[USER]

Apologies in advance if I sound frugal and morbid at the same time. Wondering if I died in a hospital or anywhere outside of home, can my family members choose not collect my dead body? I told my partner when I died, I don’t want him to spend a cent on my dead body / funeral (cost a lot these days, around the price of a new car). Is the hospital allow to dump my dead body in a bin if he gives consent?

[Amanda]

You can donate your body to science I think.

[Kim]

So many people don’t realize you can contact a crematorium directly to be cremated. The cost is usually under $1000.

You don’t have to use a funeral home ever either.

So it’s not as expensive as you think.

Just another option.

[Amber]

Please consider donating your body to science! The students need real bodies to study, and then after they will cremate you and send you home. It’s such a win win for all involved.

[Barbara]

Great topic. I wish more people talked about this real life stuff.

[Lori]

When my husband passed, I agreed with Gift of Life in Michigan to take what they needed, but leave him presentable for a 1-day visitation and service. Cremation and 1 day viewing was like $2800. In January of this year, I got a letter from someone that got some of Dale’s tissue donated to him for his shoulder. It makes such a difference in someone else’s life to donate. Gift of Life will take any part of the body that is good. They also use the tissue to train dogs to find deceased on ground and under water. There is other things they use the body for, but I can’t think of them right now.

[Courtney]

I don’t really know the answer, but I do believe transportation was included in the cremation costs for my son. Obviously it will vary based on several factors, but we worked directly with a crematorium and it was $450.

Rather than potentially setting your partner up for some kind of legal/financial battle, might it be easier to inquire about costs and have that amount set aside?

[Joanne]

I want to add some to this. I have lost a lot of people. Both parents, a sister and 3 brothers. For each one, things were done differently. What I have learned is those who love you, even just friends, do need to see you lying there. It does mean something to help those who care, to help them grieve. This can still be done reasonable. My brother did not want a funeral/viewing. But my SisNLaw, bless her for this, she let us go into the funeral home/crematory to just see him, to help us grieve. No funeral, just him lying there before he was cremated. When he died, we had already lost both parents, a brother and sister. To not have seen him would have felt his death continuously, not be able to close and grieve.

While you may be gone, those left behind should matter, even if it’s just to see you’re gone.

[Darsey]

It cost me about $4500 to cremated my Dad and have a funeral. I bought plants from Home Depot about $175 the grandkids were happy to take them home. I rented a hall and bought chicken from Safeways. This was 2 years ago. I would suggest to look in to cremation and pay it up front so you pay todays prices.

[Lilith]

Not to be too morbid also. You can donate yourself to science schools or body donation companies that basically part you out for profit. There is also the option of donating to a body farm. They are used for science to help forensics learn more about decomp I’m different environments.

[Kelly]

They aren’t allowed to dump your body in a bin but they also can’t force anyone to collect your body or pay for a funeral. If your estate did not have money to cover burial expenses, the city or county would bury you.

There wouldn’t be a funeral or a headstone or anything like that but they would arrange for disposal of your body.

[Aaron]

Do direct cremation, after spending 13 g on my dad’s funeral, I wished I would’ve known of more options… I could’ve saved at least half that. With my mom I’m just going to do direct cremation….and spread both her and my dad’s ashes… losing my dad was pretty traumatic and the costs were crazy even if he did have insurance to cover… I told my 10-year-old if they can remember if I die to directly crematebme indo not want a funeral or memorial due to costs….

If intell her thus now I hope to guide her and save her the trauma and costs.

[Author]

Posts