Mueller-Bies Funeral Homes ~Owned and Operated by Our Founder s Family for Over 100 Years~ 2130 N. Dale St., Roseville, MN 55113 (651) 487-2550 7050 Lake Drive, Lino Lakes, MN 55014 (651) 784-3390 www.muellerbies.com HOW MUCH DOES A FUNERAL COST? We are often asked the question, "How much does a funeral cost?" The answer can vary greatly, depending on the type of service, merchandise selected, and other elements. In order to help provide an answer to this question, Mueller-Bies Funeral Home has developed this planner to provide you with information that may be useful in planning funeral services or comparing our charges with other funeral establishments. The total cost of a funeral consists of three components: PART 1: SERVICES - Services, facilities and transportation provided by the funeral home PART 2: MERCHANDISE - Casket, outer burial container, urn, clothing, etc. PART 3: CASH ADVANCES - Items that are purchased from third parties, such as obituaries, flowers, escort, clergy honorarium, music, cemetery charges, etc. PART I: SERVICES What type of funeral do I want? The first portion of the funeral cost is funeral home services. There are many different service options. Services range from immediate disposition options such as immediate cremation or burial with no rites or ceremonies, to complete traditional funerals with viewing and funeral rites. Traditional funerals may be followed by burial or cremation. The cost of the services is determined by the type of service you desire to have. The cost for various example types of funeral services is as follows*: Complete, traditional funeral with viewing & visitation the day prior $ 4690.00 Traditional funeral with viewing & visitation one hour prior to service only 4315.00 Funeral with visitation the day prior, with no viewing (closed casket) 4100.00 Funeral with visitation one hour prior, with no viewing (closed casket) 3725.00 Immediate cremation with memorial service and visitation the day prior 3700.00 Immediate cremation with memorial service and visitation one hour prior 3325.00 Immediate burial with graveside service 2995.00 Immediate burial with no attendant rites or ceremonies 2800.00 Immediate cremation with no attendant rites or ceremonies 2800.00 *Costs may vary slightly depending on location of services or other circumstances. The listed prices are representative of typical services. Please see the attached GENERAL PRICE LIST for itemization and details.
PART II: MERCHANDISE Do I need a casket? Services with the body present for viewing and/or services that culminate in burial of the body require that a casket be purchased. A rental casket can be used if cremation follows the visitation or funeral. A rental casket is available in solid oak with a cremation liner for $1060.00. A casket is not necessary if immediate cremation is desired; the required alternative cremation container is included in our immediate cremation charge. All of the caskets we stock are manufactured in America, and the prices range from $895.00 to $3065.00. The cost of each of the various types of caskets are as follows: CASKET PRICE Solid Oak - 3065.00 Solid Oak w/veneer - 2410.00 Solid Pine - 2150.00 Solid Ash w/veneer 2105.00 Solid Poplar - 1655.00, 2310.00, 2620.00 Solid Tulipwood - 1775.00, 1810.00 18 Gauge Steel - 1765.00, 1870.00, 1905.00, 2045.00, 2235.00, 2320.00, 2415.00, 2515.00 Solid Poplar w/veneer 1610.00 Engineered Wood - 1560.00 20 Gauge Steel - 1090.00, 1395.00, 1420.00, 1615.00, 1765.00, 1820.00, 1895.00, 1955.00 Cloth Covered Particle Board - 895.00 Casket selection: The casket you select can be a major portion of the overall funeral expense. We feel it is important to offer you a wide selection of caskets in an affordable range. We carry 16 caskets priced under $2000.00 and 10 caskets priced under $1800.00, and every model we carry is priced under $3100.00. Many of these caskets are available in multiple colors and styles, which further increases your selection options. Additional casket choices may be available from our suppliers, time permitting. We stock 30 different caskets in our Roseville display room and 25 at Lino Lakes. The rooms at both locations also display 10 different outer burial containers (vaults) to select from. All caskets and vaults are clearly marked with the price. It has always been our policy at Mueller-Bies Funeral Home to allow the family to make these selections in private. After a brief explanation of the caskets and vaults is given by the funeral director, the family can then discuss and select the casket and vault 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.
PART II: MERCHANDISE (cont.) Do I need a vault? Most cemeteries require an outer burial container, or vault, for burial. If you own above ground crypt space a vault is not needed. Some cemetery grave spaces called lawn crypts have pre-installed outer burial containers which are purchased with the grave. Fort Snelling National Cemetery will provide a minimum grave liner for veterans and their spouses or qualifying dependents, or refund $254 towards the purchase of the outer burial container of your choice. Please note, if you intend to bury cremated remains, the cemetery may require an urn vault; some cemeteries include this item in their interment fee. Urn vaults are available for purchase from the funeral home at prices beginning at $120. The costs of the various outer burial containers/vaults are as follows: GRAVE LINER Concrete Two-Piece Maintenance Shell $ 935.00 SINGLE REINFORCED BURIAL VAULTS Concrete Construction, Plastic Liner, Sealed $ 1215.00 Painted with Nameplate & Emblem Heavy Concrete Construction in Base & Cover, Plastic Liner, Sealed $ 1450.00 Two-Tone paint with Nameplate & Emblem Heavy Concrete Construction in Base & Cover, ABS Liner, Sealed $ 1795.00 Two-Tone paint with Nameplate, Cover Design & ABS Cover DOUBLE REINFORCED BURIAL VAULTS Extra Heavy Concrete Construction in Base & Cover, ABS Inner Liner $ 2390.00 Metal liner of Stainless Steel over ABS, Choice of Cover Design Extra Heavy Concrete Construction in Base & Cover, ABS Inner Liner $ 2760.00 Metal liner of Copper over ABS, Choice of Cover Design Extra Heavy Concrete Construction in Base & Cover, ABS Inner Liner $ 3050.00 Metal liner of Bronze over ABS, Choice of Cover Design Our price of each Outer Burial Container/Vault INCLUDES Delivery, Installation, & Lowering Device charges imposed by the suppliers of these units. Some cemeteries install these units themselves and will impose an additional charge. MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES Saturday - $34 Sunday/Holiday - $314 NO CHARGE for tent at cemetery with vault purchase (except those cemeteries that do not allow a supplier set tent and will bill directly for their own)
PART III: CASH ADVANCE ITEMS What are cash advance items? Cash advance items are goods and services that are purchased from sources other than the funeral home. Funeral homes can not mark these charges up in any way. For your convenience, we can purchase and/or arrange for these items and pay the individual vendors involved. However, we do ask for payment of these items by the day of the services. The following is a list of common cash advance items. Certified copies of a death certificate - In Minnesota, these copies cost $13.00 for the first copy and $6.00 each for each copy thereafter. They are purchased from the state and are needed for insurance, title transfers and other financial transactions. Cemetery charges - Costs vary among cemeteries. Grave costs will vary in price, depending on the cemetery and location. Interment fees (the charge by the cemetery to open and close the grave) for casketed burial generally range from $900.00 to $1600.00, and interment of cremated remains ranges from $800.00 to $1300.00. Fort Snelling National Cemetery will provide graves, interment and markers free of charge to eligible veterans and their dependents. Crematory charge - The crematory charge is currently $250.00. This is included in our charge for immediate cremation, but assessed separately when cremation occurs following services. Clergy Honorarium - It is customary to offer the clergy or church that is conducting the funeral service an honorarium. This is typically about $200.00. Music Honorarium - If there are musicians involved in the service, their fees are typically $125.00 - $150.00 each. Obituary Notices - Obituary notices are billed directly to the family by the newspaper. The funeral director will write the notice with you and place it into whichever newspapers you wish. The St. Paul paper charges $11.20 per line per day. Photographs cost $115. The Minneapolis paper charges $10.35 per line per day. Flowers - Floral costs vary among florists. Family bouquets usually cost $75.00 to $200.00 per arrangement. Motorcycle escort - If a funeral procession is planned, at least one escort is necessary to control traffic. Additional escorts may be necessary depending on size of procession and distance to be travelled. The charge is $205.00 plus sales tax, per escort. County Medical Examiner Cremation Approval Fee - If cremation is desired as the type of final disposition, the cremation MUST be approved by the medical examiner that has jurisdiction in the county in which the death occurred. Many medical examiners charge for this approval and the fees range from $25.00 to $100.00.
MISCELLANEOUS What about all those "extra costs" I often hear about? There is often a perception that some funeral homes will try to nickel-and-dime you with various miscellaneous hidden fees and charges. At Mueller-Bies, we believe in being forthright, simple and clear in our pricing, and do not charge for many commonly assessed items, such as: One hour visitation prior to funeral or memorial service included at no additional charge in our fee for Funeral Ceremony or Memorial Service. Additional hours of visitation after the first are $125/hour. Register book, memorial folders/cards, acknowledgement cards, and cross or crucifix these items are complimentary. Other funeral providers may charge well upwards of $100 for this package. Planning of memorial services elsewhere - In the case of immediate cremation or burial, our staff may not be directly involved in memorial services held later outside of the funeral home. Full assistance in planning and coordinating of these types of services is still included in our basic service charges. Many funeral homes charge a low initial cremation price, but will add significant fees for any assistance with service planning. Obituary placement we consider placement of the obituary a necessary part of funeral services and do not charge for performing this service. Obituary charges will only be the exact amount charged to us by the paper. After hours service calls many funeral providers will have surcharges if the death occurs at night or on weekends. Our charge for transportation of the body is always the same, be it day or night, weekday or weekend, workday or holiday. Storage of remains/refrigeration if it is necessary to store or refrigerate the body for a period of time prior to services or disposition, there will be no additional charges. Care of autopsied remains occasionally the circumstances of the death require an autopsy be performed. This is beyond the control of the family, and thus we feel it is unfair to assess additional surcharges specifically to care for the autopsied remains. Vault delivery & installation or tent at cemetery - included with vault purchase. Many funeral homes will charge these as cash advance items, potentially costing you additional hundreds of dollars. NOTE: Some cemeteries do not allow installation of these items by the vault company and will charge you directly for their installations. Interest - No interest charged on balances due for 60 days. Guarantee for pre-paid funeral expenses - If Total Funeral Home charges are paid in advance, they will never cost the family any more, no matter how much prices rise in the future. (No guarantee for Cash Advance items.) * * * * * This planner is meant as an aid in estimating total funeral services cost, and is not intended as a final statement of costs that may be incurred. Please note that there are items not covered in this planner that may result in additional charges, such as urns, clothing, videos, special printing, casket customizations, etc. There may also be variations in the service charges listed depending on location and order of service. See the attached General Price List for details. Please contact us or consult with your funeral director to receive a complete, thorough, detailed estimate of your specific service needs. For more information, contact us at: 2130 N. Dale St., Roseville, MN 55113 (651) 487-2550 7050 Lake Drive, Lino Lakes, MN 55014 (651) 784-3390 www.muellerbies.com staff@muellerbies.com