It's wise to shop around for funeral goods and services. But be extremely cautious about paying in advance for them. A mortuary may go out of business, leaving prepaid customers without recourse. Or you or a family member might move unexpectedly -- and then find that the funds paid in advance are not refundable or that a refund entails a big penalty.
If you want to set aside money for funeral expenses, a more prudent approach may be to set up a savings plan or trust, often called a Totten trust. These can usually be arranged for a small administrative fee through a bank -- and the funds can be readily withdrawn or transferred if needed.
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I have been working in pre-need for over 4 years. In Wisconsin the funeral home cannot "hold" your funds. They are invested in a bank trust or Life Insurance. Both are irrevocable in case the person would be going into a nursing home, or uner SSI. With a funded pre-arrangement it save the family the headaches of getting several thounsand dollars to pay for a funeral, and it also informes the family what type of service and merchandise the deceased wanted.
Funeral arrangements can sometimes be be confused or grouped together with CEMETERY arrangements. Ones final resting place is permanent. A funeral home will have your loved one for a couple of days; a cemetery will have your loved one forever. Remember - Cemeteries are for the living. Cemeteries serves as a memorial, a place to come reflect, pay respect and honor your loved one on special occassions. The cemetery is where your family legacy will remind in tack. A place to share your family's history with generations to come. Another reason to make your cemetery arrangements in advance is the finanical side of things. You might be a firm believer in traditional ground burial, but if no one know your wishes or they have not been arranged and paid, then the family member left to make those arrangements might not be in a position to pay for those arrangments. Because of the arrangers finances, your family might be forced into something that you would never ever want - like cremation and scattering. Your cemetery arrangements are easy to take care of, more affordable than you think, and prearranging can give you peace of mind that your wishes will be carried out. And the loved ones left behind will not have to be stressed out, confused by all the choices and utimately over spend or under spend. I
Not a single customer of the parent company for whom I work, Dignity Memorial, has ever lost preneed funds due to theft, embezzlement or mismanagement. State laws have been enacted to protect the safety of preneed funds. Even if a company in the Network were to go out of business, families are protected and their contract would either be refunded or transferred wherever the family wished locally. I work for Moss Feaster Funeral Home, in business for 78 years, a part of the Dignity Memorial Network.