How to Arrange a Home Funeral
Learn how to arrange a home funeral and why you might want to, the legal requirements, how to handle the body, and ideas for holding a vigil.
Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Virginia Blue Ridge
Protecting your end-of-life rights
Funeral Consumers Alliance of the Virginia Blue Ridge
Protecting your end-of-life rights
Resources
We have collected a wide range of helpful resources for navigating end of life choices. Learn about alternative burial and funeral practices, end-of-life rights, how and why to talk about death and dying, legal forms, medical decision-making, and more. These are arranged in alphabetical order, and cross-referenced by category.
How To Choose A Funeral Home
Use this step-by-step guide to help you find the best funeral home for you and your family.
How to Pay for a Funeral or Other Arrangements
Explore how to pay for a funeral, economize on expenses, comparison shop, set aside resources, and get financial assistance.
How to Plan a Memorial Service
Learn how to plan a memorial service, with ideas for style and venue, participants and invitations, programs, music, words, flowers, and more.
How to Read a Funeral Home Price List
Learn how to read a funeral home price list so that you understand the charges and ensure that the funeral you want fits within your budget.
How to Save on Caskets
Learn about alternatives to expensive caskets, FTC laws about pricing, and misleading product claims.
Let’s Include Funerals in the Conversation
Include funerals in the conversation when a loved one is dying to relieve you of the stress and confusion of practical decisions.
Newsletters
News from the funeral industry, 2019-present.
PowerPoint Programs
Who says death is boring? We have PowerPoint presentations on alternative funeral practices, green burial, and more that you can use to host your own event.
Pre-Planning & Pre-Paying for Funeral Arrangements
Pre-planning and pre-paying for funeral arrangements can save money and reduce stress. Learn about how to navigate pre-need plans and mitigate risks.
Recycling Implants After Death
Today many implants, pacemakers, artificial joints, and metal plates can be recycled—extracted, processed, and ultimately reused in some form.
Ten Tips for Saving Funeral Dollars
By Funeral Consumers Alliance, published at funerals.org. There are many ways to save money while still having dignified, memorable arrangements. You…
Traditional Burial
Traditional burial, for most Americans, includes using a funeral home, embalming, casket burial in a public cemetery. However, families do have a wide range of choices.
Veterans Funeral and Burial Benefits
by Funeral Consumers Alliance, published at funerals.org. United States veterans and their families, caregivers, and survivors are entitled to many…
Virginia Advance Medical Directive
In this post you will find various advance medical directive forms for Virginia, beginning with the most commonly used form, along with background on advance directives, a table for choosing the right form for you, and info and links to the registry where your wishes may be uploaded to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).
What to Do When a Family Member Dies
This expanded “Checklist of Things to DO After Death” is based on an article published by AARP in June 2020,…
Why You Should Have The Uncomfortable Talk About Funeral Plans
This feature story from Baltimore’s WMAR-2 News highlights funeral costs and consumer protection. July 16, 2021.
Write Your Own Obituary
This article provides guidelines for writing your own obituary, suggestions for a eulogy, and for choosing an epitaph if you plan to have a grave marker or memorial marker.
Your Digital Legacy
Laws governing digital assets, digital estate planning, helpful tools and resources for handling digital assets after death.