Estate Planning

Buried with Dignity? Maybe not.

By Hull and Hull LLP

We would all like to believe that being buried with dignity is a guarantee, something our loved ones won't have to stress about in such a difficult time. This guarantee is one that the City of Toronto seems to also believe in. Yet the cost of funerals for those who don't leave enough behind to cover the costs has been falling on the local funeral business owners, who are now stepping up to ask for greater assistance.

A recent article in the Toronto Star brought attention to this issue, noting that in 2009, 1600 subsidized funerals were held in Toronto, with only a few being held for unidentified individuals, or those with no next of kin. In addition to individuals who fall into these two categories, the City will also subsidize funerals for those who have been on social assistance or provincial disability benefits.

With the average cost of a simple funeral amounting to approximately $5,500, the costs start to add up, particularly when the City subsidy is only slightly over $2,000.    The Toronto & District Funeral Directors, in reporting to councillors, says that the overall costs to the association are between $1.8 million and $3.9 million each year.   Clearly the current subsidy provided by the City is not sufficient to cover these funerals and without an increase in the subsidy, services which we may consider basic will be further stripped down.   The City has countered that increases have been made on a yearly basis since 2008 and there is only so much funding that is available. 

Cities such as Windsor have dealt with similar issues in the past, bumping their subsidy to $3,000 and limiting the services available in these situations. Perhaps such changes will be coming to Toronto, and our perspective on guarantees might need to change.

Until Tomorrow,

Nadia M. Harasymowycz

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on August 10, 2010 (boomark / email).