Everything you need to know about arranging a funeral

The death of a loved one is upsetting enough without the added stress of organising a good funeral.

So many decisions need to be made in such a short time that for many it can be an overwhelming experience, especially those who have never gone through the process before.

This article covers:

• What to do when a loved one dies
• Using a funeral director
• Doing it yourself
• Direct cremation and direct burial
• How much does a funeral cost?
• How to pay for it

What to do when a loved one dies

Ideally, you will know exactly what your loved one wanted to happen after their death. But if you never spoke to them about what sort of send-off they would have liked, have a look in their will for any details. 

If there is no will, or it doesn’t contain any information on funeral arrangements, don’t worry; lots of people find themselves in their position.

You should speak to other relatives and close friends of the deceased, so you can start to put a plan together on how to organise the type of funeral you want. 

In terms of what to do first, close friends and family members need to be told about the death, but so too do a number of other organisations such as:

• Contacting your local register office so you can register the death formally must be done within five days (eight days in Scotland) – including weekends and bank holidays.
• You need to receive either a “certificate for a burial” to give to the funeral director, or an application for cremation, which you have to complete and give to the crematorium.

Only once these you’ve done the above can a funeral take place. 

When someone dies, you usually need to apply for probate too – this gives you the legal right to administer someone’s estate. We have lots of information on how to do this in our Guide to probate. 

Using a funeral director

Most people opt for a funeral director for their experience and support in ensuring that the whole process runs as smoothly as possible. They will ensure:

• The body is picked up from the place of death and cared for until the funeral
• The body is dressed
• Everything is as it should be, including sorting out any legal issues that have to be completed for the funeral to go ahead

These are just the basic offerings; you can pay extra for a more comprehensive service.

If you decide to go down the funeral director route, make sure you choose one that belongs to either the:

• National Association of Funeral Directors
• National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF)

These organisations have codes of practice that they have to follow, including offering you a price list on request. If you have a complaint to make, the associations can help you deal with it. 

It is important that you choose a funeral director you feel comfortable with and that you do your research and read the reviews online or get advice from close friends and relatives.

Funeral directors can also join their local authority’s trading standards Buy with Confidence schemes, so check these out, if your council has one.

Don’t just go with the first name you come across; you can also change your mind at a later date. 

Before you make your final decision, think about asking the funeral director a number of questions. These could include:

• What they offer
• A breakdown of the price, including extra charges for additional services from themselves or any third parties
• What deposit you need to put down, if any
• The date when the final bill has to be paid
• Any details about the service
• How much flexibility you will have to pick and mix – for example, can you get the coffin or transport from somewhere else?

Humanists UK and the Institute of Civil Funerals can also help with non-religious funerals.

Doing it yourself

Although most funerals are arranged through funeral directors, it’s possible to go ahead on your own, which could save you more than £1,000, according to the Money Advice Service.

However, the total funeral cost depends on a number of factors, including any optional extras and third-party fees. More effort will also be required on your part.

All the services provided by a funeral director, as mentioned above, will have to be carried out by you, so you need to do a cost-benefit analysis to see if it is worth it.

A hospital or hospice can keep the body for a certain amount of time and usually sort out the death certificate. But if the death occurred at home, you need to call a doctor or ambulance to get the medical certificate. This is then used to register the death.

A body can be kept at home, ideally for less than a week. If the death does not need to be referred to a coroner this gives you time to sort out any arrangements to make a good funeral.

You then need to choose a burial or cremation and therefore where the service will take place. A coffin is not legally required, but the crematorium or cemetery can advise further on this, such as using a shroud instead.

The Good Funeral Guide website is a useful resource for finding recommended companies where you can buy affordable coffins and shrouds. 

The crematorium or cemetery will supply the forms to apply for a service, and tell you when you need to return them, which can be as soon as 24 hours.

Here are more considerations you need to take care of:

• You will also be asked for details of the deceased and any preferences you have about the service, such as music and timings.
• You also need to decide who leads the service, which could be yourself, a member of the clergy or an independent funeral celebrant. The venue may well have a list of contacts that you could use, or you could look at the Funeral Celebrants website.
• You also need to arrange the funeral transportation of the body to the crematorium or cemetery, which can be in a hearse, a van or even a large car.

For more information and guidance on arranging a funeral yourself, visit the Natural Death Centre website, or the Cemetery and Crematorium department of your local council.

Direct cremation and direct burial

You can also opt for a basic burial or cremation, when you are not planning for a funeral service – which will cut funeral costs down further – and an increasing number of people are opting for this as an alternative to a conventional funeral. 

Direct cremations or burials are the cheapest option because there is no service. You don’t choose the day and time of the cremation/burial and you don’t visit the body in a funeral home. The deceased is cremated or buried without any family members or close friends there. 

However, it doesn’t have to be all about the money; some people prefer the simplicity and style of a less formal funeral.

You can still have a memorial service for the person who has died, anywhere and whenever you like. You could also choose to have the ashes scattered at the crematorium.

It is important to do your research when looking at direct cremation companies, to ensure you know what is included in the price and any hidden charges – for example:

• The crematorium fee, which can add £500 to the bill
• Doctors’ fees
• Some companies charge mileage for collecting a body, with an extra fee if it is to be collected out of hours from the home.
• A direct cremation might set you back £1,700, while direct burial costs £1,500-£2,000, depending on regional variations, according to the insurer Royal London.

How much does a funeral cost?

Funeral directors and crematorium operators are now obliged to make prices clearer. This comes after an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) raised “serious concerns” about the clarity of information in the funeral sector.

As it stands, the information provided by funeral directors made it difficult for families to compare prices between services for their loved ones.

From 16 September 2021, the CMA wants all funeral directors to display a standardised price list on their premises or website, including:

• The price of a funeral
• The price of individual items comprising a funeral
• The price of additional services

The average funeral cost is almost £4,500, says the insurer SunLife. However, once you’ve factored in extras like the send-off and professional fees, the figure is closer to £9,500 – an all-time high. 

Funeral costs can include:

• The funeral director’s fees
• Anything that the director pays for on your behalf, such as cemetery or crematorium fees, as well as local authority burial or cremation fees.
• If you want a more elaborate coffin, procession or ceremony, that will also add significantly to the final bill. 

Cremations are usually much cheaper than a burial, although both vary significantly across the UK.

On average, says SunLife, a burial will set you back £4,975 while a cremation is £3,858. These figures include fees for the funeral director (£2,771), doctor (£164) and clergy or officiate (£169). So you can see why a direct cremation or burial is by far the cheaper option.

It is important to remember that a high price will not ensure it will make the funeral better, nor is it a sign of how much you loved that person.

Think about what you can comfortably afford. A basic cremation or basic burial does not mean you cannot arrange your own special memorial for the celebration of life for the person that has died.

Do you have to pay for a funeral upfront?

Some funeral directors will allow families to delay payment, particularly if families need to borrow money to cover the costs. It’s likely that you will be asked to pay a deposit before the funeral to cover some of the costs.

How to pay for it

There are a number of payment options available, including government support which we explain later in this chapter.

First, check to see if your loved one has one of these:

• A prepaid funeral plan: These allow the policyholder to start paying for a funeral in advance, allowing them to cover the cost of the funeral but also to set out the arrangements, including music, transport and location. The cheapest pre-paid funeral plans will cover all the key elements of a funeral, such as doctors’ fees, the cost of a celebrant or minister and a coffin. However, they never take care of the price of burial plots, headstones, funeral flowers – or a wake.
• A life insurance policy: If the deceased had a life insurance policy, some of the lump sum could be used to cover the funeral costs, although it depends how long it takes for the insurer to pay out as to whether this is a practical option.
• You might be able to use money from your loved one’s estate. But you may need to apply for probate to gain access to their savings. If you were married or in a civil partnership with the deceased, jointly owned assets will transfer automatically to you, so you may not need to apply for probate. 
• Friends and family members might be able to help with the cost.

Getting help paying for a funeral

There is government support for those who are struggling to pay,

You might be entitled to a Funeral Expenses Payment if you receive certain benefits. This will be deducted from any money you get from the deceased’s estate. We have more on how this payment works in our Bereavement Benefits Guide.

The payment can help cover the cost of:

• Burial or cremation fees
• Transport of the body within the UK over 50 miles
• Death certificates and other documentation
• Money for any other funeral expenses, such as funeral director’s fees, funeral flowers or the coffin

It is unlikely that it will cover the whole funeral cost.

How much you get will depend on:

• Your relationship with the person who has died
• Your individual circumstances
• The financial circumstances of the person who has died

For example, if they had a prepaid funeral plan, you are only entitled to £120 to help paying for a part of the funeral that isn’t covered by their plan. 

You might want to read: Prepaid funeral plans explained