If you recently lost a loved one in a New Jersey car accident, the state may allow you to collect damages for your loss. New Jersey allows bereaved loved ones to recover funeral expenses in addition to other damages via a wrongful death claim. How much is the average funeral, though? It is important that you know the answer to this so you can know for how much to request via your suit.
Every year, the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, Inc., gathers updated statistical pricing information via surveys of its members. The goal of these surveys is to help the association respond to inquiries regarding the average funeral costs posed by consumers, the media and the government.
The NJSFDA categorizes funeral expenses into four categories. It then subcategorizes them into three subgroups. The four main categories are as follows:
- Funeral home charges
- Burial costs
- Cremation costs
- Optional
The three subcategories are typical, abbreviated typical and minimal. These latter subgroups refer to different price levels depending on what all a family chooses to include in the ceremony.
A typical funeral that includes visitation, embalming, committal and church services, local transfer, transportation, casket and burial costs an average of $16,398. A minimal funeral that includes a burial with casket but none of the extras included in a typical funeral costs an average of $11,108.
A typical funeral in which a family chooses cremation as the disposition method costs an average of $12,160. On the low end, families can expect to pay $6,870.
Optional packages, which include immediate burial and direct cremation, can tack an additional $2,000 to $4,500 onto a family’s bill.
The information shared here is for educational purposes only. It should not be construed as legal advice.