Final Plans

Once a funeral plan is finalized, we will coordinate with a mortician in the area you specify, in order to assess the options and to assure that there is ample opportunity to carry out your desires. Though there may be fees we cannot control, we’ll do the shopping around and discover where your loved ones will be best cared for.

Part of the fees we charge are held in trust until your death. They are used for transporting your remains back to the mortician you have selected, where it can be prepared for the funeral or memorial services. Monies which are not spent will be donated to a charity.

There are no special preparations for the body: it is merely an empty shell, and is only present at the funeral as a means of allowing the living to have a means of closure.

Ceremony

Viewing

During the viewing (which is held prior to internment) we will assist your family in breaking their attachment to you by holding several ceremonies: one for the immediate family (if any), one for extended family, one for friends, and one for the general public. Each of these ceremonies is designed to help your family integrate their feelings, so that they can more easily let you go. And let’s face it: a shorter grieving period is better for everyone involved.

During this painful time, we will attempt to convey the final wishes of the deceased as the plan outlined. We don't believe in prolonging the process, as the pain our loved ones are going through can sometimes be unbearable. We will also offer our counsel, upon request, absolutely free. Often, finding a means to lower the burden to the point that it can be bearable is a matter of time and effort, and we can offer tools and techniques which can speed the grieving process along--and as with all of our counseling services, this is absolutely free during this critical time.

Internment

Internment means one of two things, generally: a burial, or a memorial.

During a burial, the body is placed in a casket, which in turn is placed in a stone or cement vault (required by law in the USA, though highly recommended elsewhere as well). The casket containing the remains of our loved one is lowered into the ground, and a departure ceremony is performed (see below).

A memorial, on the other hand, is what occurs when the body is either cremated or is otherwise beyond recovery. The departure ceremony is accompanied by ash and salt, signifying the pure essence of the soul when the body is gone. While we would prefer being permitted a funeral pyre, the efficiency with which the body's remains are converted to carbon and vapors inside a kiln cannot be argued.

Many Jedi prefer the no-fuss version of a memorial, in which people sit for a time, discussing the good and bad points of the departed. There are a number of perspectives which can be taken on, but the purpose of the funeral is to allow the living to break their attachments to the dead, so that the dead may rest in peace.

Fees

The average funeral in the United States is over $10,000 as of December 2010, and is going up. Don't you think that's enough of a burden on a family who has just lost a loved one? We do. We will charge only the minimum necessary to carry out the plan as you have specified.

Generally, we ask that our representative be compensated room, board, and travel, plus $40/€30/£35 in expenses per day (minimum of 3 days: the day of the funeral, as well as the day before and the day after). This assures that all preparations can be done. If the Jedi officiator lives in the area, then we ask only a flat fee of one hour at the prevailing minimum wage be donated so that the supplies can be procured. Generally speaking, we don't want to incur more of an expense than is absolutely necessary.

A fee of $500/€350/£450 is assessed for payment of transportation of remains to the mortuary, should there be a need. If your remains do not need to be transported outside of the area in which you live, these monies (less a 10% processing fee) are returned to your family to assist with the final arrangements. Alternately, you may specify that the money is not returned, in which case they will be utilized for the remains of another person.

Funerary costs with the mortuary can be astronomical. Though we maintain the plan, mortuary costs associated with the carrying out of a plan are generally at a bare minimum $2,300 as of December 2010, and are expected to increase. There are a high number of costs associated with the carrying out of the plan which our planners can help apprise you of.

In general, we want a loved one's funeral to go smoothly and with a minimum of suffering on the part of those left behind, and that includes financial suffering. We do not take any portion of the arrangement fees for maintaining the plan (which resides as both a paper copy in our files and an electronic copy on our web servers, for ease of access). We also will make no changes to the plan without your express permission, as such changes can sometimes incur a cost with the mortuary handling the arrangements.