We are frequently asked the question... "How much does a funeral cost?"
In order to provide the answer to this question, Iverson-Kassian Funeral Services has developed this planning guide to provide you with information that may be useful in planning funeral services or comparing our charges with other funeral establishments.
Funeral homes provide many options today. Services range from immediate disposition services such as immediate cremation or immediate burial with no rites or ceremonies, to complete traditional funerals with visitation and funeral rites. The cost of a funeral service is determined by the level of service which you request the funeral home to provide.
The following list provides the cost for various types of funeral services:
$ 7,900.00
$ 7,300.00
$ 6,600.00
$ 7,300.00
$ 4,900.00
$ 4,600.00
$ 3,900.00
Services with the body present for reviewal or services that involve burial, usually require that a casket be purchased. A casket is not necessary if immediate cremation is desired.
Our casket prices range from $800.00 to $4,200.00. The following list provides the cost of the caskets:
CASKET
PRICE
• 18 Gauge Steel
$ 2,700.00
• 18 Gauge Steel
$ 2,100.00
• 20 Gauge Steel
$ 2,000.00
• 18 Gauge Steel - 2 caskets priced at
$ 2,000.00
• 18 Gauge Steel
$ 1,900.00
• 18 Gauge Steel
$ 1,800.00
• 20 Gauge Steel
$ 1,700.00
$ 1300.00
$ 800.00
The casket you select can be a major portion of the overall funeral expense. Their cost is derived from the manufacturing of a particular design, material and labor to construct a particular casket. We feel it is important to offer you a wide selection of caskets in an affordable range. We offer 8 caskets priced under $2,000.00. Our casket display room has 13 different caskets and we have photos of other caskets that we can have delivered on short notice, all are clearly marked with the price for your comparison. It has always been our policy to allow the family to make this selection in private. After a brief explanation of the caskets is given by the funeral director, the family can then discuss and select the casket of their choice in private. We respect your privacy and will not follow you around as you discuss a very personal decision with your family members.
Most cemeteries require an outer burial container or vault for burial. This container supports the weight of the earth on a casket so that it is not crushed, therefore, graves won't sink and monuments or grave markers will not tip or settle. Some other burial containers also have a tongue & groove seal for protection purposes, these are know as burial vaults. We have 8 different outer burial containers/vaults to select from, all clearly marked with the price for your comparison.
Our outer burial containers range from $1,450.00 to $13,300.00. The following list provides the cost and descriptions of the other burial containers:
Cash advance items are goods and services that are purchased from sources other than the funeral home. Funeral homes cannot mark up nor increase these charges to you without informing you that they are doing so. For your convenience, we will purchase and/or arrange for these items and pay the individual vendors involved. The following is a list of common cash advance items.
Certified Copies of a Death Certificate:
In North Dakota, these copies cost $15.00 for the first copy and $10.00 for each additional copy at the same time of ordering. They are purchased from the North Dakota Department of Health, and are needed for life insurance, title transfers and other financial transactions.
Cemetery/Interment charges:
The cost of purchasing a grave varies among cemeteries. Graves may cost $25.00 up to $600.00 each, depending upon the cemetery and location. The interment fee is the charge to open and close the grave, and sometimes includes a portion for perpetual care of the cemetery. This fee may cost $800.00 up to $950.00 or more, depending upon the cemetery, location and the time of day or the time of year. The fee for interment of cremated remains may range from $350.00 to $900.00.
Crematory charge:
Crematory charges at this time are $500.00, but can change without notice. There are also overtime and weekend charges that may apply, or for an expedited return of cremated remains in time for a service. The base charge is included with our fee for a direct cremation service.
Clergy Honorarium:
It is customary to offer an honorarium to the clergy or church that is conducting the funeral service. The amount offered is generally a personal, family decision; currently it is most common to offer around $200.00 or more, depending upon a family's wishes.
Music Honorarium:
The musicians generally receive an honorarium for their services as well. It is common to offer around $100.00 or more, depending upon a family's wishes.
Lunch Honorarium:
It is also customary to offer an honorarium to the church service group for the time of fellowship at the church. The funeral lunch is prepared and served as a courtesy by the church. It is common to offer the serving group $300.00 or more, depending upon a family's wishes.
Flowers:
Flower costs vary among florists. Bouquets usually cost $100.00 or more per arrangement, a casket spray can cost $200.00 or more, depending upon their size, flowers selected or the time of year.
Obituary Notices:
The funeral director can write the notice with you and place it into whichever newspapers you wish. Some of the local weekly newspapers do not have a charge for this. Some weekly newspapers and most daily newspapers have a charge for publishing an obituary in their newspaper. For illustration purposes, the Fargo Forum and the Grand Forks Herald offer a paid obituary that costs $22 per column inch, which also allows the obituary to be placed on their websites.
Grave Marker/Engraving:
The funeral director can assist you with the purchase of a grave marker. Depending upon the size, style and color of granite, they can range in price form $900.00 up to $5,000.00 or more for specialty designs. If a grave marker is already in place, we can assist by having the date of death of the deceased engraved on that marker. Depending upon the number of alphanumeric characters, this cost can range form $200.00 to $390.00.
We have put together an average cost, based upon the most commonly selected services, casket, vault and cash advanced items for a traditional funeral service. These figures are from the year 2022 at our two facilities, the Aaker Funeral Home of Lakota and the Stanley-Iverson Funeral Home of McVille.
To reiterate, these figures are merely averages, based upon the most commonly selected items listed above. The cost of a particular funeral would depend upon the services, merchandise and cash advance items requested. If you wish to have a consultation with a funeral director on our staff, we would be glad to illustrate for you the costs associated with your particular requests and selections.
These prices are effective August 1, 2022 and are subject to change without notice.
The goods and services shown below are those we can provide to our customers. You may choose only the items you desire. However, any funeral arrangements you select will include a charge for our basic services and overhead. If legal or other requirements mean you must buy any items you did not specifically ask for, we will explain the reason in writing on the statement we provide describing the funeral goods and services you selected.
Basic Services of Funeral Director and Staff (Non-Declinable)
$3,400.00
Our basic service charge includes, but is not limited to, staff to respond to initial request for service; arrangement conference with family or responsible party; preparation and filing of necessary certificates and permits; recording vital statistics; preparation and placement of obituary notices; planning of funeral arrangements and coordination of services with cemetery, crematory and others as required. Also included in this charge are overhead expenses relative to our facility such as insurance, maintenance and utility expenses, secretarial and administrative costs, and equipment and inventory expenses.This fee for our basic services and overhead will be added to the total cost of the funeral arrangements you select. ( This fee is already included in our charges for direct cremations, immediate burials, and forwarding or receiving remains.)
Embalming
$ 900.00
Except in certain special cases, embalming is not required by law. Emblaming may be necessary however, if you select certain funeral arrangements, such as a funeral with viewing. If you do not want embalming, you usually have the right to choose an arrangement that does not require you to pay for it, such as direct cremation or immediate burial.
Other Preparation of the Body (Cosmetics, dressing, casketing and hairdressing)
$ 400.00
Washing and Disinfecting of unembalmed remains
$ 300.00
Use of Facilities and Equipment
Forwarding of Remains to Another Funeral Home
$ 3,600.00
This charge includes removal of remains, basic services of staff, embalming, necessary authorizations, minimum shipping container and transportation to airport. This charge does not include shipping charges or visitation, rites, or ceremonies prior to forwarding the body.
Receiving of Remains from Another Funeral Home
$4,100.00
This charge includes transportation of remains from airport to funeral home, basic services of staff and transportation of remain to cemetery or crematory. This charge does not include visitation, rites or ceremonies.
Receiving of Cremated Remains
$ 1,000.00
This charge includes local transportation, basic services of staff, care of remains, and a graveside service. This charge does not include any other visitation, rites or ceremonies, urn, urn vault or cash advance items.
Direct Cremations
Prices range from $ 4,575.00 to $ 4,900.00
Our charge for a direct creamation includes removal of remains, transportaiton to crematory, necessary authorizations, crematory fee and basic services of staff. This charge does not include the use of facilities and staff for any visitation or ceremony, public or private, prior to the cremation.
If you want to arrange a direct cremation, you can use an alternative container. Alternative containers encase the body and can be made of materials like fiberboard or composition materials (with or without outside covering). The containers we provide are fiberboard/cardboard boxes.
Immediate Burials
Prices start at $3,900.00 plus casket & outer burial container selected
Our charge for immediate burial includes removal of remains, transportation to cemetery, necessary authorizations and basic services of staff. This charge does not include the use of facilities and staff for any visitation or ceremony, public or private, prior to burial.
Anatomical Donation
$ 5,400.00
Our charge for an anatomical donation includes removal of remains, transportation to the UND Medical School, necessary authorizations, basic services of staff and arterial embalming. This charge does not include the use of facilities and staff for any visitation or ceremony, public or private, prior to donation.