- Why should I prearrange my funeral or burial?
- If I pre-plan & prepay my funeral or burial how
do I know that the money will be there when I die?
- If I prepay my funeral, what happens to the
interest that my money earns?
- Can I change any of these prepaid funeral
services later?
- What if your funeral home changes ownership?
- Can social services take my pre-arrangement away
from me?
Why should I prearrange my funeral or burial?
When you plan ahead, you will be able to consider the many options
available. You will have the opportunity to make an informed decision about
your funeral and cemetery arrangements, and the form of memorial you prefer.
You will be able to make choices that are meaningful to both you and your
family, and you will gain peace of mind knowing your family and friends will
be relieved of the emotional and financial burden often associated with
making arrangements when a death occurs. In addition, by prefunding your
funeral and cemetery services, a guaranteed price contract will allow you to
purchase at today's prices, free from inflationary pressures in the future.
If I pre-plan and prepay my funeral or burial, how do
I know that the money will be there when I die?
It's important to remember that prearrangement is a two part transaction.
The first is the funeral agreement between you and the funeral home. That
agreement is comprised mostly of elements that are guaranteed to be
performed at no additional costs to your family once the funding is
complete. The second is the actual funding of the agreement. Ironically,
it's the prearrangement provider who is the most concerned with the question
of the funds being available at death. That's why they carefully consider
the financial soundness of where funds set aside for funeral and cemetery
prearrangement agreements will be placed
If I prepay my funeral, what happens to the interest
that my money earns?
If you have a prearranged funeral or burial agreement that is comprised
of items that are guaranteed to be performed by the funeral home at no
additional cost to you, the interest (or growth if a life insurance policy)
is retained by the funeral hometo offset the rising costs of those specified
goods and services over time. That's the value of prearranging and
prefunding at today's costs!
Can I change any of these prepaid funeral services
later?
Changes are generally possible, but be careful. When changes are made,
they oftentimes affect the terms of guarantees that were created under the
original agreement. In the event funds paid toward a funeral plan are
excludable resources for purposes of receiving social services (SSI or
Medicaid), changing the terms of that agreement could jeopardize one's
qualification for assistance. It is not recommended that irrevocably
assigned funeral plans be changed in any way.
What if your funeral home or cemetery changes
ownership?
Prior contractual agreements are not voided simply because a change of
ownership occurs. The funeral planning agreement you have with the prior
ownership is carried forward with successor owners as part of the purchase
agreement
Can social services take my pre-arrangements away from
me?
Take away? No. Challenge the amount being set aside to pay for an
expensive funeral? Yes. Funds set aside to pay for a reasonable funeral
arrangement are not counted as assets as one qualifies for social services.
Your local funeral director can provide counsel regarding the amount local
social services agencies consider reasonable and customary to spend on a
funeral.
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FAQs
