Just like planning for a new home or car or planning for our children and grandchildren’s education, planning for a funeral is considered to be a very practical accomplishment. Many people see pre-arrangement as an opportunity to do some advanced financial and estate planning. It also allows them to make decisions at a more thorough, relaxed pace.
Pre-arrangement may be considered for a number of reasons.
- It is a way of expressing what type of funeral we would like and what types of wishes we have. Often just the simple listing of our personal information can be very helpful to the survivors who will be responsible for providing the final arrangements.
- Prepaying the funeral expenses sets aside the funds necessary to provide for the funeral costs. As well there are a number of responsible tax planning and estate planning benefits to prepaying. Check with your accountant and lawyer for advice on the best options available to you.
- The knowledge that all arrangements have been properly made gives peace of mind in knowing everything will be looked after.
- Often those who will be responsible for making the decisions in the future live a distance away and pre-arrangement eases many of these decisions.
What can be pre-arranged?
Just about anything involved with the funeral can be pre-selected.
- Services of a funeral home
- Casket
- Flowers
- Cemetery plot
- Grave opening costs
- Cremation fees
- Cremation Urn
- Burial Vault
- Monument
- Funeral cards and stationary
- Obituaries
- Any other disbursement, merchandise item or service.
Pre-Pay?
- Many people simply leave their wishes and instructions with us. Often this is enough to provide the required information and peace of mind in knowing that the plans will be carried out.
- Prepaying for the funeral provides the additional comfort of knowing everything has been finalized. Many items can even be guaranteed at today’s pricing.
- There are a number of ways to prepay funeral expenses:
- Funds can be simply put away to go toward the final costs. This can be done either in a lump sum or via some type of payment plan.
- Payment in full can be made at Binkley’s Funeral Service. The monies are trusted with a financial institution and the interest earned remains to grow with the prepaid fund.
- Insurance funding is an additional way that pre-arranged funerals can be funded. Usually the interest rates in these types of funds offset any inflationary costs that may be incurred. Insurance plans provide for immediate coverage when a monthly payment schedule is selected and full payment plans offer additional benefits for increased payouts.
- Regardless of the payment method Binkley’s Funeral Service can offer advice in selecting the appropriate plan for your individual circumstances.