Funeral Costs Rising With Increasing Waistlines

As more people's waist sizes expand, so too have casket sizes, which more families are finding out makes for a much more expensive funeral.

Officials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cambria County said they and other burial businesses across the Alleghenies have seen similar trends.

Sue Henry, office manager at the memorial park, said a casket can cost up to $3,000 Henry said, in addition to that, a larger vault would be needed for the casket to fit into, or a larger burial space might be necessary.

She said an urn can cost up to $500.

"People are gearing toward cremation. It's less expensive and people like to have the urns with them for a periods of time before they do the actual burial," Henry said.

The cost of a casket or urn couple with a funeral headstone means people should start planning her funeral in advance.

"It's devastating for families to deal with a loss and then to couple that with added expenses that no one is prepared to pay. We just really encourage pre-planning," Henry said.

Some local funeral businesses said many people bank on their life insurance policies to cover costs, but in most cases the burial costs must be paid in full before the burial and it can take weeks or months for life insurance funds to become available.