A Fact or Two

Pre-arranging a funeral service is one of the wisest business investments a person can make. It lets your wishes be known, lifts a burden off of your loved ones at the time of need, and locks in your prices at the time of purchase, something that NO life insurance, IRA, savings account, mutual fund or any money market account can do. No matter what reasonable amount of interest you can earn on any type of account, you cannot insure your wishes be known and make certain you have enough money to cover inflation.

Some, FEW, but some financial advisers speak out against pre-arrangements and pre-funded funerals and/or burials saying that it is better to put that money somewhere else to earn you more money. I wonder if they have thought about the fact that no matter who you have set up as your POA (Power of Attorney), that upon your death, the POA ceases to exist and many executors of wills find themselves tied up in months of legal paperwork and red tape, just to have access to the moneys their loved one tied up in “other investments, making more money.” What do you do then? Most funeral homes will not allow more than 30 days, in generous cases, to make full payment of the funeral expenses. You can see where this leaves the family with money tied up in making money instead of paying for their funeral. This leaves their loved ones in a bind that could have been avoided by the deceased, while living, taking a bit of their money making money and thinking of the ones left behind.

The rise of funeral costs is a huge factor in purchasing a pre-arrangement. In the past 30 years, the price of funerals, cremations, burial property, etc. has nearly doubled. DOUBLED! Let’s break that down a bit, for a 50 year old with the current costs of funerals; let’s say he/she passes away at 80, following a 30 year trend, the funeral would cost at least $25,000. Now, if your kids have that kind of money sitting around in their account, which can be paid out at any given time, then more power to them. I don’t, and often times, banks freeze accounts of deceased upon the time of death, something a next of kin on an account cannot correct without a death certificate, which can take 10 days (normal case) to obtain.

There’s nothing wrong with life insurance, mutual funds, money market accounts, CDs, IRAs, etc. I recommend some and several types of savings; your family will need it after you are gone, but don’t lock up all of your money. Spend it wisely, on the things that matter. I wonder what these financial advisers would do if we had already known, before paying them, how to not spend our money? Where would they be?

My advice, for what its worth, ask a person who has experienced a death in their family where their loved one thought more of their family than making themselves more money. What do they think of purchasing a pre-arranged funeral?

Just me thinking on a Saturday.

-approved by Farley Wells, CMDI who has a pre-arranged funeral plan.

-photos used from http://www.dignitymemorial.com/-