Sometimes, a funeral goes as smoothly as a family could hope for:

Jack Sanders had talked frequently with his mother, Joyce, about her funeral plans. A frugal woman, she disdained high prices for anything. She wanted cremation and a simple burial with a graveside service and a few friends. No big [...]]]>

The High Cost of Dying

Sometimes, a funeral goes as smoothly as a family could hope for:

Jack Sanders had talked frequently with his mother, Joyce, about her funeral plans. A frugal woman, she disdained high prices for anything. She wanted cremation and a simple burial with a graveside service and a few friends. No big fuss. No viewing.

So Sanders, 52, of New Sharon, Maine, arranged for precisely what she wanted when his mother died in August at age 68. Chuck Kincer, owner of a number of funeral businesses in Maine, did everything to specifications and charged $1,250. “It was perfect,” Sanders said after the graveside service at the family plot.

But other times, things spin out of control:

Read the full story at AARP.org

Article Excerpt:

Cemetery Plots are a unique class of real estate to invest in. The price is low compared to traditional real estate investments and the profits can be huge as you also help out families in need.

You can get started with just a few hundred dollars and some research [...]]]> Publication: eHow.com
Author: jadedragoninbc
Date Published: November 13, 2009

Article Excerpt:

Cemetery Plots are a unique class of real estate to invest in. The price is low compared to traditional real estate investments and the profits can be huge as you also help out families in need.

You can get started with just a few hundred dollars and some research time, the easily double or triple your money over and over.

Steps include:

1. Basic Market Research
2. Detailed Market Research
3. On the Ground Research
4. Finding Inventory
5. Buying Inventory
6. Identifying and Understanding the Client
7. Marketing Inventory
8. Enjoy Short and Long Term Profits

Read the article at www.ehow.com…

Good article on understanding residency requirements for certain cemeteries as well as rules and regulations surrounding approved monument sizes and types.

Article Excerpt:

Friends for 25 years, local businessmen Douglas J. Kruzewski and Joseph J. Spadea of West Brookfield figured they’d spend the afterlife as they’ve spent much [...]]]> Publication: Telegram and Gazette
Author: Kim Ring
Publication Date: November 13, 2009

Good article on understanding residency requirements for certain cemeteries as well as rules and regulations surrounding approved monument sizes and types.

Article Excerpt:

Friends for 25 years, local businessmen Douglas J. Kruzewski and Joseph J. Spadea of West Brookfield figured they’d spend the afterlife as they’ve spent much of their time on Earth — as neighbors.

The men, in 1994, bought 64 cemetery plots in Brookfield. They chose an area carved out in a newer section of the historic cemetery. They paid $2,575 for each plot, and for more than a decade — with the exception of Mr. Spadea’s acquisition of an ornate tombstone — thought little about their purchases.

But a judge will now decide whether their plan was etched in stone or if the town’s Cemetery Commission has a right to buy back the plots after learning the men don’t reside in Brookfield.

Yesterday, the men testified they had no idea cemetery plots were reserved for residents of Brookfield. They said they’d been taking a walk back in 1994 when then-Cemetery Superintendent Harvey Bennett, now deceased, stopped them and asked if they’d be interested in buying plots.

They bought the plots for themselves and their families, who they say are so close they consider one another kin.

Read the whole story at www.telegram.com…

When you are purchasing a cemetery plot, consider the location of the cemetery and whether it meets the requirements of your family’s religion. Other considerations include [...]]]> The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has put together a guide to help consumers make smart decisions when making funeral arrangements. Here is an excerpt from their section on Cemetery Sites:

When you are purchasing a cemetery plot, consider the location of the cemetery and whether it meets the requirements of your family’s religion. Other considerations include what, if any, restrictions the cemetery places on burial vaults purchased elsewhere, the type of monuments or memorials it allows, and whether flowers or other remembrances may be placed on graves.

Cost is another consideration. Cemetery plots can be expensive, especially in metropolitan areas. Most, but not all, cemeteries require you to purchase a grave liner, which will cost several hundred dollars. Note that there are charges – usually hundreds of dollars – to open a grave for interment and additional charges to fill it in. Perpetual care on a cemetery plot sometimes is included in the purchase price, but it’s important to clarify that point before you buy the site or service. If it’s not included, look for a separate endowment care fee for maintenance and groundskeeping.

If you plan to bury your loved one’s cremated remains in a mausoleum or columbarium, you can expect to purchase a crypt and pay opening and closing fees, as well as charges for endowment care and other services. The FTC’s Funeral Rule does not cover cemeteries and mausoleums unless they sell both funeral goods and funeral services, so be cautious in making your purchase to ensure that you receive all pertinent price and other information, and that you’re being dealt with fairly.

Read the whole guide at www.ftc.gov…

Looking for that final resting place can be a bit of task, unless the location of the cemetery where you’d like to spend eternity is right down the street from where you live. How can technology help? A recent Google Maps mashup gives us a brief vision on how this activity may be conducted in [...]]]>

Looking for that final resting place can be a bit of task, unless the location of the cemetery where you’d like to spend eternity is right down the street from where you live. How can technology help? A recent Google Maps mashup gives us a brief vision on how this activity may be conducted in the near future.

The service, specific to the city of Krakow, Poland, allows you search for the grave of any individual, then transports you to the deceased’s specific grave plot. The map includes overlays for all of Krakow’s cemeteries that shows the individual grave plots within each cemetery.

Would you access a service like this if implemented in your city to find out where you’d like to be buried and what kind of company you’ll keep there?

Read the article at googlemapsmania.blogspot.com…
or
Play with the tool (in Polish) at www.rakowice.eu

Article Excerpt:

…They also seized 30 vacant burial plots and 20 blank grave monuments at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier that allegedly were purchased with proceeds from the visa scheme.

Cemetery plots are a novel investment because they appreciate [...]]]> Article: Lawer is accused of selling fake work visas
Publication: LA Times
Author: Raja Abdulrahim
Publish Date: October 19, 2009

Article Excerpt:

…They also seized 30 vacant burial plots and 20 blank grave monuments at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier that allegedly were purchased with proceeds from the visa scheme.

Cemetery plots are a novel investment because they appreciate at a rate of up to 10% a year and are less susceptible to economic downturns, authorities said.

“It’s unique in the sense that we haven’t run into this before that an individual seeking to hide proceeds goes out and purchases cemetery plots,” said Jorge Guzman, Immigration and Customs Enforcement assistant special agent in charge. “There are always new ways in which criminals will try and hide money, but this is by far one of the most unique.”…

Read the entire article at www.latimes.com

Are you seeing this on RSS? Click here to view the video on You Tube

Article Excerpt:

Advantages and Disadvantages of Prepaid Plans

One way to plan in advance for the end of one’s life is to sign a formal contract called a “preneed funeral plan.” With this plan, money to pay for a funeral and/or burial is held in a trust, in an escrow account or [...]]]> Author: Chuck Bongiovanni
Date: October 15, 2009

Article Excerpt:

Advantages and Disadvantages of Prepaid Plans

One way to plan in advance for the end of one’s life is to sign a formal contract called a “preneed funeral plan.” With this plan, money to pay for a funeral and/or burial is held in a trust, in an escrow account or paid through an insurance policy on the life of the person desiring the plan. Parts of or all of the funeral service and burial are designed in advance and pre-funded in advance and the family has little to do but show up.

…Read the Full Story

Article Excerpt:

In a cash-strapped economy where some have been forced to sell off the family burial plots, residents are snapping up spaces in the city’s cemetery.

Tallmadge City Council approved legislation this month that doubles the cost of remaining plots for sale in the community’s land-locked cemetery. [...]]]> Publication: Akron Beacon Journal
Author: Kathy Antoniotti
Publish Date: June 29, 2009

Article Excerpt:

In a cash-strapped economy where some have been forced to sell off the family burial plots, residents are snapping up spaces in the city’s cemetery.

Tallmadge City Council approved legislation this month that doubles the cost of remaining plots for sale in the community’s land-locked cemetery. For residents who want to spend eternity in Tallmadge, the price will increase from $400 to $800 per plot on July 1. For nonresidents, the price will increase from $800 to $2,000.

Word quickly spread at the end of April as council began considering the increase for the 4-foot-by-10-foot spaces to bring the city’s prices in line with other municipal cemeteries.

The land rush began almost immediately. And by last week only about 350 remained.

…Read the Full Story at www.dispatchpolitics.com