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A Guide On Funeral Pre-Arrangements

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Pre-planning for a funeral helps relieve the burden from your loved ones. Death is an emotionally stressful event. Funeral expenses add strain on your family and friends. You can ease this burden by having a funeral pre-arrangement plan. Here are critical insights about funeral pre-arrangement plans.

What Is a Funeral Pre-Arrangement Plan? 

A funeral pre-arrangement plan is both a funeral preparation strategy and a commercial product. As a strategy, one makes arrangements with a funeral home on pre-selected services about their funeral. As a business product, the plan allows individuals or their families to prepay for specified future funeral services.

A funeral pre-arrangement plan may cover the following costs:

  • Funeral service
  • Burial or cremation
  • Cemetery plot
  • Tombstone
  • Casket
  • Obituary

Types of Funeral Pre-Arrangement Plans 

Insurance Plans 

There are two types of funeral insurance plans, namely pre-need insurance and burial insurance. In pre-need insurance, one pays installments fees to a funeral provider through an insurance company. In this case, the insurer acts as an intermediary and the funeral home acts as a beneficiary. In the event of death, the insurance company releases the money to the funeral home.  

In comparison, burial insurance policies are products sold by independent insurance companies. In this case, the plan acts as a life insurance policy where the policyholder names a beneficiary. The insurer pays out the death benefits to the beneficiary, who has the discretion to use the money how they want to. 

Trust Plans 

Trust plans are regulated contracts between a client and a funeral home. In practice, a trust funeral pre-arrangement plan allows the client to pay for funeral services in a lump sum or in installments. Typically, one deposits the amount into a trust account, and the funeral home director acts as the trustee. In death, the money is released to the trustee to cover the funeral costs. A trust plan can be revocable, meaning one can cancel and cash out the amount at any time. However, one cannot change or terminate an irrevocable trust plan without the express permission of the trustee.

Benefits of a Funeral Pre-Arrangement Plan

The primary benefit of funeral pre-arrangement plans is that they give individuals peace of mind that a funeral home will take cover their funeral services. Additionally, you get to lock in your funeral costs to current prices, so you don't have to worry about inflation. These benefits ease the financial burden associated with funeral arrangements. You select the type of funeral services you desire in advance. In this way, your loved ones will only fulfill your wishes rather than having to make decisions themselves.

A funeral pre-arrangement plan will allow you to plan and pay for funeral services before your demise. Thus, you get to influence the type of funeral you want and relieve the pressure from your loved ones. 


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