Arranging the Funeral

As soon as we receive your initial call we will guide you through the various steps and decisions to be made. Le-Roy Funeral Service will make service arrangements with the Minister, Cemetery or Crematorium. We will make sure that all the necessary documents for the funeral are completed and delivered in time.

You will need to decide if the deceased is to be buried or cremated, where the funeral is to start from, how many cars are required, whether a Church Service is appropriate and if you wish to have hymns. You may have special wishes regarding flowers or donations. We are usually asked to look after the newspaper notices and we will help you to compile these.

To minimise waiting time, please phone our office and make an appointment with a funeral director, who will make the necessary arrangements with you.

After the funeral you may wish to invite family and friends back to your home, or you may wish to arrange refreshments in a local hotel.

These are only a few of the details to be considered and we will be pleased to help and advise.

We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Normal office hours are Monday-Friday 8.30am-5.00pm

Funeral Costs

Le-Roy Funeral Service will explain the various fees and charges involved. Because funeral arrangements are a matter of personal wishes and choice, the only way to obtain an accurate estimate is by discussion. You will not be rushed into making any decisions.

Many of the costs involved are not set by us. These may be for the Cemetery or Crematorium, the Minister, Doctor's fees, newspaper notices, flowers and many other details you wish to have. These items may be paid by us on your behalf and will be listed under the heading "Fees and Disbursements Paid on your Behalf".

We request payment for the fixed disbursements when arranging the funeral service.

Our funeral service is inclusive of the following:

• Provision of an experienced Funeral Director to discuss the planning of the funeral arrangements.
• Hygienic care of the deceased, use of our Chapel of Rest, viewing of the deceased if requested.
• Handling of all necessary arrangements with Clergy, Cemetery or Crematorium, Doctors, etc.
• Placing newspaper notices in local or national papers.
• Assistance in ordering flowers, receiving and care of tributes, provision of a memorial attendants book.
• Provision of a Funeral Director throughout the funeral service and necessary bearers.
• Arranging the printing of service sheets when required.
• Booklets for floral tribute cards and supplying thank-you cards.
• Arranging for catering at home or elsewhere.
• Any service carried out at the family's request outside our normal working hours may incur additional costs.

Help with the Cost of a Funeral

If you do not think you will have sufficient money for the funeral, the Social Fund may be able to help you. The Social Fund is part of the Social Security.

You may receive help if you are responsible for arranging the funeral and you or your partner qualify.

Please contact the Social Security Office and ask for the funeral payment department.

A funeral payment from the Social Fund will not cover the cost of a funeral account. Therefore we only offer a SIMPLE funeral service, as approved by the Office of Fair Trading. No additions may be made to this simple funeral. The representative who by signing our agreement, accepts full responsibility for the funeral account and must cover the shortfall in the Social Fund payment.

If monies are to be paid from various means i.e. family members, the Social Fund, or others, it is the responsibility of the representative, to ensure this is carried out.

Any shortfall in the Social Fund payment must be covered by the responsible person instructing the Funeral Director.

Fixed disbursements must be paid prior to the funeral date.

Hygienic treatment (not Embalming)

We take it as our duty to care for the deceased in a hygienic and respectful manner. This is carried out by our own fully trained staff.

Private Chapels

Should you wish to visit the Chapel of Rest please phone to make an appointment.

Visits to the Chapel of Rest outside our normal office hours will incur additional costs. Normal office hours are Monday to Friday 8.30am - 5.00pm excluding public holidays

We will remove all jewellery unless we are instructed otherwise.

Newspaper notices

We shall be pleased to help compile notices for both local and national newspapers. Many newspapers will only accept death announcements from Funeral Directors. You may also wish to place a notice in the newspaper after the funeral to thank people for their help, flowers etc.

Donations

You may wish that only family flowers are sent to the funeral and that donations, if desired, be sent to a Charity of your choice. If you wish for this it is advisable to state your request in the newspaper announcements. We will collect the donations on your behalf and provide you with a list of donors and the total amount given. We then ask the Charity to acknowledge receipt directly to the next of kin or Executor. We normally allow four to six weeks for collections of donations.

Flowers

Please arrange for your floral tributes to be delivered to our funeral premises on the morning of the funeral. Flowers are received with care. After a cremation service we are often requested to take suitable flowers to local Hospitals or Nursing Homes and will be pleased to do so when time permits. Many large Hospitals will not accept flowers.

Cars

Our chauffeur driven limousines will seat six people comfortably. It is usual for the principle mourners to travel in this vehicle.

Where possible try to keep a parking space outside the house for the funeral cars. It is best to decide who is travelling in which car and with whom before the cortege is ready to leave.
If there are several private cars, try and arrange for the last car to be someone who knows the way. It is also helpful for all private cars to be facing in the right direction.

Please advise the funeral director if the cars are going back to a different address after the funeral.

Service Sheets

Many families like to have the hymns and order of service printed. This would show the deceased's name, possibly a short text and other details you would like included. We can arrange the printing of these, in consultation with the officiating Minister. Please let us know as soon as possible if you require this service.

Health and Safety

Whenever possible we prefer to shoulder the coffin into Church or the Crematorium, however this is not always feasible.

Some families wish to provide their own bearers, this is an option, however we can not accept any responsibility for injury or mishap while the coffin is in their care.

Catering

If you wish to invite family and friends back to the house after the funeral, but would rather avoid the time and trouble of preparing and clearing up, we can provide a catering service to look after this for you. This arrangement means the house does not remain unoccupied whilst everyone is at the funeral. Please let us know as soon as possible if you require this service.

Thank you cards

If you wish to thank various family and friends in writing for flowers, donations etc, after the funeral we can supply thank you cards.

Cremated remains

We will discuss with you your wishes concerning the final resting place of the cremated remains, this decision may have been made during the funeral arrangements. You may wish them to be scattered at the Garden of Remembrance at the Crematorium or you may wish to have them buried in your local Churchyard or Cemetery or you may wish to scatter them somewhere private, the choice is yours, there is no need to rush into a decision as we will be willing to look after the remains for a short time until you have made a decision. The Crematorium will advise you directly regarding details of the Book of Remembrance and other commemorative purchases. You are under no obligation to lay to rest the remains at the Crematorium, or to purchase a memorial.

Memorials

If the funeral has been a burial or the Cremated Remains have been buried you may wish to purchase a memorial, we can arrange for a Mason to contact you and discuss your requirements.

When a memorial has to be moved for the re-opening of a grave, we will arrange for a monumental Mason to do this.

Distance funerals

We are frequently asked to arrange funerals to or from other parts of the country. This presents no particular difficulties as we have very close links through our professional associations. We can take care of all the arrangements including transportation and will provide an estimate of the cost.

To and from abroad

We are experienced in arranging funerals to and from other countries. We will take care of all the documentation and regulations that have to be attended to and advise you of the likely time scale before the funeral can be finalised. Persons who die on holiday are usually covered for the cost of repatriation by their travel insurance. The Insurance Company or Travel Agent should be notified as soon as possible.

For more advice and individual support, please do not hesitate to contact us at Le-Roy Funeral Service, available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Normal office hours are Monday-Friday 8.30am-5.00pm