Many families decide to plan their funeral arrangements in advance rather than making important decisions under emotional stress. At Sawyer-Fuller we have helped hundreds of families with their pre-arrangement plans.

What are the benefits of prearranging a funeral?

Personal satisfaction that your needs and wishes are made known and details taken care of.
Comfort and relief for your survivors when they are initially grieving.
Assurance that informed, thoughtful decisions have been made about the funeral provider, choice of services, and total costs.

Funeral Planning...before the need arises.

If you are going to make an informed choice when you prearrange your funeral, you need to know the answers to a number of important questions.  You need to know what you want, how much you can afford to pay, if guarantees are provided on goods and services, what happens if you move and want to change funeral homes, the tax consequence of the funding arrangement, and if you are protected against inflation.

When you prearrange a funeral, you want to arrange one that fits your needs today and into the future.

Prepaid Funeral Agreements

Generally, funeral preplanning involves a two-step process:
1. Making the prepaid funeral arrangement (the funeral contract) and
2. Funding the cost of the prearranged funeral through insurance, a trust agreement or other method.
It is possible to select funeral goods and services without prefunding the funeral or to prefund a funeral without selecting specific goods and services.  If you do either of these, you should be aware that the price of the funeral usually will not be guaranteed.
 

The pre-need funeral contract should identify the person selling the contract, the person purchasing the contract, and the person for whom the contract is purchased, if the arrangement is for someone else.  In several states, only funeral directors may prearrange your funeral.  You should check your state law and the credentials of the person selling the pre-need funeral contract.  If the person selling the contract is not with a funeral home, you should ask to see a copy of the agreement between the seller and the funeral home that you want to conduct your funeral.

The contract should contain a complete description of the merchandise and services purchased, and disclose the current price of the merchandise and services.  If a unique service is requested, you should discuss this in detail with the funeral service professional to determine if the service can be provided.

Funeral service selections fall into two general categories; professional funeral services and funeral merchandise.

Funeral Service Selections usually include:
Professional services of a funeral director and staff.
Transportation services.
Embalming and other preparation.
Facilities for visitation.
Funeral vehicles.
Other services and associated items such as pastoral services, music, grave opening and closing.

Funeral Merchandise Selections include:
Casket, Urn or both.
An outer burial container. (Cemetery vault or other selection)
Other merchandise and associated items such as flowers, acknowledgement cards, and transfer containers

The funeral home is required by law to give you a general price list which contains the current cost of each individual item and service offered.  It must also contain information on embalming, cash advance sales, containers for cremation and any required purchases.  Cash advance items are goods and services that are paid for by the funeral provider on your behalf, such as cemetery plot, flowers, obituary notices, pallbearers, and clergy honoraria.  Some funeral providers charge you their cost for these items while others add a service fee to their cost.  If a service fee is added, or if the funeral provider receives a discount, refund or rebate for these purchases, her or she must disclose this fact to you.

You may, of course, choose any or all of those items you prefer.  A funeral planning professional will be able and willing to help you with each of these steps.

The contract should clearly state whether the provision of the supplies and services is guaranteed or not guaranteed.  A guaranteed funeral means that regardless of the retail price of the funeral at the time of death, there would be no obligation to pay additional money to the funeral provider.  The guarantee may be limited if installment payments are selected as a method of payment.

The agreement should also state that goods and services of equal value will be substituted if the exact ones are not available at the time of need, at no extra cost.

It should also clearly identify any items or services which are required and explain why.  An example would be embalming, which may be required if there is a viewing planned or for other reasons.  Furthermore, a casket may not be required for direct cremations, and a vault may not be required in all instances.  If you are considering the purchase and storage of a casket or other merchandise, you should consider factors such as the risk of loss, impact upon manufacturer warranties, and whether the funeral home selected will agree to accept the merchandise for use.

The contract should disclose any penalty or restrictions on the funeral home's ability to perform.  (Such as geographical restrictions)

Cemetery arrangements should also be discussed in advance.  Some questions to ask:
Does the cemetery meet the requirements of your religion?
What restrictions if any are placed on the types of markers, burial vaults, etc.?
Does the cost include endowment care and maintenance?
Are there burial spaces available for other members of your family?

Types of Funding Available

TRUSTS
Funeral trusts may be used to prefund funerals in most states in accordance with specific state laws.  Depending on the type of trust, it may be managed by the funeral home, cemetery, a bank, a state association or the state.  Funeral trusts may or may not be guaranteed to keep up with inflation for a specified period of time.  With a guaranteed, fully funded trust, there generally is no balance due at the time of death.  If a trust contract is not guaranteed or fully funded, there may be a balance due to the funeral provider.  Trust proceeds are usually taxable.

INSURANCE
Customized life insurance products may be used to prefund funerals in most states in accordance with specific state laws.  Basically, the consumer purchases an insurance policy with an increasing death benefit that over time will cover the funeral costs at the time of death.  Policy growth and the payout amount are not taxable.  Pre-need insurance may be paid by a one-time cash premium or by specific installment plans that are either standard issue or guaranteed issue.  There are advantages and disadvantages to most types of insurance options.