ATL Funeral Home

Member of Larger Organization: In particular, the Selected Independent Funeral Homes which sets the standards for independently owned funeral homes.

How Life Insurance or Pre-Paid Arrangements Work: Ask them to explain how your life insurance benefits will pay for the type of services they provide. Plus, they should have a pre-paid funeral plan that they should be more than happy to explain.

Funeral Packages: Most Atlanta funeral homes have a set of packages that they include in their funeral services. The packages will vary in price around the national average of $9,000. You can check their website for the details of each package. Plus, ask them about customizing a service for your particular needs.

Cremation Services in Atlanta

There are some funeral homes in Atlanta that will offer a cremation services as well. This type of service is on average a fraction of the cost compared to a traditional funeral service with some being only a few hundred dollars. For those interested in this type of service, here are a few questions that you will need to ask.

Licensed: Cremation services require a special type of license from the state and local authorities. Be sure that they are fully covered in that area.

Price Packages: There are a number of packages that this type of service offer which start at a simple cremation with the ashes put into a plastic bag if you want to spread them in the air, on land or over the water.

In the end, choosing the right Atlanta funeral home or cremation service requires a bit of research, looking over websites, and calling for further information about what they provide. However, by doing a little planning today, you can save your family a great deal of pain from having to make these decisions if the unexpected should occur. A little research today can go a long way towards planning for tomorrow.

Average Cost of a Funeral in Atlanta

The average cost of a funeral in the US is roughly $9,000 to $10,000, although the number varies considerably depending on the type of funeral. The average cost has risen considerably from just a decade ago when it was around $6,000. The cost of the average funeral includes, but is not limited to the following;

–       Service   –       Coffin    –       Transportation    –       Plot    –       Flowers     –       Headstone  –       Vault Protection

The service can be conducted in a chapel which is usually rented even when at the funeral home or graveside. There are different types of coffins that are designed to resist the intrusion of underground insects and animals as well as being made from different materials. Vault protection is additional protection around the coffin that is designed to keep out the water, insects, and other intrusions. The headstone does not have to be ordered immediately, but is generally part of the funeral costs and usually ranges from $1,000 to $2,000.

The actual plot is usually the least expensive depending on the cemetery with some going for as little as $100 to $200. Other costs such as flowers, printing of the programs, and a priest or preacher leading the service are optional and may add a few hundred dollars to the overall cost of the funeral.
There are a number of ways to save money when it comes to funeral expenses. One is to skip the service at the chapel and have it at the grave. This will save on rental fees and reduce the costs noticeably. You can also cut out the flowers and have the funeral director or someone lead the service for free. It is true that the main cost of the funeral which includes the coffin or casket is something that cannot be avoided, although you can choose the least expensive model.

However, the most obvious and often used is a cremation service. A cremation costs a fraction of the money compared to a funeral with many funeral homes offering the service for a few hundred dollars. However, a cremation is exactly that, the disposal of the body without any plot, burial, headstone, service, flowers or anything else which includes the urn. You can find urns at local retail stores for around $50.

How to Plan for a Funeral in Atlanta

The best way to plan for a funeral is to have the expense covered before death occurs. Funeral pre-planning often includes burial insurance which is then used by the funeral home to pay for all the expenses incurred during the burial process. By taking care of the funeral expenses early, you can lock in the rates before they go up. Alternatively, you can opt for a cremation and have the ashes scattered which only costs a few hundred dollars and does not require an urn. For those who are on tight budgets and cannot afford burial insurance, this may be the route to take.With the average cost of a funeral in the US still rising, it is important to plan ahead so that the financial burden to the family will be minimized.

Funeral Associations in Georgia

Georgia Funeral Directors Association

Georgia Cemetery Association

Independent Funeral Directors of Georgia

Georgia Funeral Service and Mortuary Science Schools

Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service

Ogeechee Technical College