12/13/2023
What is a pre-paid funeral plan?
Prepaid funeral plans are a good choice for people who want the peace of mind that comes with knowing their families will not be unnecessarily burdened financially or emotionally when they pass away. They also allow you to specify every detail of your wishes, right down to food, flowers and favors, which ensures that your funeral, memorial or celebration of life is exactly the way you want it.
How prepaid funeral plans work?
Unlike final expense insurance, when you make a prepaid funeral plan, you specify your final wishes in advance and lock in today's prices on funeral goods and services. This approach offers both financial and emotional protection to loved ones, allowing them to focus on their grief at the time of your passing. Adult children often tell us this is one of the best gifts they ever received from their parents.
There are five simple steps to making a prepaid funeral plan:
Think about your wishes. Would you like a traditional funeral or celebration of life? A cremation with ash scattering in a special place, cremation with burial, or traditional burial? There are many decisions to be made, and the choices you make will impact the final cost. Our Personal Planning Guide can help you understand and document your wishes. Get the guide now.
Have the conversation with your spouse. Married couples most often want to make their plans together. But sometimes one partner is more ready to make these decisions than another. Here are some tips on how to have the conversation about your wishes after death. How to have "The Conversation."
Make an appointment with a prepaid funeral plan provider. Most funeral homes and cremation providers offer preneed planning to their client families. As the leading provider of prepaid funeral plans in the United States and Canada, Dignity Memorial® offers unique benefits including Relocation Protection, Lifetime Flexibility and our 100% Service Guarantee. And with over 1,900 affiliated funeral homes, cremation providers and cemeteries, you may be surprised to learn there's a location right down the street. Find a provider now, or let us connect you with a pre-planning advisor in your area.
Sign a contract and fund your plan. During your appointment, you should get a clear idea of what your funeral plan would cost, and different ways to fund it, including in a lump sum or with monthly installment payments. When you're ready, your advisor will draw up a contract for signature and you will make your first payment.
Share your plan with your family. This may be the most important step of all. Your closest loved ones should know you have already made and funded your plan. The funeral provider will keep a copy, but they should have copies as well so they know what to do when the inevitable happens. This also gives your loved ones peace of mind, knowing that you've taken care of these important decisions so they don't have to.
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Prepaid funeral plans allow you to not only choose your funeral arrangements but also fund them. Having a plan in place can spare family members from having to make though decisions at an already difficult time. Here's how they work.
