Funeral expense includes which of the following?

• A. Only transportation costs
• B. Only the casket and urn
• C. Only burial lot
• D. Reasonable funeral expense including services, interment or other disposition of the body, a burial lot, suitable monumental work thereon and a reasonable expenditure for perpetual care of a burial lot

Answer: (D)

Funeral expense in this context means the reasonable costs necessary to carry out the decedent’s burial or final disposition, and it covers more than just a single item. The proper scope includes the services connected with the funeral, the interment or other disposition of the body, a burial lot, suitable monumental work on that lot (like a headstone or monument), and a reasonable amount set aside for perpetual care of the burial lot. This full package ensures both the actual disposition and the ongoing maintenance are covered.

The other options are too narrow because they list only one component and omit the rest of what the law considers part of funeral expenses. For example, focusing only on transportation, or only on the casket or urn, or only on the burial plot fails to include the professional services, the monument, and the ongoing care that are typically authorized as funeral expenses when reasonable.