The cost of dying can add up. This N.L. funeral home owner is urging people to keep an eye on the bill

After a death, one of the first calls a family makes is to arrange a burial and one funeral home owner wants the public to know just how much it can cost them.

Mike Goodyear,president of Central Funeral Homes, which has locations in Grand Falls-Windsor, Bishop's Falls and Springdale, has been in the funeral industry for 47 years.

Each funeral is unique, he says.

"Sometimes [they]come in with an absolute vision of what they want. Other families come in and say, 'Mike, you know, Mom just passed away and we have no idea what the next step is,'" Goodyear told CBC News.

"You help guide the family through the next three days and close one chapter of their life and help open up the next."

Goodyear's comments comeat a time when death services have dominated headlines in Newfoundland and Labrador. In March, CBC News began reporting on increase in the number of bodies going unclaimedandstored in a St. John's hospital'sfreezer units, often because families can't afford the cost of a funeral.

Because each funeral is different, it's essential to keep a close eye on the price tag of each additional service, saysFuneral Service Association of Canada president Jeffrey Weafer.

Weafer said Canadian funerals can range from $2,500 to $12,000, depending on the funeral services requested.

"There is a wide range," he said.

Costs also quickly pile up, he said. He listed additional factors that can increase a bill, like ifthefamily needs to pay for death certificates, if the funeral home is called at 3 a.m. to pick up a body or whetherthe family wants a funeral planned quickly.

Other factors that can drive prices up include how many people are expected to attend the funeral and if they need chairs, mobility accommodations ora sound system during the service, added Weafer.

He advised clients to ask funeral directors directly about prices.

"Don't just do a quick scan on the internet and say, 'Well, I think I know it all. I'm good.' And to truly know, have someone with you so you can take notes and you can refer back to afterwards," said Weafer.

"But sit with the funeral professional and ask the questions before one commits."

Goodyear agrees on the difficulty of comparing prices for services, saying the price for a funeral in Toronto and Roberts Arm will be totally different.

"There's no way that you can equate ...the dollar value to be the same for those two funerals," he said.

The Central Funeral Homes website lists the prices for services, like$4,195 for direct cremation, which include the funeral homehandlingthe government documentation, as well as transportingthe body to the funeral home, preparation andcremation,and providing the family with an urn, he said.

For Goodyear, it's important to be transparent about prices so people don't feel like they've been ripped off.

"We like for people to know what the bottom line will be before they come in," said Goodyear.

"This is a very tricky, trying time for families. They're having the worst day of their life. Me on the other hand, I'm having an OK day. It's a day at work for me. So I'm at a much higher advantage at the bargaining table than they are."

But Goodyear also says funeral home owners provide an essential service, especially in small communities. He sees familiar faces regularly, he says.

"And that's a wonderful feeling. And they come up and we have a chit-chat about how Dad's doing after Mom passed away," he said.

Most expensive funeral

In his nearly 50 years on the job, Goodyear said, the most expensive funeral he ever arranged was for a family in the 1970s who wanted a cremation when the service wasn't offered in Newfoundland.

The family picked out a nice casket, had a funeral, and the casket was shipped to the nearest crematorium, in Dartmouth, N.S., said Goodyear.

When the urn with the cremated remains was returned to the family, he said they didn't want to bury the urn by itself.

"So they bought another casket and put the urn in it and then buried the casket."

The funeral ultimately cost $30,000, he said.

Have the conversation

Goodyear encourages people not to shy away from having conversations about what funeral arrangements they would like, even if they are decades away from when they expect their lives to end.

"It's totally unique to every family. But the more you know coming in, the easier it is to make the arrangements rather than trying to guide a family that doesn't know what Mom wanted."

In late November to early December, he added, he has couples walk into his funeral home to pre-arrange their funerals.

"And when they sign the contracts and everything is done and they're ready to walk out the door, they'll tell me that this is their Christmas gift to each other."

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