Our Service Fees

By: Perram & Timmins Funerals

 

Our service fee includes some of the following:

• 24 hours,7 day provision of service
• Attendance at the arrangement conference
• Provision of licensed facilities to Health Department specifications
• Access to chapel if required
• Liaison between all groups required for the conduct of the funeral service namely clergy or celebrant, cemetery or crematorium and any others involved
• Organisation of either Medical Certificate of Cause of Death or Coroners Order, as well as applicable Cremation Certificates in the case of Cremation
• Placement of newspaper notices in local, metropolitan or others as required.
• Attending to the registration of the death with the Registrar of Birth Deaths and Marriages
• Order Certified Death Certificate if required
• Provision of memorial book and attention to signatures of those in attendance at funeral
• Ordering and liaison with florist for suitable tributes,if required
• Provision and usage of licensed mortuary facilities for necessary time before funeral
• Provision of hearse and bearers in attendance at the funeral
• Maintenance of all occupational health and safety issues for staff and persons involved in the funeral
• Liaison with clubs and organisations involved in the funeral,if required
• Provision of musical equipment if required
• Liaison for orders of service or memorial cards if required
• Provision of all necessary equipment for the conduct of the funeral service
• Provision of Australian Flag for RSL services
• Attendance to all special requests and family instructions relating to the funeral

This is not in to be taken as a complete list but shows many of the direct services that are provided by the Funeral Director. Our company provides the infrastructure to conduct a funeral service long in advance of a family’s time of need.

(NB not all families will require the full ranges of services for all funeral services. Those specific items that can be separated are charged on an at request basis.)

The fee is calculated by a process taking into account overhead costs, vehicle operation and replacement costs, interest costs, premises expense, staff costs etc, and the divided by the number of families we serve on and annual basis. Each 6 months we review our costs to ensure our services are maintained at the high levels we require and pricing is correct.

 

Single Service
Occurs when the funeral is held at one location namely at a crematorium, graveside, and church service in its entirety or other location.

 

The Dual Service
Involves the attendance at the initial service namely, church, chapel or other location and then a cortege to the final place of disposition or in certain circumstances at a later time. The difference relates to extra labour and equipment time involved only.

All services outside the Sydney Metropolitan area are costed as required.

 

Transfer Fee
The transfer fee is based upon the costs of transport to our facilities between working hours from any point in the Sydney Metropolitan area. After hours fee takes into account the overtime and on costs of our staff only.

 

Operational Areas
All service costing is based on a Monday to Friday structure during normal business hours of 8.30 am and 4.00 p.m. Services outside these hours can be arranged but will incur additional fees. All such fees are on an at need basis.

 

Medical Certificate and Death Certificates
In New South Wales there are certain procedures that must be followed in order for a funeral to take place. One of the most important of these is the preparation of certificates. In most cases a Doctor will issue what is call a “Medical Certificate of Cause of Death”. A registered medical practitioner can only issue this document. It is often mistakenly called a “Death Certificate”. Primary and secondary causes of death are stated on this document. In some cases a copy of the document will be sufficient evidence of death to third parties.

A “Death Certificate” comes from the Registrar of Birth, Deaths and Marriages and is available after the funeral. It contains both all details from the “Medical Certificate of Cause of Death” together with the “Death Registration Information” collected from the family at the arrangement conference. Information is then lodged on-line after the funeral and used to prepare the “Death Certificate”. Completed certificates are mailed directly to the person arranging the funeral. This certificate will be needed for probate.

In cases where the State Coroner is involved medical documents are replaced by the “Coroners Burial Order”. This is used for the funeral and registration with Birth,Deaths and Marriages.

In the case of a cremation, separate documentation will also need to be prepared by either the Doctor issuing the medical certificate or the coroner in matters of their jurisdiction.

All necessary documentation and registration are organised by us as part of our services.

 

Access to Bank Accounts
The payment of funeral account is the responsibility of the person authorising the funeral, whether or not that person is the executor.
The funeral account at law is the first charge on any estate of the deceased.

It is not commonly known that the person authorising the funeral can immediately access the decease’s bank account, for payment of funeral expenses. Production of the signed funeral account at the deceased bank is usually sufficient to allow a cheque to be made in favour of the funeral director. However it is important to note that once this has been done, most banks will then freeze the accounts until the Certified Death Certificate is available.

Many families find this method of payment an easy alternative and alleviate the claiming of funeral expenses back from the estate, which can take some time.

Please contact us for further information on this issue.