Well here is a case where it can make several thousands of dollars worth of waste in unnecessary charges. The Affordable Funeral goes into the details of how this can happen and how to avoid it. Be aware that, if death occurred in a nursing home, you may be pressured to have the deceased moved immediately. Odds are the deceased's room is paid for through the end of the month, so there's no real need to rush so the home can plug another patient into that bed. Hospitals and many cities have a morgue or medical examiner's office where the body can be retained until you have your feet under you enough to make that educated decision.
Some funeral homes pay generous finders fees to anyone directing business their way.
This can be a most expensive 'kindness' and should be politely refused. Deal with only ONE funeral home. For cases where death occurs in one state and the funeral or burial is to be in another state, there are a host of financial pitfalls of which you need to be aware. Learning the rules can be expensive. A good rule of thumb is to deal only with the funeral home that will be conducting the funeral, but be aware also that the huge corporations that own literally hundreds and thousands of funeral homes in North America and abroad tend to work together, so there may be no incentive for your funeral director to help you save money if another of his corporate buddies stands to also profit from your misfortune.