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Funeral Options

Funeral Options

Funeral planning is less stressful and can cost less if planned ahead. Many people do not know they can plan a funeral or burial that is out of the ordinary or alternative to more familiar services or arrangements. For those reasons this information has been prepared for Consumers. This is not an endorsement of any one approach over the other but simply an offering of information that illustrates choice since we believe it is everyone's choice to live as one chooses until one dies. Why not have choices with one's funeral and burial planning as well? This tool may help you accomplish those goals that are within your power.

You will also find extensive information for consumers on funeral planning on the Federal Trade Commission's web site: "Funerals: A Consumer's Guide".

This document is not intended to serve as legal counsel or as an interpretation of Maine state laws. It has been crafted as a guide towards helping consumers gain appropriate information in planning a funeral, memorial service, burial, cremation or other disposition of a body. If you need legal advice, please consult a qualified attorney.

If you don't have a will, make one. Simple wills can be executed using the Maine Statutory Will Form (downloadable here) or from any county courthouse. There are also will-writing programs: Here's one from Nolo Press. Even if you must contact a lawyer, you'll probably save the cost of the lawyer's services in problems you won't have to deal with after the death.
Options for an In-Ground Burial:
1. Local Funeral Director (in the Yellow Pages under "Funeral Directors").
Many families have a local funeral home they are comfortable with but it is becoming more common these days for consumers to "shop around" - prices can vary widely. According to the National Funeral Director's Association, the average funeral in 2004 cost $6,500. You can spend less by carefully choosing services and options. The average immediate burial costs about $4000 excluding any cemetery costs. Any funeral director would be pleased to provide you with a copy of their General Price List.

2. Home Funeral:
In the State of Maine the "authorized person" responsible for disposition of the body is the next of kin or the person given signed authority by said next of kin. (The brochure "Authorized Persons in the State of Maine" is available from the Maine DHHS at 207-287-3148. It includes descriptions of the permits required and where to get them.) The authorized person has the authority to dispose of the body according to their wishes, but must have the appropriate permits and follow Maine State laws. This said, the "authorized person" may keep the body at home, build the coffin, transport the body to the cemetery, hold their own memorial service, and do all the paperwork themselves. The paperwork is probably the most complicated part of this option, and one must be prepared before the death (See our Dreaded Paperwork page). Burials are usually more expensive than cremations because of the cemetery fees for plot, opening/closing and vault or liner.

Family Cemeteries:
People can also be buried on their own property in Maine under certain circumstances. There are state laws you should be aware of with this option (see this website). Your local Town Office or City Hall can help you identify the necessary permits.

Green Cemeteries or Natural Burials:
Maine now has two "green" cemeteries, which provide space to bury a body in a natural setting. The body may not be embalmed, and the container must be biodegradable. See Cedar Brook Burial Ground, Limington, Maine (http://greencemetary.blogspot.com) or Rainbow's End, South Orrington, Maine (Joan Howard, 48 Mill Creek Road, Orrington, ME 04474, JoanHoward@att.net). What is a natural burial? See http://naturalburial.coop/.
Options for Cremation:
1. Local Funeral Director: Look in the Yellow Pages under "Cremation Services" or "Funeral Directors."

2. Call a direct cremation service: A direct cremation service is a business run by a licensed funeral director that provides no-frills cremations. Prices are less than $1000. In this area Direct Cremation Services of Maine in Belfast (800- 479-1433) charges $895 for their complete package, but will also help you with a cremation, doing only the parts that you prefer not to do, for a correspondingly lower price. Also, any funeral home can make arrangements for a direct cremation, which will cost about $3000.

3. Home Funeral: In the State of Maine the "authorized person" responsible for disposition of the body is the next of kin or the person given signed authority by said next of kin. (The brochure "Authorized Persons in the State of Maine" is available from the Maine DHHS at 207-287-3148. It includes descriptions of the permits required and where to get them. The authorized person has the authority to dispose of the body according to their wishes, but must have the appropriate permits and follow Maine State laws. This said, the "authorized person" may keep the body at home, build the coffin, transport the body to the crematory, collect the ashes, hold their own memorial service, and do the paperwork themselves. The paperwork is probably the most complicated part of this option, and you must be prepared before the death. Your local Town Office or City Hall can help you identify the necessary permits. (See our Dreaded Paperwork page). A Home Funeral can be done for around $500.

Two cremation-like options that you may see available in the near future:
Promessa (www.promessa.se) Developed in Sweden as an ecological alternative to cremation. "Within a week and a half after death, the corpse is frozen to minus 18 degrees Celsius and then submerged in liquid nitrogen. This makes the body very brittle, and vibration of a specific amplitude transforms it into an organic powder that is then introduced into a vacuum chamber where the water is evaporated away." (quoted from the Promessa website)

Resomation (resomation.com) "In Resomation the body is placed in a silk bag, itself placed within a metal cage frame. This is then loaded into a resomation machine for approximately three hours. The machine is filled with a mixture of water and potassium hydroxide (roughly 500l of water and 20l of hydroxide), and heated to a high temperature (around 160 degrees Celsius), but at a high pressure, which prevents boiling. Instead, the body is effectively dissolved into its chemical components.The end result is a small quantity of green-brown tinted liquid (containing amino acids, peptides, sugars and salts) and what appear to be bones, but are described as calcium phosphate 'shadows' of the bones, easily crushed in the hand (although a cremulator is more commonly used) to form a white-coloured dust.[3] Both the liquid and the dust can be returned to the next of kin of the deceased, and may be buried or applied to a garden." (quoted from Wikipedia)