Messinger Indian School Mortuary

Understanding the costs

Prices are set by each funeral home and can vary widely based on the goods and services you choose. Under the FTC Funeral Rule, you have the right to accurate price information over the phone without giving your name. When you visit in person, the funeral home must give you a printed General Price List (GPL) to keep.

To get this home's current prices, call and ask for their General Price List, or request itemized pricing during your visit. Taking a day or two to compare price lists from two or three homes is completely normal — and it's protected under federal law.

Questions worth asking before you decide

A funeral home should be willing to answer these by phone. Most are standard consumer-protection questions, not trick questions:

• ·Can I see your General Price List?
• ·What's included in the basic services fee?
• ·Are there required packages, or can I pay only for what I want?
• ·If our plans change or we move, what's refundable?
• ·Do you accept caskets or urns I buy elsewhere?

Your rights under federal law

Under the FTC Funeral Rule, a funeral home must give you accurate prices over the phone without asking your name, and hand you a printed, itemized General Price List when you inquire in person. You can buy only the items and services you want — no package is ever required. Embalming is not required for direct cremation or immediate burial. You can choose an alternative container for cremation, and you can bring your own casket or urn from another seller without paying a surcharge.

These rights apply at every funeral home in the United States.