Did you know...During a funeral, the visitation is also called the "viewing," the "wake," or "calling hours."

Planning for funeral services in advance allows us to carefully consider the kind of legacy we want to leave behind for our friends and family. Many people today are planning all or part of their funeral services ahead of time because without preplanning, many questions are left unanswered for our loved ones. For example, how much should we spend on the funeral? Should we go with a traditional burial or cremation? What options would she have liked? What kind of flowers? Which songs or readings? Should we scatter the ashes or place them in a niche in the cemetery? What would she have chosen if she could be here now?

As more and more people decide to plan ahead, families are better able to create meaningful and personalized tributes to their loved ones. When you make your family aware of your wishes, the funeral service becomes a special time of remembrance, comfort, and healing.

Steps to Planning Ahead:


Put Your Wishes in Writing

The first step to planning ahead is putting your wishes in writing. Your plan should clearly state where important documents such as life insurance policies, birth certificates, marriage license, military records, and credit obligations can be found. Your file should also contain important biographical information for the obituary notice. All this information saves your family time and added stress. Having all of this information in one place is of tremendous assistance to the family, and it is a gift of love only you can give. Your plan will also include your preferences for funeral services--whether you want a traditional or non-traditional service. You can include your preference for flowers, music, readings, even down to the type of casket you'd like. Contact a local funeral home to help you complete your written plan and keep it on file at the funeral home in case of emergency.

Preplanning is a gift of love only you can give to your family.

Request a Free Funeral Cost Estimate

When you prearrange, you have the option of making specific selections for final disposition, including ground burial or cremation, funeral merchandise such as caskets and vaults, flowers, grave marker, urn, "green" burial options, and more. You can set up a meeting with your local funeral director or Prearrangement Specialist to go over all of the options available to you. Once you've made your selections, you will be able to receive a free Funeral Cost Estimate. Taking this simple step will spare your family from spending too much on a lavish service and will give them peace of mind knowing that your final wishes were carried out. You can receive a consultation and Funeral Cost Estimate at absolutely no cost or obligation.

Decide Whether Prefunding is Right for You

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.

Prefunding

There are many factors that should be considered when one is thinking about funding a funeral in advance. For example, will the funds grow over time to offset inflation and rising funeral costs? The cost of a funeral tends to double every 10-15 years, meaning that certain funding vehicles such as personal savings accounts and regular life insurance policies will actually decrease in their purchasing power and value over time.

A prepaid funeral contract provides better benefits and added security for funeral funds.

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.

Peace of Mind

You can give your loved ones peace of mind by taking a few simple steps now to prepare for the future. And you can have peace of mind knowing that your funds are safe and secure with FDLIC.

FDLIC is committed to protecting our policyholders' investments.

Funeral Directors Life Insurance Company (FDLIC) is a financially solid company with a long-standing, conservative investment approach. FDLIC is committed to protecting our policyholders' investments as if they were our own mothers' or grandmothers' money. With an A- (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best Company, the leading provider of ratings for insurance companies worldwide, FDLIC has proven to be one of the most financially stable funeral insurance companies in the marketplace. Read more about our uncompromising commitment to financial stability.

This article does not constitute legal or financial advice. Laws governing prefunded funeral plans differ from state to state and may be subject to change. Please consult your local funeral director or click here for consumer information on prepaid funerals.