What Does the Price List Actually Tell You?

Dead and Gone… What Does the Price List Actually Tell You? By Gary Payne, MBA Founder of Funeral Cost Ontario When someone dies, families often hear a new term very quickly. The price list. It sounds simple enough. A document with prices. Clear. Straightforward. But if I were gone, and my family was sitting across from someone reviewing a funeral home’s General Price List for the first time, I would want them to know this. A price list can be helpful. It just doesn’t tell the whole story. In Ontario, funeral homes are required to provide written pricing information. That matters. Families should not have to guess. The list outlines professional fees, transportation, facilities, vehicles, merchandise, and optional services. On paper, it looks organized. Almost clinical. Grief rarely is. Most price lists are divided into sections. There is usually a basic professional fee. There may be transfer charges. Preparation fees. Facilities and staffing for visitation or ceremony. Casket and urn options. Items most families have never purchased before and may never have thought about until that moment. If I were sitting with my family in that room, I would want them to understand something simple. Not every line on that page applies to them. A price list shows what is available. It does not automatically reflect what a family will choose. And that is usually where uncertainty starts to creep in. Two funeral homes may present similar looking documents, yet the final totals can differ. One may bundle services together. Another may separate them. One may include certain third party costs in its estimate. Another may list them separately. Without context, the differences can feel bigger than they actually are. If I could leave my family one practical suggestion, it would be this. Ask which items are required and which are optional. That question alone can change the tone of the conversation. If a family is choosing direct cremation, for example, many line items simply do not apply. There may be no visitation. No chapel service. No hearse. No cemetery coordination. Those services remain on the list because they are part of the funeral home’s full range of offerings, not because they must be selected. A price list is meant to inform. Still, in the middle of grief, even straightforward information can feel heavy. I would also want my family to know it is completely reasonable to take that document home. To read it more than once. To compare it with another. To ask for a written estimate that reflects the specific choices being considered, not just the full menu. No family should feel rushed to decide from a single sheet of paper. There is another detail families sometimes discover later. A funeral home’s price list may not include cemetery fees, clergy fees, obituary notices, or flowers. Those costs often sit outside the funeral home itself. If that is not explained clearly, the final number can come as a surprise. Clarity rarely comes from the document alone. It comes from asking questions and taking a little time. If I were gone, what I would want most is for my family to feel comfortable speaking openly about cost without embarrassment. Talking about money at a time like this can feel uncomfortable, but it does not diminish love. It simply helps prevent confusion. The purpose of a price list is not to pressure anyone. It is there to show what exists. What families choose from it should feel thoughtful, not hurried. Next week, I will write about something many families quietly wonder about after a death. What government benefits may be available, and how those programs actually work in Ontario.