Guides & Articles
Start where you are
Plain guides to what happens after a death, what it costs and what the law says. Each one names who wrote it, who checked it and when.
Showing 79 guides or articles
- Keeping costs down
The Cheapest Way to Have a Funeral
The lowest-cost options, direct cremation and immediate burial, with prices from the funeral home price lists we checked, and ways to cut the cost of a funeral.
- Pricing a casket
Casket Prices: What Funeral Homes Charge
What the least and most expensive caskets cost on 1,464 funeral home price lists, your right to see prices first, and buying a casket somewhere else.
- Reading the price list
How to Read a Funeral Home's General Price List
What each part of a funeral home's General Price List means, which fee you can't decline, the required disclosures, and how to compare two lists line by line.
- Pricing a funeral
How Much Does Embalming Cost, and Is It Required?
What funeral homes charge for embalming, from 1,751 price lists we checked, when it's required, and what you can choose instead, like refrigeration.
- Whole-body donation
Donating Your Body to Science: How It Works and What It Costs
How whole-body donation works, how to sign up ahead, what a family does at the time of death, what programs often cover, and what a family may still pay.
- Words on the price list
Funeral Terms Glossary: Price List Words in Plain English
Plain-English meanings of the words on a funeral home's price list and a cemetery's bill, from alternative container to vault, with prices from lists we checked.
- The simplest burial
Immediate Burial: What It Is and What It Costs
Immediate burial means burial soon after death with no viewing. What the funeral home's price includes, what 1,644 price lists show, and what the cemetery adds.
- Compare funeral sites
DFS Memorials alternatives
Comparing low-cost cremation beyond DFS Memorials? See how it works, other ways to compare direct cremation prices, and what to ask.
- Compare funeral sites
Parting.com vs HonestFarewell
Parting.com and HonestFarewell both compare funeral homes. Here's how their prices, price dates and paid listings differ.
- Compare funeral sites
Ever Loved vs HonestFarewell
Ever Loved makes memorial websites and fundraisers. HonestFarewell compares funeral home prices. Here's which one fits what you need.
- Compare funeral sites
Parting.com alternatives
Other ways to compare funeral homes besides Parting.com, and what to check about prices, dates and paid listings on any site.
- Compare funeral sites
Funeralwise vs HonestFarewell
Funeralwise focuses on funeral planning tools. HonestFarewell focuses on checked funeral home prices. Here's how they compare.
- Compare funeral sites
Funeralwise alternatives
Funeralwise offers free funeral planning tools. If you also want to compare funeral home prices, here are other sites and what to check.
- Compare funeral sites
Funeralocity vs HonestFarewell
Funeralocity and HonestFarewell both help families compare funeral prices. Here's how they differ on prices, dates, coverage and paid listings.
- Compare funeral sites
DFS Memorials vs HonestFarewell
DFS Memorials features one cremation provider on each city page. HonestFarewell shows every home's checked price. Here's how they differ.
- Compare funeral sites
Funeralocity alternatives
Looking beyond Funeralocity? See how funeral price sites compare on who pays them, where their prices come from and whether paying moves a home up the list.
- Compare funeral sites
Ever Loved alternatives
Ever Loved offers memorial websites, fundraising and funeral planning. Here's what HonestFarewell covers, what it doesn't, and where it can help.
- Hospice
Questions to Ask a Hospice Before You Choose
Practical questions for a hospice about after-hours help, visits, levels of care, medications, equipment, staff, grief support and switching hospices.
- Hospice
What Is Hospice Care, and What Does Medicare Cover?
Who qualifies for hospice, what the Medicare hospice benefit covers and doesn't, the four levels of care, what you may pay, and how to stop or change hospice.
- Hospice
How to Read Medicare's Hospice Ratings on Care Compare
What the family caregiver star rating and quality measures on Medicare's Care Compare mean, why many hospices have no stars, and what the numbers can't tell you.
- Before you sign
Buying a Cemetery Plot: Questions to Ask Before You Sign
What you actually own when you buy a grave, the fees that come on top, the rules that come with it, and what happens if you want to sell it later.
- Before you buy a vault
Are Burial Vaults Required? What the Law and Cemeteries Say
No state law requires a burial vault, but many cemeteries require a vault or a liner. The difference, what the funeral home must tell you, and green burial options.
- Settling an estate
What Is Probate, and Do You Need It?
What probate is, what passes outside it, the shorter routes for smaller estates, and how long and how costly the court process can be.
- When someone dies far from home
How to Move a Body to Another State or Home From Abroad
How a funeral home moves someone to another state, what permits and airline rules apply, what the US embassy does after a death abroad, and what drives the cost.
- Sharing the news
How to Tell People Someone Has Died
Who to tell first, simple words you can use, how to share the news online, and which offices, from Social Security to the banks, need to hear and when.
- When someone dies at home
What to Do When Someone Dies at Home
Who to call first when someone dies at home, how a hospice death differs from a sudden one, and how the funeral home and death certificate come next.
- Settling an estate
What Does an Executor Do? The Steps, in Order
What an executor actually does after a death, step by step: the will, probate, the estate's tax number, creditors, debts, taxes, and handing out what's left.
- Pricing a burial
How Much Does a Burial Cost? The Parts of the Bill
A burial is usually two bills, one from the funeral home and one from the cemetery. What each charges for, what you can skip, and how to get real prices.
- Who decides
Who Has the Legal Right to Make Funeral Decisions?
Who decides on burial or cremation when someone dies: the right of disposition, the usual order of family members, disagreements, and naming someone ahead.
- Know your rights
Your Rights Under the FTC Funeral Rule
The federal Funeral Rule lets you get prices by phone, keep a written price list, buy only what you want and use a casket from anywhere. Here's what it covers.
- For a veteran's family
Veterans Burial Benefits: What's Available and How to Apply
Free burial in a VA national cemetery, headstones and medallions, the burial flag, military funeral honors, and the VA burial allowance amounts with their dates.
- After a death in care
When Someone Dies in a Hospital or Nursing Home
What hospital and nursing home staff do after a death, how the person is released to a funeral home you choose, and what to ask about autopsy and belongings.
How to Plan a Simple Memorial Service Without Taking on Too Much
Plan a simple memorial: a short program you can adapt, a clearly labeled sample budget, questions to ask a venue, and jobs to hand to helpers.
Funeral Home vs. Cremation Society: Look Beyond the Name
How funeral homes and cremation societies really differ, and how to compare their services, ownership, facilities, membership terms and full prices.
Scattering Ashes: Questions to Settle Before You Choose a Date
Plan a scattering: who can decide, what permission the place needs, how to look after guests, and the rules for scattering at sea and reporting it.
Funeral Payment Options: What to Check Before Borrowing
Ways to pay for a funeral: existing plans, insurance, VA and Social Security benefits, local help, and what to ask before you take on financing.
Cremation Costs in Florida: Packages, Conditions, and Added Fees
Dated Florida cremation package prices, plus the transport, local fees, payment terms, and service details that change what you'll actually pay.
How to Choose a Cremation Provider With Clear Answers
How to choose a cremation provider: check the business and its license, the chain of care, communication, and full prices, and what to ask before you authorize.
What Is Aquamation? A Plain-English Guide to Water Cremation
What aquamation is, what the family gets back, and how it differs from flame cremation, plus how to check local availability, cost, and rules.
Green Burial vs. Cremation: Compare the Choices That Matter
How green burial and cremation compare on local availability, full costs, materials, visiting and the evidence behind green claims.
Can Funeral Expenses Be Paid From an Estate? What to Check
How funeral costs can be paid from an estate: who has authority, what records to keep for repayment, and state priority rules, with a Florida example.
Does Life Insurance Cover Funeral Expenses? How Payment Works
How life insurance can pay for a funeral, who gets the money, how assignments work, and why the claim may pay out after the bill is due.
Burial Insurance vs. Life Insurance: Compare the Actual Policies
How burial insurance compares with term and permanent life insurance: benefit, premiums, how long it lasts, early limits, and what you already have.
Prepaid Funeral Plans: Questions Worth Asking Before You Pay
Check a prepaid funeral plan's guaranteed services, funding, cancellation terms, what happens if you move or the provider closes, and what it really promises.
Celebration of Life Ideas That Feel Personal and Manageable
Ten personal celebration-of-life ideas, with practical notes on preparation, access, guests who can't attend, privacy and sharing the work.
How to Write an Obituary That Sounds Like the Person
How to write a clear, personal obituary: a simple outline, a fictional example, and advice on family details, privacy and proofreading.
Can You Have a Funeral After Cremation? Planning a Memorial
Planning a service after cremation, with or without the urn: timing, venues, a short sample program, and keeping a separate memorial budget.
Funeral Costs by State: How to Make a Fair Comparison
How to read funeral costs by state, what historical benchmarks do and don't tell you, and how to compare complete local quotes for the same service.
What Is Included in a Cremation Package? Read It Line by Line
How to read a cremation package: pickup, care, paperwork, containers, return of the ashes, and the costs that may still be charged on top.
How Long Does Cremation Take? Understanding the Whole Timeline
The stages that decide how long cremation takes, from paperwork and approvals to getting the ashes back, and what to ask before you book a memorial.
Cremation Costs in California: Read the Price and the Inclusions
Dated California cremation price examples, plus the transport, county, certificate and service charges to check before you book.
Funeral Planning Checklist: A Practical Page for Your Family
A funeral checklist you can work through: wishes, who has authority, budget, choosing a provider, the gathering, and practical tasks after the service.
How to Compare Funeral Home Prices Without Missing a Charge
A simple worksheet for comparing funeral quotes line by line, spotting extra fees, and not counting a charge twice when a package already includes it.
What Is Direct Cremation? What Families Can Expect
What direct cremation includes, whether you can see the person first, and how a family can plan a memorial after the ashes come back.
Affordable Cremation Near Me: How to Compare Local Options
How to find affordable cremation near you: check service areas, who the provider really is, and full prices, then use one sample request to compare like for like.
Direct Cremation vs. a Traditional Funeral: What Changes?
Direct cremation and a traditional funeral compared by viewing, ceremony, cost, and timing, so you know the choices before you make arrangements.
How Much Does Cremation Cost? Understanding the Complete Bill
What goes into a cremation bill, what packages leave out, and which fees are optional, with a dated price example and how to get a full local quote.
Help Paying for a Funeral: Benefits, Insurance, and Aid
Need help paying for a funeral or cremation? Where to look: life insurance, VA burial benefits, Social Security, the estate, prepaid plans and local aid.
Prepaid Funeral Plans: What Is Really Guaranteed?
Thinking about prepaying a funeral? What a price guarantee can cover, what may still go up, and what to ask about transfers, refunds, and where the money goes.
How to Find a Lost Life Insurance Policy After Death
Think someone had life insurance but can't find the policy? Where to look first, and how the NAIC Policy Locator can help.
Life Insurance Beneficiaries: Wills, Probate, and Mistakes
Who gets life insurance after a death? How beneficiary forms work with wills, probate, backup beneficiaries, divorce and trusts.
Life Insurance vs. Burial Insurance vs. Prepaid Funeral
How life insurance, burial insurance, and prepaid funeral plans differ: what each pays for, who gets the money, price guarantees, and what happens if you move.
Burial Insurance Explained: Coverage, Costs, and Fine Print
What burial insurance is, what it can pay for, how waiting periods and graded benefits work, and what to compare before you buy.
Does Life Insurance Cover Funeral and Cremation Costs?
Can life insurance pay for a funeral or cremation? Who gets the money, why claim timing matters, and how insurance assignments work.
Power of Attorney vs. Executor: Who Can Decide After Death?
POA, healthcare proxy, executor, trustee, and funeral authority are separate roles. See who usually handles what, before and after a death.
Will vs. Trust After Death: What Families Actually Deal With
Will or trust? What changes after a death: probate, trustees, executors, beneficiaries, life insurance, and who pays for the funeral.
Does a Will Control Your Funeral Wishes? What to Put in Writing
Does your will control your funeral wishes? What to put in writing, who can legally decide, and why burial or cremation authority can sit with someone else.
- Funeral costs
How Much Does a Funeral Cost in 2026? A Real-World Guide to What Families Actually Pay
What a funeral really costs in 2026: cremation, burial, direct options, cemetery fees, charges that are easy to miss, and what to ask before you sign.
- At need
The first 48 hours after a death: five steps, in order
Who to call, who to tell, what to find, how to choose a funeral home with prices in hand, and what can wait. Every link on it leads to a price or a reviewed guide.
- State laws
What The Law Says Where You Are
Who can authorize a cremation, when you need a funeral director, how fast things must happen, where ashes can go, and why the answers change at the state line.
Questions to Ask a Funeral Home Before You Sign
15 questions to take to a funeral arrangement meeting, on price, care, timing, who to contact, payment, and what happens if plans change.
- After cremation: choosing what comes next
What Can You Do With Cremated Remains? Urns, Burial, Scattering, Keepsakes, and Memorials
Your options for cremated remains: keeping, burying, a columbarium, scattering, dividing, and keepsakes, plus the rules that can vary by state.
- How cremation works
How Does Cremation Work? A Plain-English Guide From Death to the Return of the Remains
What happens during cremation, step by step: authorization, identification, the cremation itself, processing, and getting the remains back.
- Natural burial
Green Burial and Natural Burial: What It Really Means, What It Costs, and Where It's Allowed
What makes a burial "green," how natural burial differs from a traditional funeral, what it can cost, and where the rules apply.
- Paperwork guide
What Is a Death Certificate Used For? How Many Copies to Get and Who Can Order One
What a death certificate is used for, who can usually order one, why certified copies matter, how many to get, and where state rules differ.
- Scattering ashes
Can You Scatter Ashes Anywhere? What Families Need to Know Before They Do It
Can you scatter ashes anywhere? How the rules differ for private property, public land, parks, beaches, cemeteries and the ocean, and why you'll need permission.
Cremation vs. Burial: How to Think Through the Choice
How to weigh cremation against burial: the person's wishes, cost, religious practice, and a place to visit, with the ceremony treated as a separate choice.
- The simplest cremation
Direct Cremation Explained: What It Is, What's Included, and What You Pay For
What direct cremation is, what it includes and leaves out, how the process works, what it costs, and what to ask a cremation provider.
What to Do When Someone Dies: The First Calls and Decisions
Who to call after a death, what to arrange first, and which decisions can wait. Practical steps for a death at home, in hospice, or in a facility.