Immediate Burial

Immediate burial is a burial that occurs shortly after death without formal viewing, visitation, or ceremony with the body present, and is usually in a simple container or casket. Embalming is not necessary or required.

What is included in our immediate burial fee of $1,375?

• Our basic services and overhead as defined and mandated by the Federal Trade Commission.
• Transfer of the deceased into our custody.
• Unlimited sheltering of the deceased under refrigeration.
• Obtaining the signed death certificate from the doctor or hospital.
• Filing the death certificate with the Health Department.
• Arrangement conference with next-of-kin or other responsible party to help the family with any concerns, questions, or other needs.
• On-line obituaries with photographs posted on two web sites: bartonfuneral.com and on www.nwmemorials.com/.
• Memorials on our web site allow interested parties to post their own comments on a moderated portion of the on-line obituary for each person. (See an example here)
• Transportation to the cemetery.

What is not included in our fee for immediate burial.

• Death Certificates.   The number of death certificates required depends on the needs of the deceased’s estate. The State of Washington charges $25 for each death certificate.  If enough are not ordered at the time of your services, you may obtain more later through the Health Department.
• The King County Medical Examiner charges a $100 fee for deaths occurring in King County. Snohomish and Pierce Counties do not charge the fee.
• Casket.   Some families make their own casket, in which case there is no additional charge for a casket. A casket is not required for burial but most cemeteries impose their own rules.  For those wishing to purchase a casket, we have a wide selection of U.S. made caskets available at prices competitive with Internet prices.
• Cost of a cemetery plot and other possible requirements by the cemetery such as a vault or grave liner, and opening and closing the grave.
• Additional services such as embalming, open casket viewings, memorial services at our facilities, graveside services, church services with the body present, etc. are available at nominal additional cost.  Our funeral directors can help you chose your options for the perfect funeral at an affordable price.
• We often receive requests for a simple viewing of the deceased shortly after death.  We accommodate these requests, but want people to know why we must charge a small fee for doing so. Bodies under refrigeration are not accessible for viewing by the general public. The body must be removed from refrigeration, rendered into a presentable condition depending on the degree of after-death effects, placed in a room suitable for viewing, and accompanied by a funeral director to assist those attending such a viewing. Scheduling of such viewings is done to accommodate the family insofar as possible, but is also dependent on the availability of a room and personnel to perform the viewing. Please consult our current General Price List for charges.

How do you know that you will not be subjected to sales pressure to buy additional services or goods?

We are a family owned funeral service that was founded specifically to eliminate predatory practices that have become too prevalent in the funeral industry. While we strive to make a fair living and provide our employees with secure employment, we do not have to answer or shareholders or absentee owners. Here are our owners and some employees who work day and night serving families who trust us to put their interests first.

When checking prices on-line, try to discover who owns the business you are checking on. Some on-line discount services are owned by large corporate interests. In spite of a seemingly low cost for an immediate burial, the final cost is typically much higher. If a price is too low to be true, it is too low to be true.