People just don’t know that they can Organise a Funeral by Themselves

When people ring up Comparethecoffin.com to ask about ordering a coffin we always ask them where the person is at that point. Especially if they say the person is still at the Hospital or Hospice.

We just mention to the family that it is completely possible for them to organise the funeral all themselves.

Firstly about a third of people had no idea they could do it themselves, one person said he thought that only a Funeral Director could make a booking for a cremations at the local crematorium.

In these situations we can often send the coffin direct to the mortuary or hospice. We’ll contact the staff there to make arrangements. We need to ask for the size of the person and also any special delivery instructions. The one thing hospices and mortuaries have in common is they all seem to have limited storage space so we plan to deliver only the day before (sometimes two days).

The staff there always brilliant and in our experience are always happy to help families out. Many belong to an association called the Association of Anatomical Pathology Technology or AAPTUK.

As we are delivering the coffin direct to the mortuary we are saving the second journey if we are going to bring it the family’s home address.

So the only aspect you need to plan for is the transport from where the person is where the funeral is happening either burial or cremation. You’ll need to plan for the transport once you have the ‘Green ticket’ or death certificate (called that because it issued on a green form.) There are no rules for this and anyone can transport the person – in a coffin – in any suitable vehicle. A people carrier like a Ford Galaxy is ideal or decent sized estate car.

You will need to plan for a name plate especially for a cremation, and there are standard conventions to follow.

Where on the Coffin is does Name Plate go? 

The name plate will usually be on the face of the coffin and footer of the coffin.

What will the Name Plate for the Coffin say?

The name plate will need the FULL name of the person and match the Green ticket exactly, also either of the following are acceptable, date of birth and date of death or age and date of death. Either of these options are fine and also you can add any message underneath as well.   

People talk a lot about cheap funerals and cheap coffins, but the easiest way to save money, is to do the funeral yourselves and while there is nothing wrong with using a funeral director but we don’t believe that there is anything more meaningful that taking responsibility for the funeral yourselves.

How Compare the Coffin Helps You?

If you need any help please get in touch with Comparethecoffin.com for helpful advice or to help find a perfect funeral director, use our funeral planning service.