Keeping Costs Down

I work out of my home office, which you are welcome to visit. This allows me to be transparent, professional, and affordable. Come and talk to me over a cuppa, or I can come to your home, and we can arrange everything.
I will create a Cost Estimate for you to sign with anticipated costs so you know where you stand and can pay using a credit card or bank transfer. If any suppliers add extra fees or charge a higher price, I will advise, and you will pay the difference after the Service when these costs are known.

Choices

In order of most cost-effective to more expensive, you may choose:

• Direct Cremation (ballpark is $2,500+)
• Cremation and Funeral Service at a chapel or venue of your choice (cost depends on inclusions like the cost of coffin, hearse, venue but may be $8000-$9500 approx)
• Burial with service (burial plots are costly in Sydney and vary in price) usually upward of $9,500+

Refer to the funeral fees for a breakdown of costs and ways to reduce costs

My Heart and Soul Services, including Heart & Soul End-of-Life Doula Services and Heart and Soul Funerals, provide holistic, heartwarming care from the end of life to death and beyond.

I provide meaningful, personal support to my families and keep costs down in the following ways:

• Funeral Director who arranges :

1. 1. transfer of your loved one directly from the place of death to the mortuary (unless Coroner involved in which case I liase with the Coroner) or to the crematorium for cremation in the event of a direct cremation. All you do is call me on 0425213338 to arrange this.
   2. Holding your loved one at a local mortuary (Dignified Mortuary Services who I trust and respect has an office in Canterbury and Blacktown) prior to the Service, cremation or burial. I can assist in dressing them with your chosen clothing, playing their favourite music to them and placing any flowers or special mementoes with them; organising a viewing if required (up to 100 people depending on venue); having your chosen coffin and flowers delivered to mortuary and ready for transfer to church or venue for any service and or/cremation and burial etc.
   3. Hearse transport or simple van delivery to the service venue;
   4. Coordinating all suppliers from booking the chapel or venue to clergy/celebrant to florists, medico-legal doctors to supply required paperwork; mortuary staff to remove any pacemaker; coffin merchants, graphic artists and printers for Orders of Service booklets etc.
   5. Being celebrant on the day (if required) and liasing with you, sending a questionnaire about your loved ones life, hobbies, achievements, passions, travels, family, legacy etc to draft and finalise a beautiful ceremony of remembrance (usually min 10 hrs work); and
   6. Overseeing the smooth running of the service and/or burial on the day and using extra staff on the day when required eg for over 15-20 people or where family does not wish to pallbear and extra staff required to assist.in to a venue
   7. Applying for the death certificate from BDM which will be sent to your address several weeks after the cremation/burial etc.

• Funeral Celebrant who arranges:

Unrushed time to sit down with you and get to know your person and what they loved, their quirks and values, their hobbies and legacy: all the things that will allow them to be fully respected and honoured in the ceremony, to incorporate beloved speakers and family to share memories and respect their legacy. This includes ensuring I pronounce their names correctly and even the little touches like helping you gather special items together to place in the coffin can be a huge comfort….

Planning Ahead

Call me on M: 0425 213 338 if you or your loved one wishes to plan a wonderful send-off for themselves that will reduce the risk of family conflict and take so much of the anxiety from family members who simply need to arrange your funeral according to your plan and wishes. They then have the luxury of being with their grief after you die rather than doing all the paperwork at a time when they cannot think straight.
Planning your funeral can be a truly uplifting and empowering experience for the dying who have diminishing autonomy is so many areas of their life. They can provide valuable input into the music, poetry, speakers, tributes and choices for their funeral. This can restore peace of mind and be a very healing and helpful process at a time when people feel helpless.

Don’t forget

Heart & Soul End of Life Doula Services can help you companion yourself or your loved ones through the end-of-life phase before death.

Melissa has been formally trained though “Preparing the Way” as an end of life doula or death doula. To see the role in detail visit: https://ndan.com.au/resources/end-of-life-doula

It is a non-medical role but can include attending medical appointments with you and asking any questions, being an advocate at a time when you may not be thinking clearly; helping you tidy up business affairs from a will to guardianship and power of attorney documents; helping create your digital and other vital passwords to leave with trusted friend or family; helping you write letters of love and support to family and friends (an emotional will); ensuring pets will be looked after; giving foot and hand massages and being a companion for you and a person who is death-comfortable and can help you have the difficult conversations with family or friends and generally support you in whatever way is needed at end of life….