The LAST THING you want to do

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That may sound like a ledge against inflation, but they can't guarantee how long they'll be in business, or where you'll die. If you want to be sure the money will be there when it's needed, put it in a bank.

Fortunately, there are alternatives to expensive professional funerals. Most states allow people to handle funeral details without an undertaker. Options for do-it-yourself funerals include building the coffin, transporting the deceased, and even digging a backyard grave. In many states it's legal to bury a body on your own land, although there is usually some permitting required (including signed death certificate). In circumstances involving contagious diseases like hepatitis B and AIDS, special precautions have to be taken. Check with your state health department and town zoning administration first. The Funeral Consumer's Alliance can help, too. Home burials aren't for everyone, but a resourceful do-it-yourselfer can skip cremation entirely, build a coffin (or simply use a shroud), and dig the grave.

For those who bury their own dead, the motivation usually is less financial than spiritual. Again, the burial plot should be recorded in town documents. There's also a small but growing movement here and in England to "green burials," in specifically designated cemeteries, which dispense with coffins and vaults entirely.

Advances in medical technology have made it possible to recycle various body parts, and many people feel ennobled by the idea of giving someone the gift of life when they die.

Burial options aren't the only decisions you face. Advances in medical technology have made it possible to recycle various body parts, and many people feel ennobled by the idea of giving someone the gift of life when they die. Clearly, there's no lack of demand, with a national registry of potential recipients that outnumbers donors 3 to 1.

To avoid the potential for ethical abuses, financial rewards are not permitted for organ donation (although the hospital does pay the "harvesting" costs). Donating your body for medical research affords some financial benefits. The medical school usually pays for the cost of cremation, and may offer to bury the remains.

Most people prefer to arrange for the interment themselves. In fact, there's a trend of bringing the deceased home for burial (if he or she isn't there already). With ashes the process is relatively straightforward. The funeral director or crematory operator picks up the body and sends or delivers the ashes. In most states, no permit is needed to scatter ashes on your own property, or the ocean. It's often possible to create a small private cemetery on your land.

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