Casket
The container the body is placed in for viewing and burial. Required for traditional funerals; optional for direct cremation (a cardboard 'alternative container' suffices).
Caskets range from $400 cardboard 'alternative containers' (used for cremation) to $20,000+ hardwood caskets with bronze hardware. Most funeral home displays start at $2,500 and run up to about $10,000. The same casket bought from a third party — Costco, Walmart, online dealers — typically costs less than half.
Federal law requires funeral homes to display a casket price list and to use any casket the family provides, with no extra fee. Families are not required to buy the casket from the funeral home.
'Protective' or 'sealed' caskets — usually metal with a rubber gasket — are commonly upsold at $1,000–$3,000 above an equivalent non-sealed model. There is no consumer or scientific evidence that sealing meaningfully slows decomposition or improves preservation.
- Casket handling fee— A fee some funeral homes try to charge when a family buys a casket from a third party (Costco, Amazon, an online supplier). Illegal under federal law.
- Vault— A concrete or metal box placed in the grave around the casket. Required by most cemeteries (not by state law) to keep the ground from settling as the casket decomposes.
- Urn— The container that holds cremated remains. Required only if the family wants something more permanent than the temporary plastic container the crematory provides.
This definition is general consumer information, not legal, medical, or financial advice. Industry practices and regulations change occasionally; verify before relying on anything here for a specific decision.
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