Death is driving Americans into debt.
The average family spends more than $7,000 on a funeral and related expenses after the death of a loved one, according to a new report from the nonprofit Groundwork Collaborative.
Funeral costs have risen 310% since 1986, the report says, far outpacing inflation. The average funeral price, $7,726, doesn’t include cemetery plots, headstones and other products and services that can easily push the tab past $10,000.
And those fees are often due within days of a loved one’s death.
As a result, the report says, 37% of families that paid for funerals in 2025 went into debt.
“People get hit with just a tsunami of financial decisions they have to make, some of which are very large, and some of which are unexpected,”
said Alex Jacquez, senior vice president of policy, advocacy and research at Groundwork Collaborative, a progressive think tank.
Funeral homes charge mandatory “basic services” fees, which totaled $2,495 in 2023. They layer on additional fees for funeral services and viewings, cremation and burial.
A casket costs an extra $2,500, on average. Embalming costs more than $1,000. A headstone is another $1,000 to 3,000. Opening and closing the grave costs up to $2,500.
Funeral costs escalate fast. But “grieving families must make decisions about funeral expenses quickly, under emotional pressure, often with no time or ability to compare prices,” the report says. Americans don’t generally shop around for a funeral home.
Only 18% of funeral homes even list prices on their websites, the report says. As a result, families confront “a costly and opaque market at the worst possible moment.”
Consolidation adds a profit motive to the funeral industry
Industry consolidation has added a new profit motive. Corporations and private equity-backed firms now control roughly one in five funeral homes and conduct “a disproportionate share” of funerals, the report says.
As funeral homes consolidate, the report says, the new owners often try to maximize profits.
"You walk in and you're thinking, 'This is the last opportunity I'll have to express how much I love my partner, or my loved one,'" said Sen. Peter Welch, (D-Vermont), who has proposed legislation to help survivors cover funeral costs. "And the up-sellers want to translate that emotion into cash for themselves."
Responding to the report, an industry leader noted that funeral homes face rising costs of their own, while providing services “24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
Funeral expenses “can feel overwhelming, especially when families are grieving, and affordability is a genuine concern for many Americans,” said John Bolton, president of the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association, in a written statement.
“But funeral service isn’t a single product with a single price,” he said. “There are many ways to honor a life, from basic arrangements to more personalized celebrations, with options available at a wide range of price points.”
Bolton said the funeral industry is committed to providing “transparent pricing and meaningful choices” to grieving families.
Another funeral industry group, the National Funeral Directors Association, said it encourages families to plan funeral arrangements in advance.
"Planning ahead gives individuals and families time to explore their options, understand costs and make thoughtful decisions without the added pressure of an immediate loss," said Jessica Koth, spokesperson for the NFDA. "We encourage consumers to visit funeral homes, meet with funeral directors, ask questions and find a provider whose staff, facilities, services and prices meet their needs and expectations."
After a loved one dies, 570 hours of paperwork
Funeral expenses are only one financial burden facing survivors. Another is the American probate process.
Probate fees typically eat up 3% to 8% of an estate’s value, creating massive expenses even for families of modest means.
A family that inherits a home worth $250,000 through probate might have to pay $7,500 to $20,000 in expenses, the report says.
Probate can drag on for many months. Assets are often frozen, curbing survivors’ access to funds while they struggle to cover funeral bills and make mortgage payments.
Death-related paperwork can swallow up hundreds of hours of a grieving family’s time. Families must close bank accounts, cancel utilities and subscriptions, deal with credit cards, insurers and benefit administrators. And don’t forget the IRS.
According to one industry survey, completing those administrative duties typically takes about 570 hours.
These policy changes could save survivors time and money
To save American families money and time, the report recommends several policy changes:
Congress should require funeral homes to post itemized prices online.
Legislation should require homes to list all fees and potential third-party costs online, the report says, while also barring hidden fees and “forced bundling” of funeral services.
Congress should increase the Social Security Death Benefit.
The benefit currently pays $255, a sum that would cover few, if any, of the fees listed above. Welch, the Vermont senator, has proposed raising the death benefit to $2,900.
"The death benefit is shocking," he said. "It hasn't been adjusted for over 70 years."
The funeral industry supports raising the death benefit, said Bolton of the ICCFA.
Congress should create a life insurance program.
Nearly half of U.S. families lack life insurance, the report says, and coverage often expires before the policyholder dies.
A federal life insurance program could be administered by the Social Security Administration and offer a top benefit of $15,000, indexed to inflation, that would not expire before death. Premiums could be paid through employer payroll systems.
States should raise small estate thresholds.
Estates can generally avoid probate court, and the attendant fees if they are small.
The definition of a small estate differs by state. The threshold can range from around $25,000 in assets to $100,000 or more, according to a Justia survey.
Higher thresholds would cover more estates.
States should reform probate fees.
Probate fees should be based on an estate’s net value, rather than its gross value, the report says. States should abandon percentage-based fees.
States and localities should offer will-making tools.
Free, simplified trust and will tools could allow more families to avoid probate court. Those options exist but “are not widely accessible or clearly presented to consumers,” the report says.
Congress should create a national death-notification portal.
A centralized platform could allow survivors to upload death information once, rather than many times, triggering automatic notifications to federal agencies, utilities, banks and any other companies that opt in.
The United Kingdom operates a death-notification portal called Tell Us Once.
“It should not be up to consumers to navigate all this, particularly at one of the worst times of their lives,” Jacquez said. “And that’s why we need regulators to step in here.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Death is driving Americans into debt
