Today's Why Guy question from Patricia Branham: "My father passed away and his body was sent to St. Mary's Funeral Home in Sacramento. I asked to see him since I hadn't seen him since he passed. I was told yes, but it'd be $200 for a 'ID viewing.' Why? I was shocked that they would charge that to see my own father. I stood up and left."
Patricia is upset that this funeral home, or any, would have an additional charge to see a loved one outside of the cost of a scheduled viewing. Patricia said she was so upset that she couldn't view her dad that she walked over to her mom's grave at St. Mary's and sobbed.
I reached out to the head of the California Funeral Directors Association, Bob Achermann, to see if the extra $200 charge was appropriate to view a loved one.
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"It is common to charge for the viewing, not really to I.D. the remains but to see the deceased outside of the planned arrangements, i.e. a service and viewing," Achermann explained. "The funeral home will need to make the body available and make sure it's presentable for viewing."
We randomly picked the Cypress Lawn Funeral Home in Colma to check their fees. They also charge an extra $195 per hour for a separate private family viewing, similar to the $200 charge St. Mary's was asking Patricia to pay for her private viewing request.
When planning a funeral, and all that goes with it, make sure you know that anything you request outside of the standard agreement will likely involve extra fees.
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