Funeral Preplanning - An Important Part of Your Estate Plan
Taking legal steps to distribute assets after our death to protect loved ones and family is a common practice of estate planning. Equally as important is preplanning one's own funeral to minimize the burden and emotional cost a family experiences upon the death of a loved one. When personal wishes are clearly spelled out and funds are set aside or allocated for funeral expenses, the family and friends of the deceased avoid additional emotional stress.
When a funeral is not preplanned, aside from the emotional burden, the family alone must make the final arrangements and will also encounter a maze of legal and financial decisions. Understanding all of the options of a funeral is difficult enough during normal times. During the mourning period, families who plan funerals are likely to be reactive rather than proactive, which can be costly.
Most of us want our family to avoid this distressing task. Preplanning one's funeral - like making a will - represents our last testament to our family about very personal choices.
Preneed Funeral Contracts
Many funeral homes will sell a preneed funeral contract in which an individual may plan for a funeral and prepay for the services. These contracts are sold in many cases with the salesperson advocating the benefits of freezing the costs of the funeral at today's price. Contracting for a major purchase such as a funeral, which hopefully will not be needed for years to come, has certain drawbacks which may offset the potential cost savings. Consider these issues:
Make certain you understand who maintains custody of your funds
Understand how your funds will be invested
Determine whether or not an insurance policy is being purchased with the proceeds
Ask what percentage of the funds will be initially retained by the funeral home
If the funds are to be held in trust, ask if the trustee fees will be deducted from the fund
If you relocate from the area, find out if your contract will be transferred to a funeral home in your new city
Understand your options for canceling the policy, whether you will be penalized or receive your funds back
back to top Preplan Without Prepaying
Planning for a funeral can help a family avoid the emotional costs of trying to guess about your personal wishes. Most Funeral Homes will provide a checklist and documents to enable you to plan your funeral in detail without prepaying. The time and energy to preplan is truly a last testament of love and concern for your family and loved ones as they will be saved from the personal anguish that often accompany last minutes arrangements.
back to top Average Funeral Cost
According to various trade groups, the average cost for a funeral is now at $5800. (excluding cemetery lots) For many families, it constitute the fourth largest household purchase. It is important you to become informed about options. The federal government provides consumer information guide, " Funerals; A Consumer Guide" which summarizes the federal law a funeral home must follow by logging on to www.ftc.gov. Funeral Consumers Alliance, a nonprofit entity of consumer funeral and memorial societies, also is an excellent source for more information (www.Funerals.org).
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