My name is Todd Irvine and I worked as a funeral director in Ontario for almost 20 years. I did very well within the corporate structure and moved into a senior management role mid career. I never quite found the same work satisfaction in the management office as I did in the arrangement office working as a front line funeral director. Quite simply there is no more a satisfying role than one that allows you to help someone in a difficult place at a difficult time. Total Estate Services is an extension of that helping role.

Total Estate Services Can Help You with All aspects of Estate Management

It really comes down to having a choice.

As a front line funeral director, I would occasionally hear people express a stressful concern regarding the family home. I would hear “mom or dad’s house is a disaster.” What they were really saying is that many years of typical accumulation left the home full of contents, we have our own busy lives, we may live out of town and we just don’t have the resources to tackle this project.

We’re Here to Answer Some of the Questions We Occasionally get Regarding the Funeral Process

It really comes down to having a choice.

Many families are looking for a minimal type of funeral arrangement. This makes perfect sense in that elderly parents have often out-lived most of their friends and much of the family. Those that remain find it difficult to attend any form of service. In the current funeral service environment there are many companies that operate with minimal overhead and their cost to provide services reflects this. The choice in provider can make a cost difference of easily 40 to 70 percent. A minimal service includes arrangement meeting, cremation or burial, containers that meet minimal legal guidelines for the body and cremated remains (ashes), all required documentation for death registration, coroners cremation certificate or burial document, certified proof of Death certificates for estate finalization and any other legal purpose.

The choice of funeral provider is often based on previous experience or the family feels a “pressure” to more forward quickly which doesn’t leave any time to explore other options. Emotions also tend to cloud the thought process and lend itself to a mode of just doing what we had done in the past. The average family may experience a death every 12 years. A lot has changed in the funeral industry in 12 years. I am personally available to answer any questions you or your family may have regarding funeral arrangements. Simply call or send an email. I am more than willing to assist in any way.

Regards,

Todd Irvine