Benefits of Planning Ahead

A simple funeral plan can ease the emotional and financial burdens that fall on loved ones during a time of grief. When a loss occurs, a prearranged funeral plan helps families save money and brings a greater sense of peace to loved ones.

Emotional Benefits :
During a time of loss families are usually already under a great deal of stress leading up to a person’s passing, this stress can be compounded with overwhelming emotional distress when a loved one does pass. With all that can be occurring during these times having these decisions made will relieve a great burden from them. They will know what services and products are desired and lift the burden of worrying about how to pay for the funeral. Families always look back and thank those who planned ahead and made it easier on the rest of family, giving them more time to be together and grieve as a family rather than planning a funeral and worry about if they are making the right choices.
Financial Benefits :
Prefunding funeral arrangements can be a smart financial decision, and it can be of great assistance to your loved ones and can give great peace of mind to your spouse and children. Death never comes at the most opportune time and often creates a large unexpected expense for family members. Added to the intense grief of loss, anxiety about financial concerns can be devastating to a family. By planning ahead for final expenses, you can help to ease the financial burden that falls on loved ones at the time of death. Depending on your family's situation, you should decide whether prefunding is right for you.
Another question to consider is the security and portability of the funeral funds. While some funeral trusts may offer growth, they offer limited consumer protections against misuse and are usually not transferable to another funeral home if you move. CDs offer some growth and better security, but require that taxes be paid on interest earned every year, decreasing your net return dramatically.
Perhaps more than any other funding vehicle, a prepaid funeral contract provides better benefits and added security for your funeral funds.
A prepaid funeral contract provides flexibility by allowing you to make payments over time or in one lump sum. Your funeral plan is tailored to your needs and your budget.
With a properly structured plan, your prepaid funeral contract can be set up as a Medicaid-exempt asset.
By meeting a few simple health qualifications, your plan can be backed by insurance so that the contract is covered from your first payment.
Individuals with health concerns, in most states, can qualify for a guaranteed issue plan that provides coverage regardless of health.
Graded death benefit plans can offer Accidental Death coverage that will provide full benefit should an accidental death occur prior to being paid in full.
Many preneed funeral contracts provide a cost guarantee by the servicing funeral home that locks in the funeral price at today's cost.
Funded funeral contracts that are not guaranteed also grow over time, generally keeping pace with rising funeral costs.
Your funeral insurance policy will grow tax-free, while funded annuities grow tax-deferred.
Your plan is transferable to another funeral home should you move away.