Costs and Payment Options
Hope and Sons offers a full range of services to accommodate most budgets. We can provide a no-obligation estimate after we have discussed your specific requirements - please don't hesitate to reach out to us on 03 4555074.
Hope and Sons Payment Policies
The Funeral Account: Every funeral invoice from Hope and Sons is individualised. It will generally include professional service fees, mortuary services, vehicle transfers, and a casket. Other items may be included and will be itemised such as: crematorium and cemetery fees, ashes and memorial fees, doctor's fees, newspaper notices, flowers, printing, catering, purchasing of a death certificate, gratuities and donations, multimedia and audiovisual, and monumental options.
An Itemised Estimate: With every funeral we will give you an estimate of the costs of the funeral that you have arranged with your Funeral Director. A deposit is required upon receipt of the detailed written estimate.
Possible Financial Assistance and Compassionate Airfares
We can give guidance on the range of assistance options available for families requiring help with funeral costs. Financial assistance may be provided from either Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ) or the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), both require an official application be submitted.
Some airlines operating in New Zealand offer compassionate airfares to immediate family members travelling to a funeral. You should check with the airline you are travelling with whether the ticket you are travelling on is able to be discounted in this way. If a discount is possible, we can supply you with a supporting letter from our company.
Notifying Organisations
MyTrove notify allows users to notify multiple organisations, from one place, at the click of a button.
One of the more arduous tasks a family or estate executor must do after a death is to close out the relationships the deceased had with various organisations, such as banks, government departments, insurers and utility companies.
For Example:
• cancelling a Passport
• claiming any relevant insurances
• closing or re-arranging utilities (phone/power accounts)
Quick action on these matters will help organisations close out the related accounts in a timely and efficient way, but also can help prevent fraud and potentially Identity theft. On average, contacting all organisations individually takes around 52 hours of effort, either by a family member or an appointed legal Executor.
Death Certificates
After the funeral Hope and Sons electronically registers the death of the person who has died. Following this online registration, Births, Deaths and Marriages processes the application and couriers the death certificate to us, usually within five to ten working days. We forward the death certificate directly to you or to the solicitor who is dealing with the estate.
We are legally required to include certain information when registering a death. We obtain this information from you while making the funeral arrangements with you. It is important that this information is accurate.
If the death has been referred to the Coroner, you will notice the words ‘subject to coroner’s findings’ in the cause of death section. This means that the official cause of death was not available at the time we registered the death. It is possible to update the death certificate once the Coroner has concluded their enquiries and ascertained the cause of death.