Merrillville, IN Funeral Homes | Funeral Services

In Japan, funerals are an average of $40,000. In the United States, the prices vary. In Indiana, funeral services may be expensive, but, certainly, prices differ according to both the area and the types of services you select. When looking for ways to reduce the overall costs in Indiana, - and avoid unnecessary ones, go online and consult Indiana funeral homes for specifics.
What do Indiana Burial Charges typically include?
Indiana funeral homes are responsible for offering you a wide selection of burial services. They also, according to the law, must provide you with an itemized list of the price. This service helps to ease your mind when it comes to paying for the burial of a loved one. It is hard enough to come to terms with the death of a partner, family member or friend without having to worry about hidden fees or charges.
Among the most common types of Indiana funeral services are the following:

• Preparation of the body - This includes such things as embalming, cosmetology, hairstyling and dressing. However, you can refuse embalming. It is not a legal requirement for Indiana funeral homes except in certain situations.
• Viewing or a wake at the funeral home.
• The holding of funeral services at any venue - the funeral home, graveside or religious institution.
• Casket or urn for the deceased.
• Professional services rendered by Indiana funeral homes, their representatives and other funeral officials.
• Transportation of the deceased person both to the specific funeral home as well as to the final resting place particularly a cemetery.
• Limousine service for chauffeuring the family to the cemetery from the funeral home or religious institution.
• Acknowledgment cards.

Additional Costs for Indiana Funeral Services
Whatever your choice of funeral, you may run into additional expenditures. Besides those charges by Indiana funeral homes, you may incur cemetery costs. They may charge for the liner or vault. Other costs are for the opening and closing of the grave as well as for any marker, head stone or memorial you may wish to have placed on the grave. Markers or headstones can range widely in price. They depend upon whether you want something basic or desire to include photographs, messages or even pertinent verses.
The cost of a funeral will also increase if you opt for specific types of burials. A traditional Christian burial is considered the most expensive. While cremation may reduce the cost, it can become expensive if your choice of urn runs to the creative. For example, if you decide a piece of art or a customized urn featuring Star Wars characters best suits the personality of the dead, it will cost you more than a cardboard container. The most expensive urns, however, are those that are customized jewelry. It costs a pretty penny to combine the ashes of the beloved deceased with diamonds. Yet, if you wish you will find Indiana funeral services providers to help you locate the right company to carry out this wish.
Scattering ashes can also prove to be expensive. If you hire a boat or plane so you can release them on land or over sea, you will have to deal with the cost. If you decide to bury the body at sea, you must hire a boat and even specialists to ensure the body does not remain floating on the surface. The cost may increase even further is you choose the earth friendly option of "burying" the deceased's ashes in one of the latest undersea columbarium. These facilities are off shore and underwater. Built of environmentally friendly cement, they are built to hold the ashes of the dead in an Atlantis-like construction.
Ways to Reduce the Costs of Indiana Funeral Services
There are ways you can reduce the overall cost of a funeral while still showing respect to the deceased loved one. Some involve doing away with some of the traditional materials or items used in funerals; others reinvent the concept of funeral. For example, you can decide upon a grave liner or a rough box in preference to a vault (a form of grave protector). Both are less expensive options.
Cost reductions are also possible when it comes to caskets. No law in Indiana and most states dictate the use of a casket, although Indiana law does say you must use the services of a funeral director. Do not get a casket. Use a plain box or one made of bamboo. Perhaps, particularly if this is a Green Burial, you may prefer a simple shroud. Talk to Indiana funeral homes for your best and less expensive option.
It is true --- the cost for a funeral can seem prohibitive. There are, however, ways you can reduce the expense. Talk to us about Indiana funeral homes. We can help you finds ways to lessen the strain and stress of the expense. In doing so, we you can have a funeral that meets your needs, fulfills the wishes of the deceased and gives you some peace of mind.