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Today's typical costs

By SHARON GINN
Published September 27, 2005

Preplanning a funeral saves money. Not only are those who plan ahead guaranteed future services at today's prices, but they also get the time to shop around for the best deals and packages.

Some circumstances can't be planned for - the cost of transporting someone who dies while on vacation, for instance - but almost everything else can be taken care of ahead of time.

Nationally, the average funeral service plus casket costs about $5,636, according to a Federated Funeral Directors of America study released in July. But costs can vary widely depending on the options chosen and who supplies them.

Here are some of the typical costs for adults in the Tampa Bay area:

- Burial preparation (transportation, embalming, etc.) $800-$1,100

- Funeral plus full staff services: $2,000-$2,300

- Casket: $1,500-$10,500

- Cemetery plot: $1,300-$3,200

- Grave marker (granite and bronze): $700 and up

- Cremation: $800-$1,700

- Cremation spaces: $450-$1,500

- Cremation and service package (basic): $1,775 and up

- Burial and service package (basic): $3,875 and up

-- Sources: Woodlawn Memory Gardens, Memorial Park Cemetery, David C. Gross Funeral Homes, Anderson-McQueen Funeral Homes, Stewart Enterprises

For more information

- The Funeral Consumers Alliance 1-800-765-0107, or www.funerals.org) is a nonprofit consumer advocate group that can provide information and guidance for people interested in planning ahead. The FCA also serves as an umbrella group for more than 150 memorial societies nationwide that can help people find affordable funeral homes in their area.

- For information on - or to make a complaint about - specific funeral homes or cemeteries, call the Florida Department of Financial Services 1-800-323-2627 or www.fldfs.com) The Bureau of Funeral and Cemetery Services provides license information or complaint history on funeral homes selling preneed policies in Florida.

- Veterans can find out if they are eligible for a burial allowance by contacting the Department of Veterans Affairs 1-800-827-1000 or http://www.cem.va.gov/benvba.htm)

[Last modified September 26, 2005, 20:31:06]