We are pleased to provide you with a full disclosure of our professional service charges.
To help you understand funeral costs we have prepared an outline of the categories that make up a funeral account. There are various sections that can make up a funeral account: professional service charges, casket & merchandise selections, cash disbursements and alternate or limited services.
To help consumers, legislation states that all funeral homes must provide an itemized price list of all of their related professional service charges as well as casket and merchandise charges. This list must be available at the consumers' request, without cost or obligation, at least in person or by phone.
We pride ourselves on our level of service, personal care, and attention to detail. In spite of this, we are one of the most reasonably priced funeral homes in the area, although many may expect our charges to be much higher given our level of professionalism and education, the quality of our staff and facilities and our ethical standards. Consumers and families finally can learn first hand that there is a difference in the service we provide. Being good is not good enough, and that is why we have always been "The Home of Satisfaction". We trust that this service will give you one more reason to give Lee's Funeral Home, LLC serious consideration when seeking a funeral home that is pro-actively working towards providing you the highest standards of services and facilities while offering sensible and affordable solutions. For your convenience, we accept American Express, MasterCard, and Visa for at-need service arrangements.
Professional Service Charges
This section is specific to the people physically working, as well as overhead, and all the seen and unseen costs and labor intensive man hours that are required in the funeral field (which is a 24/7 profession). This includes the staff you meet, or may never even see, from licensed funeral directors and/or embalmers, to residents, receptionists, maintenance workers, drivers, etc. Unlike other professionals, such as lawyers, who may normally charge by the hour, our charges are normally grouped into a subcategory, such as supervision or embalming, encompassing a few hours involved in performing that task, to basic arrangements, the largest cost, which more generally covers round the clock hours spent responding to and working on a service. This basic arrangement cost may include everything from initial first call reporting death; the arrangement conference; completion and filing of forms such as social security, death certificates, clergy records, etc; developing, printing, and dispensing required or necessary paperwork, such as general price list, disclosures, contracts, etc.; developing, maintaining, and updating websites, software, and computer systems, etc. In addition to salaries, it can cover other overhead costs such as mortgages, building insurance and equipment, local, state, and federal taxes; utilities such as phone, heating, air-conditioning; and the service and education we provide our customers, as well as our staff who serve you. The prices that different funeral homes charge can vary greatly because of this. Many firms do not provide all services listed, and some may not be professional. Additionally, it should be easily understood that the larger a firm, the higher their operating costs, the smaller a firm/building, the less their overhead/costs. Some firms do not even own their building location, instead opting to rent, along with multiple firms, from one main facility. Their overhead costs will be significantly less than a firm that owns their own facility, possibly creating a great disparity in costs. Lee's Funeral Home, LLC provides unparalleled professionalism and superior service. We are, and have always been, an independently owned & operated, family owned business, who is sole owner of our business as well as our business location.
Casket & Merchandise Selections
This section is specific to the casket that a family selects, as well as other merchandise available for purchase. All of our caskets and merchandise are priced separately - meaning the price you see for the casket is for the casket itself with no other items included. Some of the other types of merchandise you might find in this section of the funeral account are: burial vaults, cremation urns, and upgraded stationary items such as register books and prayer cards. Again, each is itemized and priced based on your specific selection.
Alternative & Limited Services
As indicated from the title, these are services that are different and very limited, compared to how many families may customarily prefer to pay tribute. The charges are encapsulated into one because of the simplicity and impersonalized nature of what is provided. This is when a person is directly buried or cremated, without any visitation or prior services. It is also when a person is directly shipped in or out of state, again with limited or no services.
Cash Advances
Cash advances are charges from outside facilities, the charge being dependent on the facility you choose, that we have no control over, and must be paid before the vendor/facility provides that service. Such charges can be from facilities such as cemeteries, crematories, registrars offices for death certificates, airports, consulates, churches, etc.
Strict legislation ensures that these items are not marked up and only the exact "cost" is included on the funeral account. Typical cash disbursements might include, as previously stated:
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Clergy Honorariums
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Cemetery Charges
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Cremation Certificates
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Consulates
