burial (also called “cremation”), the price of the crematorium is incompressible and depends on the establishment. See our article “How much does a cremation cost “to learn more. There is also a funeral vacation included in 20 and 25 €. This vacation consists of placing wax seals on the coffin screws, an operation carried out by the municipal police or the mayor.
Funeral costs: what compulsory expenses?
Funerals in France respond to mandatory services:
- The coffin and its identity plate;
- The urn to collect the ashes in the event of cremation, and its identity plate;
- Police vacations, which correspond to the placing of seals on the coffin. They are obligatory in two situations: in the event of cremation, and in the event of burial if the family is not present when the coffin is closed;
- The costs necessary for the burial: opening of a monument and cremation;
- The body bag in case of transport without a coffin;
- The hearse and its driver in case of transporting the body.
Other so-called “current” services are mostly included in the funeral costs:
- The organization of the funeral. It is for the family to entrust to a funeral counselor, the care of planning, organizing, and carrying out all the necessary steps for the funeral. This service is valuable because the funeral staff knows what the legislative possibilities are, and relieves the family of heavy administrative constraints (declaration of death at the town hall, for example);
- The funeral bearers, two or four in number, carry the coffin and are present throughout the ceremony. They can be accompanied by a master of ceremonies, who coordinates them and is the point of contact for relatives;
Optional services:
- Transport of bodies before putting them in the coffin. This option consists of transferring the body of the deceased from the place of death to the home or to funeral home;
- The care of presentation, the mortuary toilet, and embalming, to make the deceased presentable;
- The quilting lining the inside of the coffin;
- The civil or religious ceremony;
- The funeral home, where the body rests before the funeral;
- The funeral monument or tombstone to which can be added the price of a vault.
A funeral operator often offers additional services or products such as:
- Assistance service for procedures after death;
- Funeral plaques;
- Natural or artificial flowers;
- Condolence register, card boxes, donation boxes…
The estimate of the funeral directors
The decree of 23 August 2010 imposes a model of regulatory estimate for funeral directors. The funeral expenses are divided into three columns:
- Current services: administrative procedures, transport of bodies, etc.
- Optional additional services: funeral chamber, conservation care, etc.
- Expenses advanced on behalf of the family. These services are subcontracted expenses that the company pays for outside organizations: worship costs, police vacations, death notices in the press, etc. The prices indicated are net, the funeral director does not take any increase.
Compulsory services mark with an asterisk.
This quote model allows relatives of the deceased who consult several funeral operators a simplified reading and a clearer comparison of each person’s offer.
Who pays the funeral bill?
It is above all the person who signed the estimate who undertakes to pay the funeral. Costs incurred can also be debited from the deceased’s bank account.
I the deceased had no resources, the town hall of the place of death will bear the costs.
There is also aid for the payment of funerals such as the death benefit from Social Security.
