Price comparison and the itemized statement
Calls to funeral providers, their prices for the same arrangement side by side with cemetery and third-party costs added, and a checklist for the itemized statement before you sign.
For a first pass, the side-by-side comparison and the statement checklist are essential: they are how you compare the same arrangement at two providers and check what you sign. The calls sheet is optional; it helps when you call three or more (Funeral homes and your rights and Goods, prices and the statement).
Calls to providers
One row per provider called (Funeral homes and your rights). Ask each the same questions. You do not have to give your name to get prices by phone.
Side by side
One row per price line (Funeral homes and your rights and Goods, prices and the statement), for the same arrangement at each provider. Leave a cell blank until that provider gives you the price; write 0 when the provider confirms it is included or not charged. A total over any blank cell is marked incomplete, and every total is only as complete as the lines you add.
Before you sign: the itemized statement
Tick each item for the provider you chose, with the statement in front of you (Goods, prices and the statement).
How to use these sheets
- Compare the same arrangement. Write the arrangement in one line first ("direct cremation, family provides the urn") and price that at every provider.
- Copy lines from the General Price List. Blank means the provider has not answered yet; 0 means the provider confirmed it is included or not charged. Add cemetery, crematory and other third-party costs, which are not on a funeral home's list.
- The statement settles it. A phone quote is a starting point. Check the itemized statement against this sheet before you sign.
The example rows are from Sam Okoro's two quotes for direct cremation with an alternative container: $1,450 and $2,190, each including the basic services fee. The figures are invented for the example and are not typical prices. The second row shows a question still open: whether the cheaper quote includes certified copies.
This sheet adds what you type. It does not say whether a price is fair or which provider to choose, and a total is only "under these quoted prices". A suspected Funeral Rule violation goes to the FTC and the state funeral board, which decide.