Pre-planning Your Funeral or Burial

The Internet is a good place to start when planning for a funeral or burial.  A Google search will find thousands of websites, many of which are sponsored by the death care industry.  If you want to start with advice from sources independent of the death care industry: we would suggest the following websites:

FTC Website: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0305-planning-your-own-funeral

We also address preplanning issues from time to time on our compliance blog such the “Fork in the Road: personalization vs religious rituals”.  To find more on our blog on such issues, use the search tool and input “preplanning”.

The Funeral Consumers Alliance also has a listing of local chapters that can provide price surveys and additional information: http://www.funerals.org/affiliates-directory

The best single piece of advice we can offer is to discuss your preferences with those family members that are most likely to assume the responsibility of your funeral.  Involve them with the planning process and anticipate that your preferences could change over time.

For many individuals, planning for their funeral and burial is not complete until they have taken care of the expected costs.  Some of the websites that we recommend advise against purchasing preneed funeral contracts or preneed cemetery contracts.  Some of the criticism is well-founded, but some of the criticism is based on misunderstandings and misconceptions about preneed.  It is crucial to understand that preneed is not a saving plan or final expense fund.  Preneed is the purchase of goods and services which will not be delivered until your death.  Some cemetery preneed purchases can be delivered in advance of your death, but for the most part, the prearrangement described in your contract will not be delivered for several years.  The average age of a preneed contract can vary based on the funeral home, but it is common for a contract to be outstanding from 8 to 12 years.  A client recently serviced one preneed contract that had been outstanding for 50 years.

On our compliance blog, we try to explain the good, the bad and the ugly of preneed.  But, preneed is a heavily regulated transaction, and most death care operators incur substantial costs in providing preneed to their customers.  So, do not purchase preneed until you are certain about the funeral home you want to use, and about the type of arrangement you want them to provide.  If you change your mind, the refund may be less than what you paid.   But, of the thousands of preneed contracts we administer, only a handful cancel each year.

Generally, there are only three forms of preneed funding: trusts, depository accounts and insurance products.  There is plenty of debate within the death care industry about which is best, but a recent survey by the National Funeral Directors Association indicated that trust funding is the leading option for that industry.  Trusts will also be the main funding option for cemeteries because certain merchandise products (markers and monuments) can be delivered before death.